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PlayBank turns screen time into something a child earns and manages. On the parent's device you set up chores and daily time budgets; on the child's device, apps stay locked until the child spends earned time on them.

Two Apple devices, one for the parent and one for the child; an iPhone or iPad works for either. Each device picks its role the first time it opens, and you can change that later behind the parent PIN. On the child's device you'll be asked to allow Screen Time access; PlayBank can't lock or track apps without it.

You can change it. On a child's device that hasn't paired yet, open the settings gear, enter the parent PIN, and choose Device role → Change device role; the device returns to the role picker, and you set a new PIN when it's set up again. If you've already allowed Screen Time access on that device, turn that access off in Apple's Settings first (you'll need your Screen Time passcode), then reopen PlayBank. On a parent's device, if you've signed in but not yet created or joined a family, the back arrow takes you back. Once a device is paired to your family, use Leave family instead, which also returns it to the role picker.

PlayBank works on top of Apple's Screen Time, so a few things need to be in place first. One parent runs your family's Family Sharing group, which needs that parent's Apple ID, and your children's Apple IDs need to be in that group, set up as children. Your family also needs a Screen Time passcode set. This is how Apple lets PlayBank manage a child's device; without it, PlayBank can't lock or unlock apps.

Per device. In PlayBank you create a profile for each device, and it holds that device's apps, time buckets and daily budget. A child with one device has one profile. A child with two devices, say an iPhone and an iPad, needs two profiles, one per device, because each device counts its own time; time isn't shared between them. A profile lives on one device at a time, so setting it up on another device signs the first device out of that profile.

The parent signs in on their device (Sign in with Apple, or a code sent to your email), then generates a kid code in Settings. Enter that code on the child's device to join it to the family. If a code doesn't work, generate a fresh one.

Yes, up to two parent devices per family. The second parent joins with a parent code, with no separate sign-in needed. This needs an active trial or subscription: the free plan covers one parent, the one who set the family up, so when a trial ends the second parent's device is signed out, and pairs again once you subscribe.

Your family moves to a free plan rather than stopping. One child profile stays active, and anything above the free plan's limits is frozen and kept, not deleted. Subscribing lifts every limit and brings the whole family back. The subscribe page has the limits and the detail.

Sign in the same way you did the first time, with the same Apple ID or the same email address. Your family, profiles and chores come back with it, and the old phone is signed out and returns to its sign-in screen. A different account, or the other sign-in method, is treated as a brand-new person and starts an empty family instead. If you're not sure which you used, open Settings on the old phone: a Signed in with row shows the email address when you signed in that way; with Sign in with Apple it names the method, not the Apple ID, and the row isn't on every device. If you are the second parent, you don't sign in at all: a family holds two parents, so the parent who set up the family has to sign your old device out first (Settings → Devices → Sign out) and can then give you a parent code from their Settings to join with.

You add chores. When your child marks one done, you get a notification and either approve it (choosing which bucket the reward goes into) or reject it. Approved minutes land on that bucket as bonus time.

On their device they open a bucket (like Games or Videos) and pick how long: 5, 15, 30, or 60 minutes, or all they have left. That unlocks the bucket's apps and starts the timer.

Most apps, but not web browsers. PlayBank manages apps, not websites, so it can't control Safari (which can't be added to Apple's Always Allowed list) and works unreliably with other browsers, because Apple's own website limits still apply inside them. For websites, use Apple's Screen Time controls; use PlayBank for apps.

PlayBank rides on Apple's Screen Time, so it's only as strong as Apple's controls and your setup, and it isn't foolproof. A determined child may find gaps, and some content (like websites) sits outside what it can manage. Treat PlayBank as a helping hand for a screen-time routine, not a guarantee; you stay responsible for supervising your child's device use.

The apps lock again automatically. Because PlayBank uses Apple's built-in Screen Time to do the locking, your child sees the standard iOS block screen, and that's expected.

Tapping End stops the session and credits the unused minutes back, so nothing is wasted. A short grace period at the very end isn't charged.

No. Each day starts fresh and the daily budget resets overnight, so time doesn't stockpile. This is deliberate.

If the parent device is an iPhone, unlock with Face ID or Touch ID (on by default), then open Settings and choose Change PIN to set a new one. If you're locked out on a child's device (no Face ID there), the parent who set up the family can sign that device out from their iPhone: Settings → Devices → Sign out. The child's device returns to its setup screen with no PIN, so you can pair it again and set a new one. The PIN is stored only on the device and we never receive it, so we can't reset it for you. If no parent device can sign it out, erasing the child's device from Apple's Settings (or Find My) also clears the PIN, and you can then set it up fresh.

If you allow notifications: parents are alerted when a child claims a chore, and when someone opens the setup screen on a child's device. The child's device is notified when you approve or reject a claim.

That's usually one of Apple's own Screen Time limits clashing with PlayBank. Under Settings > Screen Time: if you use Downtime, add PlayBank and the apps you want it to manage to Always Allowed, so they aren't blocked after PlayBank unlocks them; if you use App Limits, remove any limit on the apps you want PlayBank to manage. If you use neither, there's nothing to change here.

On the child's device, check that Screen Time access is still allowed for PlayBank. Without that permission it can't lock apps or measure usage.

PlayBank syncs over the internet. If a device was offline, the change sends once it reconnects; pull down to refresh to sync now.

The parent who set up the family can delete everything from inside the app: open Settings, choose Delete account, type DELETE to confirm, and enter the parent PIN. This removes every profile, chore and bucket from all devices and can't be undone. A second parent sees Leave family instead, which only removes their own device. To review the data we hold, or if you need help, email [email protected]; the privacy policy explains what we collect and why.