Post photos. Share your story. Follow people you care about. YardLink is the first free social network built for incarcerated people and their families. Not a messaging app — a real social network.
Tips on building their profile, finding their community, and making the most of YardLink — delivered free to your inbox. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
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Prison telecom companies charge for every email sent. A simple daily conversation costs more than most incarcerated people earn in a day.
Every existing platform is one-directional. No discovery, no community, no social layer. You can't find new people. You can't follow anyone. You can't post to a feed.
The internet moved on to Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Incarcerated people got left with digital bulletin boards. YardLink fixes that.
Instagram-style feed. Grid profiles. Discovery. Messaging. All free. Built from scratch for this community.
Post photos and videos to your feed. See posts from people you follow. Discover new people in the community. Like and comment on posts.
Instagram-style profile grids. Follower counts, post counts, follow button. Your whole story in one place — not a static listing.
Send unlimited messages to anyone on the platform. Photos, videos, credits. No stamps, no per-message fees. Just talk.
Built-in currency system. Send credits to people you care about. No predatory middleman. Atomic transfers, no overdraft.
Your loved one is incarcerated, but their social presence doesn't have to stop. Here's how to get them on YardLink today.
Three fields — name, email, password. No username to invent. No credit card. Done in under 30 seconds.
Build a managed profile for your incarcerated loved one. Bio, facility, photos, interests. A real presence, not a listing.
Share photos to their feed. Let the community see who they are, not just a name on a pen pal board.
People follow, like, comment, message. You relay the connection. Their voice reaches further than it ever could before.
YardLink vs. the prison telecom industry. It’s not close.
| YardLink | Prison Telecoms | |
|---|---|---|
| Photo & video feed | ✓ Instagram-style feed | ✗ Not available |
| Follow people you care about | ✓ Full follow system | ✗ Not available |
| Likes & comments | ✓ Full social interactions | ✗ Not available |
| Cost per message | ✓ $0 — Free | $0.25–$0.50 per email |
| Photo sharing | ✓ Included free | $0.25–$0.50 per photo |
| Social profiles | ✓ Bio, photos, grid, followers | ✗ No profiles |
| Community & discovery | ✓ Browse & discover people | ✗ Point-to-point only |
| Cross-facility connections | ✓ Anyone can connect | ✗ Family-to-inmate only |
| Credits system | ✓ Built-in currency exchange | ✗ Pay-per-use only |
| Family-managed profiles | ✓ Create & manage profiles | ✗ Not available |
Adjust the sliders to match your usage. Results update in real time.
You’d save over 5 years with YardLink
$37/mo · $446/yr on JPay — $0 on YardLink
Pricing based on national averages: $0.25–$0.35/message (Prison Policy Initiative), ~$0.25–$0.33/min video visits (NJ Monitor, 2024; Prison Legal News, 2025). Rates vary by facility. YardLink messaging is free; premium credits are optional. — Compare all JPay alternatives →
Families who found YardLink and never went back to paying $0.50 per message.
“I set up a profile for my brother in under 10 minutes. He has people following him now from three different facilities. He says it’s the first time he’s felt like a person online, not just an inmate number.”
“I was spending $40 a month on JPay just to keep in touch. YardLink is free, the photos go through instantly, and my husband can finally have a real profile with his own photos. This is what we needed.”
“My son used to say he felt invisible. Now he has followers, people comment on his posts, and we post photos for him every week. YardLink gave him a voice when the system tried to silence it.”
Create your profile, post to a feed, follow people, message freely. A real social presence. This platform was built for you, not around you.
Create and manage a profile for your incarcerated loved one. Post on their behalf. Keep them visible to the community while they can’t do it themselves.
Support the mission. Share the platform. Help us reach the 2.9 million people the social internet left behind. No cost to use, no cost to share.
“90% of incarcerated people will come home. The connections they build now shape who they become.”
YardLink is live and free to join. Post to a feed. Build a real profile. Message without paying per word. Create a profile for your loved one in under 5 minutes.