Clicky

Join early access

Earnest for parents

Earnest is a screen-time app for parents who are tired of the daily negotiation. Kids earn minutes by finishing tasks you set, you approve each one with a PIN, and earned time unlocks the apps you both agreed on.

The whole thing runs on one honest loop, so you spend less time policing screens and more time watching your kid choose to do the thing that earns them time.

Join early accessSee how it works

What problem does Earnest solve for parents?

Most parental-control apps put you in the role of a warden: set restrictions, watch a feed, hand out punishments. Earnest flips that. Instead of taking screen time away, your child earns it by doing real things, which turns a nightly argument into a clear agreement you both understand.

You stay in control with a PIN

Nothing credits time until you approve it. Your PIN is hashed on the device with PBKDF2, so it never leaves the phone.

You set the deal once

Write quests worth minutes, coins, or both. Make your bed, read a chapter, homework. Kids see exactly what earns what.

Bedtime enforces itself

Bedtime and school windows lock the reward apps automatically, with an easy override for the nights that need it.

No surveillance, by design

Earnest does not read messages, track location, or scan social apps. It unlocks the apps you chose and counts the time.

How does a normal day look?

You write a few quests in the morning, or reuse the daily ones. Your child works through them and taps Done, with an optional photo if you want proof. When you get a moment, you open the approvals queue, glance at what they finished, and approve with your PIN. Approved minutes drop into their Time Bank, and they spend those minutes to open the reward apps you picked. When the minutes run out or bedtime arrives, Earnest locks the reward apps gently, and the cycle starts again tomorrow.

A parent relaxing with a warm cup of coffee in a sunlit kitchen, calm and unhurried

Where is Earnest still early?

Being honest matters more than sounding polished. Earnest is a new app in early access (version 0.1.0) and Android-only, so there is no iPhone or iPad version today. It is not a safety monitor and does not filter the web or track location. On a normal, non-rooted phone the Basic protection mode works with no setup. Blocking uninstalls and locking the whole device to an allowlist need an optional Max protection mode you turn on yourself, and it is never required.

Common questions from parents

Do I need to create an account to use Earnest?

No. Earnest runs on the device with no account, no email sign-up, and no cloud login. You set a parent PIN and that is what protects the controls.

How much time does Earnest take me as a parent?

Most of your effort is writing a short list of quests once, then approving finished tasks with a quick PIN tap. There is no monitoring feed to read and no dashboard to babysit.

Is Earnest available for parents on iPhone?

Not yet. Earnest is Android-only and in early access as version 0.1.0. If your child uses an iPhone or iPad, Earnest cannot help there today.

Keep exploring

See the loop in detail, dig into the controls, or compare Earnest with what you use now.

Join early access