Apps That Lock Your Kid's iPad Until Chores Are Done (2026)

Yes, there are apps that lock your kid's iPad until the chores are done. They all run on Apple's Screen Time system, so the lock holds even if your kid closes the app. The real choice is when the lock happens: only when a chore is late, every day until the list is done, or whenever earned minutes run out.

As of October 2026 there are at least nine iPad apps that tie apps or the whole device to chores: taskr, ChoreKey, ChoreLocks, Carrots&Cake, Chore Champ, Chore Lock, Earn Screen Time, Piggy and Screeni. Most of them launched in 2026, and most have only a handful of App Store ratings, so it's hard to tell them apart from the listings. This page does that. Full disclosure: we make taskr. Everything about the other eight comes from their own App Store listings, read on October 26, 2026.

The nine, at a glance

Three ways to lock an iPad over chores

Locked when a chore is late. The iPad works normally all day. Each chore has a due time, and if it passes without the chore done, the apps you chose lock until you've approved it. A kid who does the dishes on time never sees a lock. taskr works this way.

Locked until the list is done. The apps start locked (from a time you pick) and open once today's chores are finished. ChoreLocks, ChoreKey, Carrots&Cake and Chore Champ work this way. It's the strictest setup, and it means the iPad is off-limits after school until the chores are cleared, every day.

Chores earn minutes. Each chore is worth screen time that goes into a bank, and the apps lock when the bank is empty. Earn Screen Time, Piggy, Screeni and Chore Lock work this way. It's the best fit if your goal is less screen time overall, and the weakest if your problem is one specific chore that never gets done, because a kid with minutes saved up can skip it.

1. taskr: the iPad locks only when a chore is late

Proof: photo, approved by you · Price: free to try; taskr Pro $9.99/month or $49.99/year, first month free · Devices: iPhone and iPad

You create a chore with a due time and pick which apps lock if it's late: usually games, YouTube and whatever the fight is about. If the deadline passes without a photo, those apps lock on your kid's iPad through Apple's Family Controls. Your kid does the chore, takes a photo, and you approve it from your phone wherever you are. The apps unlock the moment you tap approve. Anything you leave off the list, like FaceTime, Messages or school apps, never locks.

Good to know: taskr uses Family Sharing, so the iPad needs to be signed in with your kid's own Apple Account in your family group. If your kid's iPad is still on your Apple Account, set up a child account first (it's free and takes a few minutes in Settings). taskr also doesn't cap total screen time on a day when every chore is done; Apple's own limits handle that. Setup steps are on how it works.

2. ChoreKey: locks at home, $2.99 once

ChoreKey blocks the apps you pick while your kid is at home with chores pending, and lifts the lock when they leave for school or a friend's house. Kids photograph the finished chore; by default the parent approves on the kid's own device in a PIN-protected parent mode, and the $4.99 ChoreKey Plus upgrade lets you approve from your own phone. It keeps everything on the device, with no account. Its listing is written for kids ages 8 to 17 with an iPhone, so check how the home location behaves on a Wi-Fi-only iPad. Phone and FaceTime are never blocked.

3. ChoreLocks: locked until the list is cleared, AI checks the photo

ChoreLocks keeps apps on the kid's iPhone or iPad locked until their chore list is done. Kids submit a photo and an AI checks it against the standard you set; you can override it. You pick when the locks start each day so school mornings stay free, and it adds points, levels and a rewards store. It's free to start, with Basic ($2.99), Plus ($4.99) and Pro ($9.99) tiers or $24.99 to $99.99 a year.

4. Carrots&Cake: the whole device stays locked

Carrots&Cake locks the child's device until tasks are complete and unlocks it automatically afterward. Chores can also earn Robux, and parents can lock the device remotely without cutting the internet. It needs to be installed on both your device and your kid's, and it requires Family Sharing. Its listing doesn't mention photo proof, it was last updated in December 2025, and it shows 2.2 stars from 15 ratings. Subscriptions start at $9.99 a month.

5. Chore Champ: device limits plus points and leaderboards

Chore Champ's Screen Time Manager limits your kid's device use until chores are complete, and the rest of the app is gamified: points, leaderboards and an AI check on chore photos. Plans run from $1.19 a week to $49.99 a year. The listing's last update was April 2025, so confirm it works on your iPad's current iPadOS before paying.

6. Chore Lock: earn the time, then the apps open

Chore Lock keeps the apps you choose shielded until your kid has earned screen time. Kids submit a photo, you approve or send it back, and on paid plans an AI check can clear the obvious ones. Premium Solo is $4.99; the family plan is $11.99 a month or $119.99 a year.

7. Earn Screen Time: minutes for tasks, no Family Sharing

Earn Screen Time (the app calls itself Earn Time) gives each task a minute value, like 20 minutes for cleaning a room. You approve, the minutes unlock, and apps lock again when they run out. Its standout feature is setup: it works with any Apple ID, with no Family Sharing and no child account, syncing through iCloud. $8.99 a month, $34.99 a year, or $69.99 once, after a 3-day trial.

8. Piggy: a screen-time bank

Piggy is the most-rated of the newer apps. Kids do a chore, send a photo, and approved chores add credits to a screen-time bank that unlocks the apps you choose, one minute per credit. Nothing is approved automatically. Plans start at $7.99 a week, with yearly options from $29.99 to $49.99.

9. Screeni: earned minutes inside a schedule

Screeni combines chores with schedules: separate rules for school days, weekends and holidays, each with its own screen-time window and bedtime. Approved chores add minutes, and apps are blocked when the time runs out. Screeni Pro is listed at $4.99 and $39.99.

The free option: Apple's Screen Time, by hand

If your kid's iPad is already in Family Sharing, you can do a rough version for free. On your iPhone, open Settings, then Screen Time, tap your kid's name, and turn on Downtime (called Screen Time Schedules in iOS 27). Turn it off yourself once the chores are done. It doesn't know about chores and you're the one flipping the switch every day, which is the job the apps above take over. Our guide to blocking apps until chores are done walks through both routes.

iPad details that matter before you pick

• Whose Apple Account is the iPad on? Plenty of family iPads are signed into a parent's account. Apps that work through Family Sharing, taskr included, need the iPad on your kid's own Apple Account. Earn Screen Time doesn't.
• Shared iPads lock for everyone. Screen Time follows the account signed into the iPad, not whoever is holding it. If two kids share one iPad, a late chore locks it for both.
• Set a Screen Time passcode your kid doesn't know, and turn off app deletion. Those two settings stop most workarounds. We list the rest in kids bypassing Screen Time: 9 fixes.

How to choose

• You want the iPad to work normally unless a chore is late: taskr.
• You want the cheapest option and chores only matter at home: ChoreKey.
• You want apps locked every day until the list is done: ChoreLocks, or Carrots&Cake if Robux will motivate your kid.
• You want chores to earn screen time: Earn Screen Time if you'd rather skip Family Sharing, otherwise Piggy, Screeni or Chore Lock.
• You don't want to pay and don't mind doing it by hand: Apple's Downtime.

For iPhone-first families, our chore apps that block apps roundup covers Choreio, Chirp and Unrot too.

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