Keep Kidube on the screen
With Stay in app on, kid mode holds your child inside Kidube — no swiping away into another app, no store, no browser. The switch lives in Kidube, but the lock itself belongs to the phone, so there is one short setup on the device. Here it is, for both platforms.
Why there's an extra step
Neither iOS nor Android lets an app lock a device down by itself — and that's a good thing, because it means no app can trap you either. The switch belongs to the operating system, so only you can turn it on. It takes about a minute, once per device.
See it in action
Two little demos — what your fingers actually do. The written steps follow below.
iPhone & iPad
Android
iPhone & iPad
Apple calls it Guided Access.
One-time setup
Open Settings → Accessibility → Guided Access and switch it on.
Tap Passcode Settings → Set Guided Access Passcode and pick a code your child doesn't know. Don't reuse the code that unlocks the device.
Switch on Accessibility Shortcut at the bottom of the same screen — that's what makes the triple-click work.
Optional: under Time Limits, add a sound or a spoken warning shortly before time runs out.
Every time you hand the device over
Open Kidube and choose your child's profile.
Triple-click the side button — the Home button on an iPhone or iPad that has one.
Tap Start in the top corner. The screen is now held on Kidube.
To unlock
Triple-click the side button again, enter your Guided Access passcode, then tap End.
If you allowed Face ID or Touch ID for Guided Access, a double-click of the side button ends it as well.
Android
Android calls it app pinning — screen pinning on older versions.
One-time setup
Make sure the device has a PIN, pattern or password. Without one there is nothing for Android to ask for, and the lock can be swiped away.
Open Settings and search for app pinning. It usually sits under Security & privacy → More security settings.
Switch App pinning on.
Switch on Ask for PIN before unpinning — this is the one that matters. Without it your child can leave the app with one swipe.
Every time you hand the device over
Turn on Stay in app (kids lock) for that child in Kidube. Kid mode then pins itself as soon as the profile opens — you don't have to do anything else.
To pin by hand instead: open Recents, tap the small app icon at the top of the Kidube card, then tap Pin.
To unlock
Swipe up and hold on gesture navigation, or hold Back and Overview together if you use three buttons.
Enter the device PIN, pattern or password.
Manufacturers move these menus around. On Samsung it's Settings → Security and privacy → More security settings → Pin app; on Xiaomi, OPPO and others, searching Settings for "pin" is the quickest way to find it.
If it still won't turn on
My child keeps getting out
On Android, Ask for PIN before unpinning is almost certainly off — that single setting is what turns a speed bump into a lock. On iPhone or iPad, set a Guided Access passcode your child doesn't know, and make sure it isn't the same code that unlocks the device.
The triple-click does nothing (iPhone or iPad)
The Accessibility Shortcut is off, or something else is bound to it. In Settings → Accessibility → Accessibility Shortcut, make sure Guided Access is ticked. If more than one feature is ticked, the triple-click opens a small menu instead — choose Guided Access there.
Kidube doesn't pin itself on Android
Three things have to line up: Stay in app on for that child in Kidube, App pinning on in Android Settings, and a child's profile actually open — the lock only applies in kid mode, never while you're in the parent screens.
There's no app pinning in my Settings (Android)
A few manufacturers rename or bury it, and work or school profiles can hide it entirely. Search Settings for "pin" first. If nothing turns up at all, the device's administrator has switched it off and only they can restore it.
Can I lock the device from inside Kidube, without any of this?
No app can, on either platform. An app that could seal a phone shut without the owner's consent would be a gift to malware, so Apple and Google keep that switch to themselves. The one-time setup above is the whole difference.
Still stuck?
Write to support@kidube.com with your device and which version of iOS or Android it runs, and we'll walk you through it. A real person answers every message.