A chore app only changes behavior if there's a real reason to finish the chore. Stickers, points, and reminder badges work for a while, then quietly stop. taskr is built around a consequence kids feel immediately:
How taskr stacks up against the sticker-and-points chore apps most families try first.
Feature
taskr
Typical chore apps
Real Screen Time — the apps kids actually want unlock when the chore is done
Stickers, points, or virtual coins that lose their appeal
Apps lock automatically the moment a chore goes overdue
A reminder notification you still have to enforce yourself
A photo of the finished chore that you approve or reject
A checkbox the child taps themselves
Built on Apple Family Controls — runs on the device
Honor system, off-device
Shared across your Apple Family — every parent can approve
Depends on the app; often one account per parent
Free on the App Store, no subscription for core features
Frequently a subscription or in-app purchases
Chore created with a due time
Apps stay open before the deadline.
Deadline passes → apps lock
The Screen Time rules you chose fire automatically.
Kid finishes, snaps a photo
One tap from inside the task.
Parent approves → apps unlock
Or reject and the block stays on until resubmission.
taskr is built around an Apple Family, so every parent in the Family Sharing group can assign chores, watch progress, and approve completed tasks from their own phone. It fits the daily-chores stage and the homework-and-teenager stage alike — younger kids earn back apps for tidying and dishes, teens for finishing homework before games unlock.
Setting it up for kids specifically? See the chore app for kids walkthrough, or compare taskr directly with Apple Screen Time on its own.
The best chore app is the one your family actually keeps using — which usually comes down to whether there's a real consequence for skipping a chore. Most chore apps stop at reminders and reward points. taskr ties every chore to Apple Screen Time: when a chore goes overdue, the apps you chose lock automatically, and they unlock once you approve a photo of the finished chore. That immediate, tangible loop is what keeps families coming back.
Sticker-and-points chore apps work right up until the novelty wears off — then they become another reminder you're enforcing yourself. Chore apps work long-term when the reward is something kids already care about. taskr uses the device itself: finish the chore and submit a photo, and the apps come back; let it go overdue and they stay locked. Most parents see arguing drop within the first week.
Yes. taskr is free on the App Store with no ads and no subscription required for the core chore-and-Screen-Time features. It runs entirely on Apple's official Family Controls framework, so there's nothing extra to buy and no hardware to install.
For families on iPhone and iPad, taskr is built around an Apple Family, so every parent in the Family Sharing group can assign chores, see progress, and approve completed tasks from their own phone. Chores, photo proof, and Screen Time consequences all stay in sync across the whole family — no separate logins to manage.
Other chore apps reward chores with stickers, points, or virtual coins, and rely on the honor system for completion. taskr's reward is real screen access, the consequence is automatic, and completion requires photo proof you approve. It's built on Apple Family Controls — the only Apple-sanctioned framework for parental control on iOS — so the blocking actually happens on the device.
taskr is an iOS chore app — it works on iPhone and iPad running iOS 16 or later. The Screen Time consequence runs on the child's own device. If a younger child doesn't have a device yet, you can still use taskr as a chore tracker for them; they just won't have apps to earn back.
Free on the App Store. iOS only. Built for families.