OurMinutes Support

OurMinutes is in development for iPhone and iPad running iOS 17 or later. There is no public download yet.

For questions or feedback, email ysh@yishanhe.net. Include your device model, iOS version, app version and the steps that led to an issue. Avoid sending children’s names, household backups, your PIN or recovery code.

Set up your household

New installations start empty. Choose Set up your family, create parent access with a 6–12 digit PIN and save the recovery code. Setup then opens the first child’s profile. A nickname and avatar are enough; you can give opening minutes, add more children in Settings and edit profiles later.

The current version is for a family sharing one device. It has no child accounts, remote approvals or cross-device synchronization.

Can I try it with sample data?

Choose Try demo with sample data on the welcome screen or in Settings. Demo mode opens a separate sample household where you can explore sessions, allowances and the parent ledger. Parent tools are unlocked only for the demo; your real household and credentials stay unchanged. Demo mode sends no notifications and does not export or restore backups.

The Demo mode banner stays visible. Choose Exit demo to discard the sample changes and return to your household.

How are minutes charged?

Select the children participating and a duration. Each child reserves that many minutes from their own balance; the expected charge is shown before starting. There is one household session at a time.

For example, two children who watch together for 20 minutes each spend 20 minutes. Pausing stops the clock and charging until you resume. Ending early returns unused reserved minutes. Record a child joining or leaving so their charge reflects that participation.

A parent can approve a five-minute extension or a free family session with no individual charge. OurMinutes records the family’s selections; it does not detect who is watching or measure unrecorded screen use.

How do allowances work?

From a child’s profile, set a daily or weekly allowance, the first future deposit and whether unused minutes roll over or the balance resets. Changes to allowance rules require no active session.

Due allowances are applied when the app opens or reconciles while in use. If a deposit falls during an active or paused session, it waits until that session finishes. Archived children stop receiving allowances while their history is retained.

Can I correct a mistake?

Open the parent ledger to give minutes or add a balance correction with a reason. Session receipts connect reservations, returned minutes, extensions and corrections. You can correct participation, undo a child’s charge by setting it to zero, or record a missed session. Original charges and later corrections remain visible.

What if I forget the parent PIN?

Use the saved recovery code to choose a new PIN. Recovery gives you a new recovery code; save it in place of the old one. Parent tools lock when the app leaves the foreground or after five minutes. Five failed PIN or recovery attempts cause a five-minute delay.

PINs and recovery codes are not included in household backups. Keep the recovery code separately; there is no developer-operated PIN recovery service.

Will the app stop the TV or console?

No. Your family operates the TV or game and pauses it when time is up. You can enable a two-minute warning and a time-up notification, but Focus, sound settings, permissions and device state can affect delivery. A recovered countdown and a delivered notification are separate things.

How do I back up or move the household?

Use Settings → Backup and restore → Export verified backup to save a copy through Files. Backups contain names, balances, allowances and history. Store them privately and keep a copy outside the app for recovery from device loss or app deletion.

Finish the current session before exporting. Restore requires parent access and no active session in either household. Review the preview before confirming: restore replaces the current household; it does not merge devices. The app preserves the previous file locally before replacement; use Export previous household to save that copy through Files. Parent credentials remain unchanged.

How do I start a new household?

Finish any active session and export a backup first. With parent access unlocked, choose Settings → Backup and restore → Start a new household and confirm. This replaces profiles, balances and history with an empty household while keeping your parent PIN. A local copy of the previous household is preserved; use Export previous household to save it outside the app.

Read about privacy and terms of use.