PlayBank

What it does

PlayBank turns screen time into something children earn and spend, like pocket money paid in minutes. Apps on a child's device start blocked, and the child opens them by spending minutes: some come from a daily limit, the rest are earned by doing chores a parent approves. When they want to play they ask for a chunk of time, and stopping early puts the unused minutes back on the meter.

There are no parent-set play hours. Each child decides how much to spend and when, and the day starts fresh at midnight. PlayBank runs on Apple's own Screen Time enforcement, managed from the parent's phone; what it adds is the earning and the wallet that Screen Time doesn't have.

See it

Screen time they manage: the child's My Time screen with Games and Videos balances You approve the extras: the parent's Approvals screen with Approve and Not yet choices for chores No asking to play: the child chooses 5, 15, 30 or 60 minutes for Games Chores earn extra: a 15-minute reward on the child's My Time screen Unlock and play: Games unlocked for 5 minutes, ready to open an app Limits by app group: the parent's Time screen with separate Videos and Games limits

Free plan and subscription

Every family starts with a 14-day free trial of the whole app, no card needed. When it ends the family moves to the free plan, not a lock-out, and a subscription can be started at any time.

Free planSubscription
Price£0£5.99 a month or £49.99 a year
Child profiles1up to 10
App groups per child1up to 6
Chores3up to 20
Parent devices12

The annual plan saves about 30%. The subscribe page has the detail of what freezes when a trial ends and what a subscription brings back.

Get PlayBank

Download on the App Store

Help and privacy

Help and answers, including how to get in touch, are on the support page. The privacy policy explains what we collect and why.