Children earn screen time. Parents keep the app free. Same idea, both sides.

Two kinds of tasks, one simple idea

Both are real, both are optional, and both run on the same principle: do a small piece of work, get something back. The children's half first, then the part that makes TheTruthSpy a free parental-control app rather than a trial that nags you for a card number.

Rewards for kids: earn screen time by getting things done

A daily screen-time budget is a fixed number. Rewards are how a child adds to it. You set up tasks, the child completes them, and each finished task adds a set number of minutes on top of that day's budget.

The tasks are yours to write, because every family's list is different. Common ones look like this:

• Tidy your room · 15 minutes
• Read for 30 minutes · 20 minutes
• Homework done and checked · 30 minutes
• Help with the washing-up · 10 minutes

You decide what each task is worth. A quick job earns a little, a real chore earns more. There is no fixed exchange rate baked into the app, so you can tune it until it feels fair for your house and your child's age.

This is what turns the cap into something a child can work with. The budget tells them how much they have. The tasks tell them how to get more. That second half changes the conversation, because now the answer to “can I have longer?” has a route the child controls.

How a child earns and sees their minutes

The child sees their own tasks and rewards on their own phone. Nothing is hidden in a parent-only panel. They open TheTruthSpy, see the list of tasks you have set, and see exactly what each one is worth before they start.

When they finish a chore, they tap Mark done. Depending on how you set the task up, the minutes either land straight away or wait for your quick nod first. Reading and homework are the kind of thing most parents like to confirm; making the bed, maybe not. Both work.

Earned minutes stack on top of the day's budget rather than replacing it. A child on a three-hour weekday who reads for half an hour and finishes their homework is on three hours and fifty, and they can see that figure climb as they tick tasks off. It reads to them as progress, not a favour they had to beg for.

It plugs into the ask-for-more flow

TheTruthSpy already lets a child ask for more time when they run low, and you approve or decline from your panel. Rewards sit right next to that. A child near the end of their budget has two honest options: ask you for extra, or earn it. Some evenings they will ask. Some evenings they will empty the dishwasher instead. Both beat a slammed door, and the second one gets a chore done.

Now the part that is different: TheTruthSpy is free

Here is where the second kind of task comes in. TheTruthSpy does not charge you. There is no paywall in front of the core features, no subscription renewing quietly every month, no “your trial ends in three days” banner. Location, screen time, web filtering and keyword alerts are open to every account.

So how does a free parental-control app keep the lights on? Instead of taking your money, TheTruthSpy lets a parent account complete simple promotional tasks. Each one you finish either unlocks an advanced tool or adds days to your access. You pay with a little word of mouth rather than a card, and if you keep doing the odd task, TheTruthSpy keeps running for free indefinitely.

What the account tasks actually are

These are small, honest things that help other parents find TheTruthSpy:

• Leave an honest review. On Google Play or a review site. Say what you think — good and bad. A true review is worth more to us than a five-star one you did not mean.
• Refer another parent. Someone you know sets up TheTruthSpy through your link, and you both get credit once they pair a phone.
• Share TheTruthSpy on social media. One post to your own feed, in your own words.
• Write about your experience. Publish a short piece on a blog or parenting site about how you use TheTruthSpy, and link to thetruthspy.com.

Complete one and the reward is immediate: access days added to your account, or an advanced tool switched on. The exact reward for each task is shown next to it in your account before you start. You are not scored, ranked or pestered. There is a list, you can look at it whenever, and you do as much or as little as suits you.

Opt-in, always — the base app keeps working

The tasks are optional. If you never complete a single account task, the core app still works. You are never forced to review, share or write anything. Ignore the whole list and TheTruthSpy keeps tracking, keeps reporting, keeps doing its main job.

What the tasks change is reach and runway. Advanced tools come on when you help spread the word, and your access days top up as you go. Do nothing and you are a parent using a solid, free tool. Do the odd task and you are a parent using it with the extras switched on, for longer, still free. There is no version of this where opting out costs you the thing you came for.