Co-parenting apps are gaining popularity in India

Many Indian couples fighting divorce cases are increasingly relying on co-parenting apps to communicate with each other to avoid friction while maintaining records of their children.

Mostly US-based co-parenting apps such as We Parent, Our Family Wizard and Talking Parents are becoming part of Indian couples fighting acrimonious divorce battles or seeking separation with mutual consent. Interestingly, Indian courts are also acknowledging the effectiveness of such apps and allowing the prayers of parties to direct the other side to use such apps.

These apps help facilitate the information sharing of school records, medical records, daily activities, schedules and pictures which can be shared with the parent that does not have a child’s custody. It also helps to keep an account of shared expenses between parents.

Recently, a Mumbai-based restauranteur, at the time of filing for access to his minor children in the midst of the divorce case, put a clause of mandatory update of all the activities by his wife on the co-parenting app so that he and his family can track their son’s milestone including participating in sports and other activities in the school and other events of seven years. The court too allowed the prayer and directed his estranged wife to update the app.

According to Advocate Mrunalini Deshmukh, these co-parenting apps are very recent phenomena. Initially, Non-Resident Indians were using this but now increasingly local couples embroiled in divorce cases are also insisting on the use of such apps during custody battles.