AppCertain Curfew Mode: What It Did and How to Set a Phone Curfew Today

Back in 2013, a small parental control app called AppCertain added a feature parents had been asking for: a curfew mode. With one tap, a parent could switch off the fun parts of a child's iPhone or iPod touch for the night. It was clever for its time. AppCertain is long gone, but the idea it popularized, a phone that goes to sleep when your kid should, is now built into every major phone. Here is what AppCertain did and how to set up the same thing in 2026.

What AppCertain was

AppCertain was a monitoring app for iOS devices, developed by a startup with roots at Carnegie Mellon University. Its main job was to tell parents whenever a new app was installed on their child's device, along with a short profile of that app: what it did, whether it had chat or location features, and whether it might expose kids to mature content.

Because Apple did not offer much in the way of parental controls back then, AppCertain worked by installing a configuration profile, a tool Apple designed for companies managing employee phones. That gave it some control over the device that ordinary apps could not get.

What curfew mode did

Curfew mode was a remote switch. A parent could turn it on from their own phone, and the child's device would lose access to most apps until the parent turned it off again. The idea was to end late-night texting and gaming without having to physically take the phone away.

What happened to it

AppCertain faded away as Apple's own controls caught up. The app is no longer in the App Store, and its web domain is now listed for sale. If you find it in an old list of recommended tools, skip it.

The good news is that you no longer need a third-party app for a phone curfew. Apple, Google and most major apps now have curfew-style features built in, and they are more reliable because they come from the company that makes the operating system.

How to set a phone curfew on an iPhone or iPad

Apple's version of curfew mode is called Downtime, and it is part of Screen Time. If your child has their own Apple Account in your Family Sharing group, you can manage it from your own iPhone.

1. Open Settings and tap Screen Time (or tap Family, then your child's name, then Screen Time).
2. Tap Downtime.
3. Turn on Scheduled and choose the start and end times. You can set different hours for different days, for example later on weekends.
4. Turn on Block at Downtime so the device actually locks apps instead of just showing a reminder.
5. Go back and tap Always Allowed to choose which apps still work during Downtime. Phone and Messages for contacting family are sensible choices; you can limit who your child can communicate with during Downtime under Communication Limits.
6. Make sure a Screen Time passcode is set that your child does not know.

Apple's own help page on using Screen Time with your child has screenshots if you get stuck. There is also a "Turn on Downtime until tomorrow" option for the moments when you need an instant curfew, which is the closest equivalent to AppCertain's one-tap switch.

How to set a phone curfew on Android

On Android phones, Google Family Link handles this.

1. Open the Family Link app on your phone and select your child.
2. Go to Controls, then Screen time.
3. Set a downtime (bedtime) schedule with the hours you want the phone locked.
4. Use the app limits section to allow specific apps, such as the phone app, to keep working.

You can also lock the device immediately from Family Link if you need to.

Curfews inside the apps themselves

Many apps now have their own night-time limits for teen accounts, which work on top of the phone's settings:

• Instagram Teen Accounts have Sleep Mode switched on from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., which mutes notifications and sends auto-replies to messages. Parents who set up supervision can also block the app during certain hours.
• TikTok sets a default 60-minute daily limit for users under 18, and parents using Family Pairing can customize limits and mute notifications at night.
• Snapchat Family Center does not lock the app, but parents can now see how much time a teen spends on it each day.

These are useful backups, but the phone-level Downtime or Family Link schedule is the one that actually stops use.

The low-tech curfew

Software helps, but the most effective curfew is still a physical one: a charging spot outside the bedroom. Many families pick a shelf in the kitchen or the parents' room where every phone, including the adults', sleeps overnight. It removes the temptation entirely and avoids the cat-and-mouse game of kids hunting for loopholes in settings.

If you go this route, an inexpensive alarm clock solves the most common objection ("but I use my phone as an alarm").

Making the curfew stick

Teens are very good at finding workarounds. Changing the device time zone, using a second device or asking a friend to share a hotspot are all common tricks. Keep the Screen Time passcode private, check the Screen Time report each week, and talk about the reason behind the rule: sleep, not punishment. A curfew written into your family media agreement is easier to enforce than one that feels made up on the spot. For a broader look at tools, see our roundup of parental control tools that cover every device in your home.

The bottom line

• AppCertain and its curfew mode no longer exist.
• On iPhone, use Screen Time Downtime with Block at Downtime turned on.
• On Android, use Family Link's downtime schedule.
• Turn on teen sleep and time features inside apps as a backup.
• A charging station outside the bedroom beats any setting.