IOU, Inc

IOU Family

IOU Family

A calmer phone, a safer kid.

IOU Family is a free family focus and safety app for iPhone and iPad. Parents set quiet hours, block distracting apps, and run focus sessions on a child’s device. Adults can use it on their own phone for the same thing. It is built on Apple’s Screen Time framework and made by IOU, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

No account  ·  No ads  ·  No data leaves the device  ·  Free, no paid tier

IOU Family Home screen: blocks holding, tonight's bedtime, and a Start Deep Focus button
Home. Whether blocks are holding, tonight’s bedtime, and one button to start a focus session.
IOU Family New block screen: app picker, bedtime schedule, Save block
Blocks. Pick apps with Apple’s own picker, set a bedtime window, save.

Pre-release build, iPhone simulator. Figures shown are placeholders.

What it does

  • Blocks. Pick apps, categories, or websites. Turn the block on or off with one tap.
  • Bedtime and school hours. Set a repeating schedule. The block turns itself on and off at the times you choose.
  • Deep Focus. A hard lock for a set number of minutes. Once it starts, it runs to the end.
  • Family. Authorize it on a child’s device with Apple’s Family Sharing. The child sees a plain block screen, not a warning.

What it does not do

We would rather say this plainly than have you find out later.

  • It does not read messages, log location, or report what a child does on the phone. Those are different products, sold by other companies, and we are not building them.
  • It cannot stop a determined child. Anyone willing to delete the app or turn off Screen Time in iOS Settings can get past it. No app-only tool prevents that. The app says so on the screen where it matters.
  • It does not replace parental judgment. It supports it.

Why it is free

IOU, Inc. is a nonprofit. There is no paid tier, no upgrade, and no plan to add one.

The bigger problem sits upstream of any blocker. A child’s Social Security Number is exposed in dozens of routine places long before that child owns a phone. IOU is developing the M-Designator, a proposal to mark identity records for minors so those records get different handling. IOU Family is the visible half of that work. The policy proposal is the durable half.

Privacy

IOU Family collects nothing.

  • No account. No email address. No sign-in.
  • No analytics or crash-reporting services. No third-party code of any kind.
  • Screen Time selections are stored on the device as opaque tokens that Apple’s framework provides. IOU never sees which apps you chose. Apple’s design makes that a fact, not a promise.
  • Nothing is transmitted to IOU or anyone else.

Full privacy policy: ioutoday.org/privacy-policy

Under the hood

For anyone who wants to check our claims: IOU Family uses three Apple frameworks and nothing else.

  • FamilyControls asks for Screen Time permission and presents Apple’s own app picker.
  • ManagedSettings applies the block to what you picked.
  • DeviceActivity turns scheduled blocks on and off in the background.

These frameworks only work when Apple grants a developer the Family Controls entitlement, which Apple reviews per app. IOU Family has requested that entitlement as a parental-control app.

Who makes it

IOU, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit formed in Georgia in 2016. It was founded by JD Grant, a service-disabled veteran, and is run day to day by the Grant family with help from contractors. IOU also makes IOUHome, a private family hub for web, phone, and TV, and several free single-purpose apps.

Pilot

Want to try it before it ships?

We are lining up a small group of families for TestFlight. Leave an email and we will write once, when there is a build to try.

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One email. No list, no newsletter.

IOU, the Internet of Us

A free tool from IOU, Inc. Questions: support@ioutoday.org