About Craftsman 5
I’ve been using Craftsman 5 on my Samsung phone for several months now. I downloaded it because the family-friendly project app we used before got bought out and filled with sketchy links. I was really hoping this would be a good replacement for planning weekend activities with my kids, like building a birdhouse or a simple storage box. The time I spent with it wasn’t worth it at all. Instead of bringing our ideas to life, it mostly just caused headaches and made me worry about what my kids might accidentally click on if I ever let them use my phone with it open.
Features & Highlights
On paper, it has stuff a parent would want. There’s a section for saving project pictures, a basic list maker for supplies, and a feed of other people’s projects. I tried the list feature last Saturday morning for a pinewood derby car with my son. I put in the block dimensions, and it just spit out “1 unit of wood.” That’s not helpful when you’re standing in the hobby aisle trying to figure out what to actually buy. The tutorial library looked big, but so many of the “kid-friendly” craft videos were just links to random, unmoderated YouTube pages. One video that was supposed to be about safe paint techniques had a bunch of inappropriate comments right below it. That was the moment I decided this app wasn’t for our family.
User Experience
It’s not simple or easy to use. The screen is a cluttered mess of tiny buttons and flashy banners. Trying to save a picture of a cool treehouse design I found online, the app froze my entire phone twice. Just scrolling through the so-called community feed was slow and annoying. Half the “projects” were clearly fake—just ads for weight loss pills or weird game apps. It felt grimy, not like a wholesome space for sharing ideas. The drawing tool for sketching plans was so bad. My daughter tried to draw a simple flower box and the lines were all choppy and laggy. She got frustrated and asked for paper instead.
Pricing
The app is free, which I guess is the only positive thing. But the way they make it free is awful. Video ads pop up constantly. I mean after every single tap sometimes. You close a tutorial? Ad. You switch to your material list? Ad. I was helping my son measure something and an ad for a violent mobile game blasted loud sound right in the middle of it. There’s a paid version to remove ads, but why would I pay to fix an app that’s broken and unsafe in the first place? It feels like a trap.
Updates & Support
I haven’t needed to contact support because the app just works poorly in a consistent way, not in a “broken” way that you’d report. Looking at other reviews in the app store, it seems like people who do complain never get a response. The developer does update the app every few weeks, but the notes always just say “performance improvements” or “bug fixes.” Nothing ever actually improves. The spam bots are still there. The crashes still happen. It feels like they’re just going through the motions to keep the app in the store, not to make it better for families.
Security & Privacy
This is my biggest concern. The app asks for a ton of permissions right away—access to my photos, my files, my camera. For a simple project app, that seems like overkill. There’s no clear privacy policy inside the app that I could find easily. With all the embedded video links and redirect ads, I have no idea where my data is going or who might be collecting it. I definitely wouldn’t let my kids create an account or profile here. It doesn’t feel secure or trustworthy at all. I deleted all my project photos from it before I finally uninstalled it.
Does Craftsman 5 have a useful supply list feature?
Not really. The list maker is very basic and often unhelpful—for example, entering dimensions for a pinewood derby car just gives you '1 unit of wood' instead of telling you what to buy. You'll likely find yourself still guessing at the store.
Are the project tutorials in Craftsman 5 safe for kids?
No, they aren't. Many so-called kid-friendly videos are just links to unmoderated YouTube pages, and one paint safety tutorial had inappropriate comments right below it. This makes the app a real concern if you don't want your kids exposed to sketchy content.
Why does Craftsman 5 keep freezing or lagging on my phone?
This is a common issue—users report the app freezing when saving pictures or even just scrolling the community feed. The drawing tool also lags badly, producing choppy lines. Restarting your phone might help temporarily, but the problems are widespread and not easy to fix.
How can I avoid the fake projects and spam in the community feed?
You can't really avoid them. The feed is filled with ads for weight loss pills and weird game apps disguised as projects. There's no effective moderation or report button, so your best bet is to ignore the feed entirely or look for another app.
How does Craftsman 5 compare to other family project apps?
It's much worse than alternatives. Unlike apps that curate safe, family-friendly content, Craftsman 5 is cluttered with spam, inappropriate links, and unreliable features. If you're looking for a wholesome space to plan projects with kids, you're better off with a dedicated, moderated app like DIY Kids or even just Pinterest with parental controls.
