Pronto is Shutting Down—Here's What Students Are Doing

As winter break approaches, OHS students are preparing not only for holidays and family vacations, but also for a change in how they connect with one another. Our main communication platform, Pronto, will be shut down during the break due to staff not being able to monitor the platform. For many students, this decision, while having fair reasoning and quite a lot of thought put into it, raises questions about how friendships, clubs and societies, and group chats will continue without their main platform.

Peter Demyanovich, Director of Student Life here at Stanford OHS, says that "during winter break there are no Stanford employees permitted to work at all." This means that OHS staff cannot "respond to the needs of our students during [winter break]". However, Demyanovich hopes that students will still find ways to communicate during this time, through emails and phone numbers. However, students are required to follow the family handbook guidelines, which state that "students are expected to act responsibly in using social media and other internet resources [...] All policies regarding student conduct, including the policy against harassment and the policy against bullying, apply to conduct online as well. All members of the community are responsible for good behavior on the school's networks and websites, as well as external ones." More information on this topic can be found in the Family Handbook section, "Codes of Acceptable Behavior.” Demyanovich hopes that by releasing the news of the shutdown earlier that students will have more time to reach out and get each other’s contact information before the shutdown goes into effect. He also recommends making sure your parents are comfortable with a communication platform before socializing with your friends.

Student opinions on the shutdown are mixed. Survey responses show that some students spend hours daily on Pronto, checking group chats for clubs, classes, and social games. Others use it more lightly but still rely on it for quick updates and coordination. Several middle schoolers emphasized that Pronto is their only allowed platform, making the shutdown especially disruptive. Many noted that the decision will make it harder for kids without phones or alternative platforms to stay connected. "Yes 100% it will make it hard for a lot of people who may not have phones or may not be able to use anything but pronto," said Maayan, an 8th grader. Finely, also in 8th grade, worried about losing group chats: "What will happen to my group chats!? ... It would honestly be better to shut down large chats but keep small ones that have student moderators.” Jules, an 11th grader, added that "especially for middle schoolers who don't have any other way of talking to their friends," the shutdown will hit harder.

Others however, welcomed the shutdown, seeing it as a healthy break from screens and a chance to focus on offline activities. "I appreciate the shutdown in the sense that I have a break from my screen, and I get to ski for hours a day without worrying about this social life," explained Forest, an 8th grader. Some students admitted they might not contact classmates and friends at all, preferring to disconnect during break, while others felt torn, while acknowledging that older students may have alternatives, younger peers will be more affected.

Without Pronto, students are turning to other platforms to stay in touch. iMessage and texting were the most common fallback options, while email was mentioned as a practical, if less immediate, solution. Discord appeared frequently in our poll results. However, there are numerous safety concerns or parental restrictions regarding the platform. Demyanovich suggests that students use safer platforms, like Gmail, iMessages, or WhatsApp, but most importantly, that students make sure their parents and guardians are ok with certain messaging platforms. 

The Pronto shutdown brings forward the tension between digital safety, staff availability, and student needs. While some welcome the chance to unplug, others will be cut off from their peers. One anonymous student says it simply, and very well: "It will make communicating with classmates and friends more difficult, though not impossible." Looking ahead, some students have suggested solutions that could balance safety with accessibility. Ideas include keeping smaller, moderated chats open while shutting down larger, less manageable ones, or allowing club and society-related chats to continue. Whether through iMessage, email, or other platforms, OHS students will find ways to stay connected.