Troubleshooting
Most problems have a one-minute fix. Find yours below — and if it isn't here, write to us, a real person answers.
I can't sign in to the dashboard
Check the email address for typos and use “Forgot password?” on the sign-in screen to set a new password — the link arrives by email (look in spam too). If you signed up but never clicked the confirmation email, find that message and confirm first. If the screen says the service is temporarily unavailable, the problem is on our side: try again a little later, your data is safe.
The confirmation or reset email didn't arrive
Wait a couple of minutes and check the spam folder. Links work once and expire — if the page says the link has expired, request a new one. Still nothing? Email us from the address you registered with.
Windows says “Windows protected your PC” when I run the program
That's the standard warning for new programs that aren't code-signed yet. Click “More info”, then “Run anyway”. Installation guide.
The computer doesn't appear in the dashboard
The program must be started while signed in to Windows as your child, and you sign in to it with your parent email and password. The PC needs an internet connection. The child's card on the Overview shows when the computer was last online.
Limits don't apply — the timer shows no limit
Three things to check in “Kids & limits”. First: is your child's Windows account linked to the child (the “This child's Windows accounts” list)? Without the link the program doesn't know whose rules to use. Second: is there a daily limit or a sleep-mode rule at all? Third: look at the days selected in each rule.
The computer is blocked on a day when it shouldn't be
Check the days in your rules. A daily-limit rule that has only some days selected (say Monday to Friday) currently blocks the computer on the days that are not selected. Open the rule in “Kids & limits” and select all seven days (delete it and create it again if needed).
My child doesn't see the timer
The program probably isn't running. Start child-time-agent.exe again under your child's Windows account — it adds itself to startup and a watchdog restarts it within a minute if it gets closed. If it keeps disappearing, your child may be removing it: give them a standard (non-administrator) Windows account. How to close the gaps.
I'm not getting notifications on my phone
Open the dashboard on your phone and tap “Enable” on the notifications banner (or allow notifications for the site in the browser settings). On an iPhone, first add the dashboard to the Home Screen (Share → “Add to Home Screen”) and open it from there — iOS only delivers notifications to installed web apps. Phone setup. You can also connect Telegram in the “Tasks” tab.
The link for my child's phone doesn't work
The code is single-use and valid for 24 hours. Open “Kids & limits” → “📱 Child's phone” and send the link again, or tap “New code”. Your child must sign up with their own email on their phone — a parent account can't be turned into a child's phone.
A game isn't in the list when I add an app rule
The list shows apps your child has actually opened on that computer in the last two months. Let them start the game once with child-time running; it appears within a few minutes. Set the rule on the game itself, not on Steam or the Epic launcher.
“Take snapshot now” returns nothing
The computer must be on, online and your child signed in to Windows. On an idle PC the program checks for requests about every 30 seconds, so allow up to a minute. Snapshots are always announced to your child.
How do I update the program on the child's computer?
It doesn't update itself yet. In the dashboard open ⚙️ Account → “Remove program from this PC”, wait a minute, then install the latest version again — your children, rules and history stay in your account. What's new.
After an outage or a long time offline the limits look wrong
Restart the child's computer once while it's online: the program reconnects and loads your current rules. Program version 1.0.1 and later keeps applying the latest rules it knows even without a connection.