Frequently asked questions

Tasks4Access turns everyday tasks into earned screen time. You choose which apps stay restricted on your child’s device and set a task that unlocks them; once your child completes it and you approve it, access opens automatically for the period you chose.

From the parent app, add your child, then pair their device to your family account with a pairing code and confirm protection is switched on. Each child gets their own tasks and restrictions. For the full step-by-step, see the Android or iPhone setup guide.

They complete the task you set, whether that’s a chore, homework, reading, or any other real-world task, mark it done (optionally attaching a photo, or submitting without one), and wait for your approval; the apps or category it unlocks become available once you approve it.

Yes. The same app runs on your device to create and approve tasks, and on your child’s device to enforce restrictions and let them submit completed work.

Android phones (Android 7.0 or later) and iPhone (iOS 16 or later). A parent and child can each use whichever platform they have.

Yes. Your child’s own device is what determines which setup path applies to them; which platform you use as the parent doesn’t matter.

Yes, for the same reason: parent and child platforms are entirely independent of each other.

Yes. A family can mix Android and iOS devices freely, in any combination, and approvals stay in sync across both platforms through the same family account.

Yes. A child can have more than one paired device, and a task’s app restrictions apply across every device they have connected, so you don’t need to set them up separately for each one.

Yes. Revoke a device from device management in the app at any time; if your child gets a new phone, just pair it the same way you paired the first one.

It moves to Waiting for Approval on your dashboard, with the photo if your child attached one (a photo is optional). You review it and either approve it, which unlocks the apps or category it’s linked to, or send it back for more work.

Yes. Mark it “Needs More Work” and write a short private note explaining what to fix (up to 300 characters); only you and your child can see it, and the reward stays locked until you approve the resubmission.

Yes. Save a chore once and reuse it with “Use a saved chore” next time, instead of typing the same task out again.

Yes. You choose which apps or category a task unlocks and for how long, from a fixed reward period to a permanent unlock, when you create it.

The app or category returns to its restricted state until the next approved task unlocks it again.

No. Approving is final and unlocks access straight away; if you change your mind afterwards, you’ll need to set up a new task to restrict the app again rather than reverse the approval itself.

Yes, you select exactly which apps stay restricted; Tasks4Access never locks the whole device.

Yes, you can restrict every app you’ve made manageable in one go, or restrict them individually, whichever suits how you want a particular task to work.

Yes. Restricting an individual app only affects that app; if you restrict a whole category on iPhone, everything Apple groups into that category is restricted too, unless that app is set to Always allow (when you create a task) or your child has marked it Never locked in My Apps.

When you create a task, on Android or iPhone, you can tap Always allow under an app so it is never selected or locked. On iPhone, your child can also mark an app they have added to My Apps as Never locked; apps you set to Always allow show there as set by you. Either way the app stays usable even while the wider category around it, such as a whole Social category, is restricted.

Yes. Tasks4Access is built so the standard phone, emergency and system settings screens are not blocked. Any other safety or communication app, such as Life360, Find My, or text messaging, stays available unless you restrict it directly, or restrict a whole iPhone category it happens to fall inside; set it to Always allow (or have your child mark it Never locked on iPhone) to keep it open in that case.

Tasks4Access uses Android’s Accessibility Service, a system permission that lets it detect when a restricted app opens and show a lock screen instead, without reading message content or private app data. See the Android setup guide for the full walkthrough.

Mainly the Accessibility Service permission, explained in plain language in the app before it’s granted, plus standard notification permissions so you and your child are alerted about tasks and approvals.

Your dashboard’s device health status flags that protection needs to be re-enabled, and restrictions stop being enforced on that device until it is.

Tasks4Access uses Apple’s own Screen Time (Family Controls) system: you choose which of your child’s apps to restrict from the parent app, and Apple’s own Screen Time lock screen shows when a restricted app is opened. See the iPhone setup guide for the full walkthrough.

Apple never lets a third-party app like ours see which real apps exist on a device unless the device’s own user adds them first, from an on-device picker. Your child does this once, naming each app for your reference; that step only makes an app available for you to restrict, it doesn’t restrict anything by itself.

Only because Apple requires that one-time step to happen on the device itself, for the privacy reason above. You still decide which of those apps actually get restricted and for how long, from the parent app, exactly as on Android; your child’s participation is limited to that initial setup, not to deciding what’s restricted.

Yes, from device management in the app. An optional removal PIN can also be set so your child can’t quietly remove an app from their own restricted list.

Yes, Tasks4Access supports more than one child in the same family account, each with their own tasks and restrictions.

Yes. Tasks, restricted apps, and reward periods are all set per child, independently of any other child on the account.

