Choose who it's for
At setup, pick My child or Myself. The rules work the same way; the wording and the safeguards fit who's using it.
Screen time you earn
Minua
Screen time you earn, for your child or for yourself. Time in the apps you want more of unlocks time in the apps you want less of, at the ratio and hours you set. Everything stays on the device.
For your child
For yourself
Ratio 1:1 to 12:1
On-device only
No account
One-time purchase
At a glance
- Price
- One-time purchase, no subscription
- Devices
- iPhone, iPad
- Requires
- iOS 17.4 or later
- Languages
- English, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Hindi
- Age rating
- 4+
- Account
- Not needed
- Ads
- None
- Your data
- Stays on your device
How Minua works
Choose who Minua is for, pick the apps you want more of and the apps you want less of, then set the ratio and the hours. The balance shows minutes earned, minutes used and what's left. When it runs out, the fun apps lock again, and each morning starts fresh.
What it does
One set of rules, whether Minua is on your child's iPhone or iPad or on your own phone. You pick the apps, the ratio and the hours.
Earning apps
Reading, math, languages, workouts, meditation: whatever you want more of. On a child's device, these are the learning apps you choose.
Fun apps
Social media, videos, games. They stay locked until there's time in the balance, and lock again when it runs out.
Your ratio
Anywhere from 1:1 to 12:1. At 6:1, six minutes of earning unlocks one minute of fun.
Allowed hours and a daily cap
Set the hours when fun apps can unlock, plus a daily earning cap. Outside allowed hours, fun apps stay locked.
Fresh every morning
The balance resets every day, so each morning starts with a clean slate.
On your child's device
Set the rules once, then hand over the iPhone or iPad. Your child sees exactly how much time they've earned and what unlocks more: no surveillance, no nagging, nothing sent anywhere.
- Settings and purchases sit behind a 4-digit parent PIN, with a timed lockout after repeated wrong attempts.
- On a child's device in Family Sharing, you approve Minua with your Apple Account, so your child can't switch the permission off or delete Minua without you.
- Setup tips to prevent app deletion and idle earning.
For yourself
For adults breaking their own scroll habit. Put social media, videos and games behind reading, languages, workouts or meditation, and let the scroll wait until you've earned it.
- Put the apps you scroll behind the apps you want to spend more time in.
- Wording written for adults, and a PIN only if you want one.
- Your phone, your rules: you can change them in Settings whenever you decide to. Minua just makes the scroll wait until you've earned it.
In both modes
The same tools, whoever Minua is for.
Weekly chart
See time earned and time played, day by day, across the whole week.
Bonus time
Add +5, +15 or +30 minutes for today.
A heads-up
A notification about two minutes before fun time runs out.
Change your PIN
Update the PIN in Settings whenever you like.
iPhone and iPad
Works on both, in a new night-time Ember Hourglass design.
Works offline
No accounts and no servers, so Minua keeps working without a connection.
Private by design
Most screen time apps ask for an account, then route your routines through a vendor cloud. Minua doesn't. Your settings and your balance stay on the device, and Minua works offline.
- No accounts and no sign-up.
- No servers, no tracking, no analytics.
- App locks enforced at the system level, on the device.
- One-time purchase: nothing to subscribe to.
Built for trust
On-deviceSettings and balance stay on the device.
Built on Apple's parental controlsApps lock and unlock at the system level.
No accountNo sign-up, no cloud, no tracking.
Try it first
Every feature is free for 7 days. After that, a single one-time purchase unlocks the full app. No subscription.
Who it's for
Minua is for parents looking for a screen time app for kids or a parental control app without tracking, and for adults who want an app blocker that makes the scroll wait until they've earned it.
Parents
Connect learning time with fun time on your child's iPhone or iPad, with the rules behind a parent PIN.
Adults breaking the scroll
Earn your social media, videos and games with reading, languages, workouts or meditation.
Privacy-conscious households
No account and no cloud, so nobody's routines end up on a vendor server.
Earning, not arguing
Rewarding useful time is easier to explain and live with than endless fights over limits alone.
Frequently asked questions
Is Minua only for kids?
No. At setup you choose My child or Myself. Parents use it on a child's iPhone or iPad; adults use it on their own phone to break the scroll habit.
Does Minua spy on anyone?
No. Minua has no accounts, no servers and no tracking. Your settings and your balance stay on the device.
How does earning work?
Time in the apps you want more of unlocks time in the apps you want less of, at a ratio you set from 1:1 to 12:1.
Can my child switch Minua off?
On a child's device in Family Sharing, you approve Minua with your Apple Account, so your child can't switch the permission off or delete Minua without you. Settings and purchases sit behind a parent PIN.
Can I change my own rules?
Yes. In Myself mode it's your phone and your rules: you can change them in Settings whenever you decide to. The PIN is optional.
Do I need an account or a subscription?
No account and no sign-up. Every feature is free for 7 days; after that, a single one-time purchase unlocks the full app. No subscription.