# Bubble - Find Childcare Now — Bubble Childcare On Demand

> On-demand, vetted childcare booking platform connecting parents with trusted sitters. (iPhone/iPad app by Tribo Technologies Ltd.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bubble-find-childcare-now/id1089980698 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Tribo Technologies Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1089980697)
- Category: Lifestyle, Social Networking
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.20/5 from 106 App Store ratings · 97 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 16.0 · 134 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2017-09-26
- Data updated: 2026-08-25
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bubble-find-childcare-now/id1089980698/reviews.md

## What is Bubble?

Parenting can be overwhelming without a support network you’re able to call on.

Bubble is a community of over 300k parents and vetted babysitters & nannies built on trust. We provide the missing piece of your childcare puzzle - a recommended babysitter or nanny who can be with you at short notice.

Whether it’s a planned event, an unexpected situation or just a need to be in two places at once, we’ve got your back.

Browse, meet and book trusted babysitters who can be entertaining and engaging your kids in as little as an hour - teachers, nannies, nursery workers and every background and personality of childcarer.

So why try Bubble?

We’re trusted by parents and kids - from health workers to movie stars to expats, 275k parents have booked more than 3 million hours of childcare. We’re rated ‘Excellent’ on Trustpilot with more than 2,000 five-star reviews. Read honest parent reviews on sitter profiles.

We pre-vet babysitters - we only accept 1 in 4 sitters, ensuring they meet our high standards. Our 12 safety checks including providing information on DBS helps you make an informed choice.

We’re connected to your network - find your parent friends or connect your school, nursery and work to see which babysitters and nannies the people you know trust with their children.

Babysitting for any need - whether you need evening, daytime or after-school care; ad-hoc, short-notice or regular help, find babysitters who match your children’s personalities, interests and additional needs.

You’re in control - choose when, where and who will care for your children. Meet potential babysitters and nannies beforehand, stay connected during the sit with messaging.
We give you buyer protection. Track and pay for your sit securely in the app. Every sit is fully-insured. If it’s needed, our support team of real people are on-hand to help 9am-9pm, 7 days a week.

Think of Bubble as your companion for moments you need for yourself or when an extra pair of hands is helpful.

Because when you’re at your best, so are your kids.

## Key features

- Vetted babysitters and nannies
- Short-notice bookings
- Community recommendations
- In-app messaging and payments
- Buyer protection and insurance
- 24/7 support

## What do users think of Bubble?

Overall sentiment: mixed

**Pros**

- 👍 Easy to use and intuitive interface
- ⭐ High quality and vetted sitters
- 🔒 Safety features and DBS checks
- 💰 Convenient payment system
- 🎯 Quick booking process
- 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Reliable childcare solution for families
- 📱 Simple app design for browsing sitters
- ⭐ Excellent customer support (when responsive)

**Cons**

- 💸 High fees for both parents and sitters (25% commission)
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezing
- 📵 Account creation and login issues
- ⚠️ Unreliable sitters with frequent cancellations
- 🔐 Privacy concerns - home address exposed publicly
- 💳 Hidden and unexpected charges
- 📧 Poor customer service responsiveness
- 🚫 Unfair treatment of sitters vs parents
- 📱 Glitchy payment processing
- 🔔 Aggressive and unavoidable marketing notifications
- 📋 Overly complex booking forms
- ❌ Sitters cannot view their own reviews
- 🔄 Duplicate bookings and unclear payment status
- 🚫 Auto-renewal subscription issues
- ⏱️ Slow app performance and loading

**Commonly reported bugs**

- SMS verification code not received or not working
- App crashes on startup or during signup
- Login loop - stuck between email and app verification
- App freezes when searching for sitters
- Payment processing shows unclear status
- Duplicate bookings appearing for same date/time
- Unexpected charges added without warning (e.g., bank holiday fees)
- App crashes when trying to enter zipcode
- Apple Pay not recognized in app wallet
- Sitter messages not received for days or unreadable without booking
- App incompatible with certain iPhone models (12 Pro, 14 Pro)
- Booking wheel of death/loading issues
- Profile photo requirement creates appearance-based discrimination
- Sits disappearing from booking history
- Continuous re-login requirements

