Practical help for life across two homes

How your child's phone works

Child mode in TwoNest 1.3 answers one simple question: Whose home am I going to? A parent links the phone with a code, without creating an account for the child.

Link the phone

1. Open your family in TwoNest on a parent's iPhone. Check the agreed parenting schedule first.
2. Go to Profile → Child's own phone and choose Create code for the correct child.
3. Install TwoNest on your child's iPhone. Choose “I'm a child and have a code” on the welcome screen.
4. Enter the code and choose Link phone. Check today's home and the next handover together.

The code works once and expires after 24 hours. A new code replaces an earlier unused code. Share it only with the phone you want to link. Up to four phones can be linked per child.

What your child sees

A bright star and a little 3D home show where your child is going today. Your child can look inside the house and choose a dog or cat. Below are the next six days, with the homes' labels and any agreed handover time. Use the labels that suit your family. Only the agreed schedule is shown; an unanswered swap proposal does not change the child's plan.

The new design is part of version 1.3.1 and is awaiting Apple’s approval. Parents can preview the child view in Profile → Child’s own phone; the preview does not sign you out or give a child access to the parent area.

Parent content stays separate

The child's phone cannot access moments, photos, expenses, messages, the child's practical card or the parents' other tabs. It has no ordinary parent account. Child mode needs no separate subscription.

Updates and offline use

The phone fetches the plan when opened or refreshed. Without a connection, it can show the last downloaded plan with an explanation. A parent's app needs to be opened regularly to keep the days up to date. At most 42 days are published from the latest update; after that, the app explains that the plan is out of date.

Stop access

A parent chooses Unlink phone under Child's own phone. This stops all phones for that child and any open codes. Your child can also unlink their own phone from the three-dot menu. Archiving the child unlinks their phones. An offline phone may retain an earlier downloaded plan until it contacts the server and recognises the revocation.

If the code does not work

Check that the code is for the right child, unused and unexpired. Ask a parent to create a new code. Many wrong attempts may temporarily limit further attempts for an hour. Paused family sharing can also prevent new links. Contact [email protected] for help, without sending the code itself.

Read next: getting started with your parenting schedule.