Their side
Do the chore. Snap the photo. Watch the minutes land.
Kids see their list, their streak, and a ring that fills as they earn. They pick their own look from ten.
Now on the App Store
Chores done.
Screen time earned.
The chore chart that actually locks the iPad. Kids finish a chore and prove it with a photo. You approve from wherever you are, and their apps unlock in seconds.
Free to download · iPhone and iPad · iOS 18 or newer
- Built on Apple's own Screen Time technology
- Photos auto-delete after 7 days
- No ads. No trackers. Ever.
How it works
Four steps, then it runs itself.
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Assign a chore
"Make your bed, worth 15 minutes." One-time jobs or daily routines, for one kid or a shared pool.
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They prove it
The photo is taken inside the app, so there are no camera-roll tricks.
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You approve from anywhere
One tap from work, the store, or the couch. On paid plans, an AI photo check clears the obvious ones for you.
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Apps unlock in seconds
And lock again when the time runs out, with a five-minute heads-up so nobody gets cut off mid-game.
Step 3 on your phone. Approve, ask for a better photo, or send it back.
Two sides of one deal
Their side is a game. Your side is a dashboard.
Your side
Minutes left, streak, chores done, and a lock button that works from anywhere.
One screen per kid. Lock now, pause, or give and take minutes without leaving the couch.
Straight talk
Built to be trusted, not to impress.
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Really locked, not pinky-promised.
Chore Lock uses Apple's own Screen Time technology, the same system parental controls are made of. The games and apps you pick stay shielded until time is earned.
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When enforcement stops, we say so.
If a kid deletes the app or switches off its permission, you get a tamper alert and the dashboard tells the truth instead of showing a green light. Anyone promising "unhackable" is telling you a story.
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Fair between siblings.
Assign a chore to one kid, put it in a shared pool anyone can claim, or mix both. No more "that's not fair."
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Your family's data stays small.
No ads, no trackers, no location. Photos delete themselves after seven days. This website doesn't even set a cookie.
Pricing
The free plan is the real thing.
Free
$0
forever
One kid, one device, up to 8 chores, and the full locking engine: locking, photo proof, and approvals.
Premium Solo
$4.99
per month, or $49.99 a year
One kid with everything unlocked: unlimited chores and devices, AI photo checks, Chore Bucks, and the school calendar.
The honest math: Premium Family covers your whole household for what the leading chore app charges for a single kid.
Questions parents ask
Straight answers, no fine print.
What devices do we need?
A parent iPhone and a kid iPhone or iPad, all running iOS 18 or newer. You run everything from your phone; the kid's device is where chores get checked off and apps lock and unlock.
Do we need Apple Family Sharing?
Yes. Your kid needs their own Apple child account in your Family Sharing group. That's how Apple lets an app lock and unlock things the official way. Never set one up? The app walks you through it step by step.
Can my kid get around it?
Honest answer: we use Apple's official parental controls, the same system behind Screen Time, and we block everything Apple lets an app block.
For the things no app can block, like deleting the app or switching off its permission, we do the next best thing: the app tells on itself. You get a tamper alert on your phone, and your dashboard shows enforcement has stopped instead of pretending everything is fine.
Is there an Android or web version?
Not yet. We're building for iPhone and iPad first, and building it properly. If enough families want it, Android and a web dashboard are next on the list.
What happens when the time runs out?
Your kid gets a 5-minute heads-up, so no surprise cut-offs mid-game. At zero, the apps they earn time for lock again. Emergency calls always work, the iPhone itself guarantees that, and you choose which apps stay always free, like Phone and Messages. Chore Lock reminds you to keep them free and never locks anything you didn't pick.
What does the free plan include?
Real app locking, photo proof, approvals, and schedules for one kid on one device, with up to 8 chores to get going. No ads, ever. Premium Solo and Premium Family add more kids and devices, unlimited chores, AI photo checks, Chore Bucks, and the school calendar.
Ready when you are.
Chore Lock is free on the App Store. Set up your first chore in a couple of minutes, and from then on the deal enforces itself.
Free plan included, no card needed. Requires iOS 18 or newer. Privacy policy