**Most requested features**

- Ability for sitters to view their own reviews
- Differentiated rates for different sit types (school runs, overnight, outings)
- Time limits for parents to accept sitter applications
- Notification system for address changes before sits
- Work-from-home parent indicator on job listings
- Food provision indicator on job listings
- Filter by sit time and duration
- Ability to see previous applicants when sitter cancels
- Penalty system for parent cancellations
- Immediate payment processing instead of delayed
- Customizable push notifications (separate marketing from alerts)
- Ability to cancel subscriptions through app
- Clear upfront display of all fees before booking
- Better in-app messaging reliability
- Travel time compensation for sitters

## Recent user reviews (10 of 97)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bubble-find-childcare-now/id1089980698/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Don’t bother - terrible app

*2026-07-09, version 6.0.0*

The app doesn’t let you call sitters unless you confirm a job with them. How is a parent meant to confirm someone they have never spoken to. Just a way for the app to increase their “reported bookings” (you can cancel the booking if you don’t like the sitter after speaking to them). What a waste of time for parents and a waste of my £39.99. Definitely deleting after my subscription is done.

### 3/5 — Great, Still Room for Improvement

*2026-06-30, version 6.0.0*

We have been using this app solidly for the last year and half. When I say solidly, I mean we have bookings every week day save for bank holidays.
The premise is amazing, you do pay for it without a doubt, but we have continued with this app over another agency.
That said, the user functionality is somewhat frustrating and it does not make it easy to view the bookings. When you have the level of bookings that we have, clear visibility is a massive benefit and time saver, which we desperately need with the child responsibility that we have.
Plus side, it is easy to book and specify what you need and the payment process is easy with Apple Pay a good element.
Down side, looking back at your bookings afterwards when trying to reconcile finances is an absolute pain in the proverbial. There is no option to export them to excel and how they are shown is not user friendly and time consuming.
This app has to be developed further to make it better for the consumers, it is already falling behind in terms of what is offered.

### 1/5 — £5 fee for every booking is too much

*2026-03-27, version 4.2.3*

Now I just do a small booking to get their numbers and book outside the app, if it was more reasonable I wouldn’t

### 1/5 — Parents Judged Before the Job

*2026-02-22, version 4.2.2*

I recently tried the Bubble babysitting app but decided to delete it.

One of the main issues for me was that parents are required to upload a profile photo before sitters can respond. I understand basic safety measures, but this felt unnecessary and uncomfortable. It creates a situation where sitters can potentially judge parents based on appearance rather than the actual childcare requirements and suitability.

The way it works is that parents post their requirements, and then sitters review both the job details and your profile (including your photo) before deciding whether to respond. That dynamic didn’t sit right with me.

I also found the subscription fees and overall costs quite high for both parents and sitters. Interestingly, as soon as I deleted the app, I was offered site credit to stay — which didn’t leave a great impression.

Overall, I wasn’t impressed and didn’t feel comfortable using the platform.

### 5/5 — Lovely experience

*2026-01-26, version 4.2.2*

Always have a good time booking sitters with bubble. The apps easy to use and the sitters are always great.

### 1/5 — Annoying UX

*2026-01-11, version 4.2.0*

Every step feels like I’m filling a government form. Want to book a nanny? First, you need to plan your schedule for the next 8 weeks and declare it on the form. Want to book a dog walker? Please enter every detail about your dog on the form. It’s super annoying. You’re supposed to bring people together, not harvest data. Also just found out Bubble was broadcasting my home adress openly to everyone including people i haven’t contacted or booked.

### 3/5 — Glitchy App

*2025-09-22*

We’ve found some great sitters here which is the the plus side. However the app is deeply frustrating. It’s not user friendly at all. You can’t easily at a glance see all your booked sits or add them to your calendar. Booking or paying seems to lead to click wheel of death as it tries to figure out whether to execute the command. On several occasions it’s been unclear if my payment has gone through. Or if my sit has been booked. 
I’ve been left disappointed when booked sits simply disappeared. Or sometimes it’s showing duplicate bookings for same date and time. 
On a couple occasions it’ll keep prompting me to pay though my bank shows the money has been taken. 
On one occasion - it added £10 per hour to sitters fee without any warning or notice then after the fact said it was a Bank Holiday. Having to dispute things is not what any new parent wants or even has time to be doing and customer service are a little slippery before admitting fault. 
Tried to hire a full time nanny with the service and they ghosted. 
There’s a lot that’s good about Bubble but many processes and the app need to be significantly improved. 
Given this is a premium service one would expect a better designed and more functional app.

