Last updated: July 10, 2026
Normally you disconnect from the parent's device with "Disconnect". If the parent's device isn't available right away, you can release the lock from the child's device as follows.
On the child's device, open the iOS "Settings" app and tap in this order.
This releases Mimarimo's lock (the device passcode is required, but no Screen Time passcode is needed).
In this mode, the lock can't be released from the child's device. The parent should do the following from a new device.
The settings sync to the child's device over the network and the lock is released. You don't need to touch the child's device.
First, check that iOS "Settings" → "Screen Time" → "Mimarimo" is ON on the child's device. If it's OFF, Mimarimo can't lock or unlock anything.
Next, check that notifications are turned on for Mimarimo on the child's device (turn on "Notifications" for Mimarimo in the Settings app — depending on your iOS version, it's under "Settings" → "Mimarimo" or "Settings" → "Apps" → "Mimarimo"). If notifications are off, switches won't reach the child's device while Mimarimo is closed (they will apply the next time Mimarimo is opened). We strongly recommend keeping notifications on so switches arrive right away, from anywhere.
Right after toggling Screen Time ON/OFF on the child's device, the change may not reach the Mimarimo app immediately (this is how iOS works). Please fully quit Mimarimo on the child's device and open it again — the latest state will then be reflected.
How to fully quit an app:
If it still doesn't work, please reach out via the contact form.
You can now control the child's device from the new parent device. Your one-time purchase is tied to your Apple Account, so it carries over to the new device (and with Apple Family Sharing it's automatically shared with other parents in your family).
Deleting the app does not immediately remove the connection with your child's device.
The stronger protection provided by Family Sharing (such as preventing app deletion) is verified to work when the child's device runs iOS 26 or later. On iOS 17–25, the Family Sharing link itself is established, but the protection may not take effect.
Keeping your child's device updated to the latest iOS gives you the most reliable protection.
Using Family Sharing also requires the following.
Once these are in place, opening Mimarimo on the child's device links it with Family Sharing automatically — no manual steps needed.
If you're repurposing a previously used iPhone or iPad for your child, be sure to erase (reset) the device first, then set it up with your child's Apple Account.
Just signing out of your own Apple Account in "Settings" and signing in with your child's account can leave the previous account's configuration on the device, which may prevent Family Sharing and Mimarimo from linking correctly.
How to erase:
Then install Mimarimo and you're ready to go.
Reference: Apple Support — What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone
Delete Mimarimo from the child's device and install it again. This returns it to the initial state (no pairing, no authorization). Then get a new code on the parent's device and reconnect.
Yes. iOS system apps such as Phone and Messages are not subject to Mimarimo's lock, so emergency contact stays available.
That said, this is a property of iOS itself, and we can't guarantee that emergency communications will always get through.
Mimarimo is designed as a remote for parents to stay close during the years when self-control is still hard — mainly preschoolers (ages 3–6) through elementary schoolers.
Mimarimo technically works for older children too, but we don't recommend it.
Using a lock against the will of a child who is old enough to reason tends to erode trust and invite workaround-hunting and pushback. What that age really needs isn't a parent who stops them, but the transition to keeping promises and self-regulation.
Also, once a child understands how Apple Accounts and passcodes work, technical loopholes appear (borrowing the parent's device, coaxing out the passcode, and so on). We see this not as a weakness but as a reflection of what Mimarimo is: a remote for promises, not enforcement.
When your child outgrows it, simply stop using Mimarimo. It's a one-time purchase, so there's nothing to cancel — just delete the app.
We call it a remote for keeping promises.
It uses the same mechanism as iOS "Screen Time" (Family Controls), but the goal is not surveillance or stricter restrictions — it's making the promise between parent and child visible on the device. It has no location tracking, web history, social media monitoring, or screen-time statistics (it simply switches between "you can play" and "sleeping" at the parent's tap).
For anything else, please reach out via the contact form.