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Ciao! vs Warmthly
Warmthly: Keep in Touch, by Kyunghwan Kim
A free iPhone app for calling family and friends on time: a rhythm for each person, one tap to call or text, and a warning before you call someone at 2 AM their time.
No ratings yet in the US App Store, as of 15 October 2026. iPhone only. Released in August 2026, with no update since.
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Ciao!
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Warmthly
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| What it costs | $9.99 a year after 7 days free, or $2.99 a week |
Free, with no in-app purchases listed |
| Free tier | None. The yearly plan starts with 7 days free | Everything |
| Account needed | None | None |
| Where it runs | iPhone | iPhone |
| Where your notes live | Your phone and your own iCloud | Your phone, and your phone’s own backup |
| A creature for each friend | 15 animals, 6 moods | No |
| Logging a call | You log it: a swipe on the deck, and you can pick the day | Automatic when you call or text from the app, with undo |
| Friends in other time zones | No | Yes. It warns you before you call at 2 AM their time |
| Notes and birthdays | Yes, with a reminder you can set on any note | Not mentioned in its listing |
| Languages | English, Italian, Spanish, French and German | English and 18 more |
| A weekly swipe deck | Yes | No. One evening reminder when it’s time |
Every row comes from Warmthly’s own App Store listing and its privacy policy, read on 15 October 2026. Ciao!’s prices were checked the same day. Nothing here is taken from another app’s reviews.
Sources: Warmthly on the App Store · Warmthly’s privacy policy
Where Warmthly wins
- •It is free. No plan to buy, no ads and no account.
- •Time zones for friends abroad: it warns you before you wake someone at 2 AM. Ciao! does not know what time it is where your friends are.
- •Calls and texts made from the app log themselves, with undo. In Ciao! you log a talk yourself, with a swipe.
- •English and 18 more languages, and an App Store privacy label that says Data Not Collected. Ciao!’s label lists a few things, like purchases and usage counts.
Where Ciao! wins
- •Notes and a timeline for each friend, with a reminder you can set on any note. Warmthly’s listing does not mention notes.
- •A note on each friend’s birthday morning, and a home screen widget with the faces of who you haven’t talked to. Warmthly’s listing mentions neither.
- •An animal for each friend, and one deck on Sunday with everyone who is due.
- •Your friends sync to your own iCloud, so a reinstall or a new phone gets them back. Warmthly keeps them on the phone and in the phone’s own backup.
Which one should you actually get?
Warmthly is built for the people you call: Mom every week, old friends every month, some of them in another time zone. If you mostly phone your family and want it free, start with Warmthly. Ciao! is for when you also want notes on what is going on in their lives, birthdays, an animal for each friend and one look at everyone on Sunday.