### 1/5 — Doesn’t work

*2025-08-17, version 4.1.13*

I keep getting a text code but it won’t let me create an account

### 1/5 — App doesn’t work

*2025-07-31, version 4.1.13*

Been trying to set up an account. I keep getting the code as a text message, then the app will log me out and say I need to sign in as a parent. Well I’m trying to create a parent account but clearly there is no way to create an account at the moment.

### 5/5 — Getting worse and worse

*2025-06-08, version 4.1.7*

I am a heavy user of the app, using it nearly daily for our school pick up. The nannies are amazing.

## Frequently asked questions about Bubble

### What does Bubble do?

Bubble is a platform that connects parents with vetted babysitters and nannies. It allows users to find trusted childcare providers on demand, for both planned and unexpected situations. The app focuses on building a community of parents and sitters based on trust and recommendations.

### How does Bubble vet its babysitters?

Bubble pre-vets all babysitters and nannies, accepting only a fraction of applicants. They conduct 12 safety checks, including providing information on DBS checks, to ensure sitters meet high standards and to help parents make informed choices.

### How much does Bubble cost to use?

The app itself is free to download and use for browsing and connecting with sitters. The cost of childcare services is determined by the individual sitter and paid securely through the app. There are no upfront subscription fees mentioned for parents.

### What kind of childcare needs can Bubble help with?

Bubble can assist with a variety of childcare needs, including evening, daytime, or after-school care. It's suitable for ad-hoc, short-notice, or regular help, and allows parents to find sitters who match their children's personalities, interests, and additional needs.

### What safety features does Bubble offer?

Bubble offers several safety features, including pre-vetting of all sitters, buyer protection, secure in-app payments, and full insurance for every sit. Parents can also connect with their network to see which sitters are trusted by friends, school, or work contacts.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 6.1.0 — 2026-08-05

Meet your sitter before they walk through the door. You can now video call any sitter who's replied to your childcare request, straight from their profile. No need to awkwardly switch apps to meet.

Perfect for getting a proper feel for someone before a regular booking, letting the kids say a quick hello before a first sit - or call mid-sit to help your sitter find whatever it is that saves the day at bedtime.

### 6.0.0 — 2026-06-23

Meet your sitter before they walk through the door. You can now video call any sitter who's replied to your childcare request, straight from their profile. No need to awkwardly switch apps to meet.

Perfect for getting a proper feel for someone before a regular booking, letting the kids say a quick hello before a first sit - or call mid-sit to help your sitter find whatever it is that saves the day at bedtime.

### 5.1.1 — 2026-06-08

Now with a community of 300k and 3m hours of care delivered, Bubble's parent app has been rebuilt from the ground up.

- Discovering sitters just got easier with lists, filters and better recommendations from friends
- Booking sitters became more flexible with simplified request flows, selected sitters for open requests as well as more repeat options
- Added peace of mind during the booking with robust messaging and unique child profiles

### 5.0.0 — 2026-04-01

Now with a community of 300k and 3m hours of care delivered, Bubble's parent app has been rebuilt from the ground up.

- Discovering sitters just got easier with lists, filters and better recommendations from friends
- Booking sitters became more flexible with simplified request flows, selected sitters for open requests as well as more repeat options
- Added peace of mind during the booking with robust messaging and unique child profiles

### 4.2.3 — 2026-03-16

Now with a community of 300k and 3m hours of care delivered, Bubble's parent app has been rebuilt from the ground up.

- Discovering sitters just got easier with lists, filters and better recommendations from friends

- Booking sitters became more flexible with simplified request flows, selected sitters for open requests as well as more repeat options

- Added peace of mind during the booking with robust messaging and unique child profiles

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## More apps by Tribo Technologies Ltd

- [Bubble for Sitters](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bubble-for-sitters/id1488101707)

All apps by Tribo Technologies Ltd: https://appshunter.io/developer/1089980697

## Related topics

[babysitter pay](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/babysitter-pay) · [kiindcare](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/kiindcare) · [on-demand childcare](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/on-demand-childcare) · [the sitter club](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/the-sitter-club) · [childcare by tadpoles](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/childcare-by-tadpoles)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-25.*