CubTime
← Back to cubtime.com
CubTime
← Back to cubtime.com
Google won't let a new app onto the Play Store until 12 people have tested it for 14 days straight. That's the only thing standing between CubTime and launch. No money and no catch — set up a free account, install an app, and leave it there for a fortnight.
One thing to know before you sign up: Google needs everyone testing at the same time, so nothing happens until we have all 16 volunteers. You won't hear from Google Play until then — possibly a few weeks. We'll email you the moment we're ready.
Loading…
CubTime helps parents manage their kids' screen time — daily limits, bedtimes and schedules that actually hold on the child's device. The app you'd install is the child agent: the part that runs on a kid's phone or tablet.
You don't need children. You'll create a free CubTime account and add a made-up child — "Test Child" is fine — because the app pairs to a parent account and does nothing until it does. After that, installing it and leaving it alone is genuinely enough. If you do want to try it properly, we'd love the feedback, and there's a Feedback page built into the console for exactly that — but it's not the ask.
Android 8.0 or newer. iPhones can't take part — Google's test, Google's rules. An old spare tablet in a drawer works perfectly.
It must be an ordinary adult account. Family Link child accounts cannot join — they'll look like they've joined, then say "item not found" when you try to install. We've been caught by this one already.
We need the Google account address you use on your Android device — that's what gets added to the test. Takes about thirty seconds.
This is the part people find surprising, so we'd rather say it plainly: you will not hear anything from Google Play until all 16 of us are signed up. Google counts testers simultaneously, so enrolling people one at a time achieves nothing — we add everybody in a single batch.
Depending on how fast word spreads, that could be days or a few weeks. Nothing has gone wrong, and you don't need to chase us. The counter above tells you exactly how close we are.
Once the group is complete you'll get a second email from us. That's the one to act on. It walks you through creating a free CubTime account and adding a family with one made-up child.
This part isn't optional: the app you're installing is the half that runs on a child's device, and it sits inert until a parent account pairs with it. Skip this and the app will simply look broken.
Tap the link, tap "Become a tester", install from the Play Store, then enter a pairing code generated in the console — about five minutes. Do the setup in one sitting; backing out halfway uses up the code. Then tap the confirm button so we know you're in.
The minimum we need is that you install it and leave it alone. That's genuinely enough — Google counts testers continuously, so if people drop out and we fall below 12, the 14-day clock restarts for everyone. After the two weeks, uninstall whenever you like.
If you have the time and inclination, we'd really appreciate you actually trying it — set a limit, see what happens, tell us what's confusing. There's a Feedback page built into the console for bug reports and feature requests, and it goes straight to us.
This app's whole job is to lock a device when time runs out. If you're going to experiment with it, please use a spare phone or tablet rather than the one you depend on.
To be precise about the risk, because it's narrower than it sounds:
And if you ever do get stuck, email hello@cubtime.com — we can release any device from our end in seconds.
We'll only ever email you about the test. Remember: the Play invitation doesn't go out until all 16 testers have signed up.
We use your email only to add you to the test and send you the instructions. We don't share it, and you can ask us to remove you at any time by replying to either email. See our privacy policy.
One more person is genuinely the difference between launching and waiting. Send them this page:
cubtime.com/testers