Yes, one child can be on Android and another on iPhone in the same family, with no difference in how tasks and approvals work for you as a parent.

Restrictions rely on the operating system’s own permissions, so a child with access to device settings could in principle disable them, as with any parental control approach; on Android, disabling the Accessibility Service is flagged on your dashboard, and on iPhone an optional removal PIN adds friction against removing an already-restricted app.

Your dashboard’s device health status flags that protection needs to be re-enabled, so you know straight away rather than assuming it’s still active.

Your dashboard shows each device’s protection status (healthy, disabled, or hasn’t confirmed recently), rather than a live online/offline indicator. On iPhone, Apple’s own Screen Time restrictions keep enforcing on the device regardless of connection. On Android, restrictions keep applying locally for up to 24 hours offline; beyond that, protection pauses as a deliberate fail-safe until the device reconnects.

Check that your dashboard shows that device’s protection as healthy; if it does and access still hasn’t unlocked, contact us and we’ll help you diagnose it.

Confirm the correct device is still paired and shows as protected on your dashboard, and that the required Android or iPhone permission hasn’t been switched off.

£9.99 a month for Standard (up to 2 parents) or £12.99 a month for Extended Family (up to 4 parents); see Pricing for full detail.

Everything. Unlimited children, unlimited tasks, app restrictions, approvals, timed and permanent unlocks, device management, and the full dashboard are included on both plans; the only difference between them is how many parents can share one account.

Yes. New customers get a 7-day free trial with full access to every feature, on either monthly plan (annual plans do not include a free trial). You are charged automatically (through your Apple ID or Google Play account) when the trial ends unless you cancel first (on iPhone, at least 24 hours before the trial ends), and each customer can use the free trial once.

Yes, if you were referred by a Tasks4Access partner (through their link or code), you are a new customer, and you have not had a free trial or free month before. You get one calendar month free on a monthly or annual plan, instead of the 7-day trial (never in addition to it). The App Store or Google Play provides the free month, and after it ends your plan’s normal price starts automatically unless you cancel first. Each person gets one free month.

Yes. Open Account → Manage subscription in the app, which takes you to where you subscribed (your App Store or Google Play subscription settings) to cancel; this stops the next renewal, and access continues until the end of the period already paid for.

Yes. Annual billing is available on both plans (Standard £99.90 a year, Extended Family £129.99 a year) and is paid upfront for 12 months. The 7-day free trial applies to monthly billing only. See the Pricing page for details.

Up to 2 on Standard, or up to 4 on Extended Family. A parent invites a co-parent from Account in the app: tap Manage family in the Invite another parent card, then tap Invite another parent to get an invite code. The other parent enters the code when creating their own account.

You’ll get a short grace period (its length is set by the App Store or Google Play) to update your payment method (Account → Manage subscription opens the right place), and restrictions keep working during that time. If it isn’t fixed, your subscription ends and restrictions pause, so your child’s apps are no longer blocked; nothing is deleted and everything resumes when you subscribe again. Your child’s device is never permanently locked because of a billing issue.

Yes. Your subscription belongs to your family account, not to a specific device, so every parent and child device in the family is covered, whether Android or iPhone. Billing and cancellation stay with the store you bought it from.

Log back in and your subscription is recognised automatically, since it’s tied to your account rather than the device. If it doesn’t show up right away, tap Restore Purchases from Account (App Store or Google Play).

Only what’s needed to run your family account: task and approval details, device pairing and status, the installed-app names needed to let you pick what to restrict, and the account information you provide. See our Privacy Policy for full detail.

No. Tasks4Access does not read message content or private in-app content on either platform. See our Privacy Policy for details.

Yes, temporarily. A “Needs More Work” note is kept only long enough for your child to see and act on it, then automatically removed; see our Privacy Policy for exactly how long.

You get a push notification when a task is assigned, submitted, approved, or marked “Needs More Work”, and if a device’s protection is disabled. Every notification is short and generic; it never contains the feedback text itself, which you only see after opening the app. See our Privacy Policy for how notifications are delivered.

Tap “Forgot password?” on the Log in screen. We’ll email you a reset code to enter with your new password.

In the app, go to Account → Danger zone → Delete account. You’ll be shown exactly what happens before you confirm, and you’ll need to re-enter your password to finish. If you no longer have the app installed, see our Account deletion page for how to request it by email instead.

If you’re the only parent in your family, every child, device pairing, task, and app restriction in that family is removed too. If another parent shares your family, only your own login is removed; the family, children, devices and tasks are unaffected for the remaining parent. See our Account deletion page for the full detail.

No. Cancel your subscription first from Account → Manage subscription in the app, or contact us, so you aren’t charged after your account is deleted.