Our Complete Guide to OurPact

Why OurPact?

What sets OurPact apart from Apple’s Screen Time is:

The Parent-friendly user interface

  The easy Block and Grant screen time feature

  Multiple Schedules (school vs. summer)

  Multiple Blocks in 1 Day (Bedtime AND School)

 Easy-to-setup parental controls

 

When your child has a schedule switch up, OurPact can accommodate. You can easily create multiple schedules and save them. You can also control every single app as compared to other third-party competitors which just focus on a bundle of the most popular ones. Lastly, OurPact reduces Apple’s labyrinthine maze of parental controls to one screen for easy setup of the most important ones. To get the full benefits of OurPact, we recommend the Premium version ($6.99/month). Our Friends say it’s the best money they’ve ever spent!

Click below to see OurPact in action: 

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Setting Up OurPact

Before You Begin

 You’ll need a computer to set up OurPact 
 Time required: ~30 minutes
  Here’s What You’ll Need:
  • Your child’s device and device passcode
  • Your child’s Apple ID password if Find My iPhone is enabled
  • An Apple-supplied USB cable
  • Access to Safari from your child’s device

  We recommend adding your Touch ID to your child’s device to simplify setup (Go to Settings, Face ID/Touch ID & Passcodes). You may also find it useful to have a second screen to reference this guide during setup.

Here’s what to expect during setup:

During the Set Up Process, you will:

  • Create an OurPact account from your computer or login on your computer if you’ve already created one
  • Connect your child’s device using a USB cable (this allows you to manage your child’s device from the parent app)
  • Not worry when your child’s device restarts and appears as it’s being set up for the first time
  • Install OurPact Jr on your child’s device via this setup process 

Post setup, download the parent app, OurPact, to manage settings from your phone

 Set Up for New OurPact Premium Users 

Start here if you are new to OurPact or upgrading to the Premium (the $6.99/month version)

Step 1: From your computer, go to Ourpact.com to set up your parent account

Step 2: After setting up your account, you are directed to this screen, click the Account icon at the top right:

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Step 3: Next, make sure that $6.99 Premium option is selected, and scroll down to click Try Premium for Free. Next you will enter your credit card details and confirm that you want to upgrade to Premium. When Upgrade is clicked, you will get a popup (3rd screenshot below). Just click OK.

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Step 4:On the next screen, select OurPact’s logo (top left).  

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Step 5: Select iOS device, then if using a Mac, select Download for Mac. Go to your Downloads folder, and double click the OurPact Utility to launch it. Click the utility to drag it into the Applications folder. For other types of computers, go to your downloads folder and follow the same procedure. 

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Step 6: Select the OurPact utility from your Applications folder, double-click it to launch and select Unlock Premium

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Step 7: Now on your child’s device , be sure Find My (iPhone) is turned off: Go to Settings, tap on your child’s profile, tap iCloud, tap Find My and toggle it off. Next go to the App Store and download OurPact Jr. on your child’s device. We will set it up in a later step. 

Step 8: Connect  your Child’s Device to your computer with an Apple-supplied USB Cable and WAIT. Confirm that your computer recognizes your child’s device is connected BEFORE selecting Start. 

Here’s what you can expect:

Step 9: Your child’s device will restart. When the restore is complete:

  • Open Safari and go to pair.ourpact.com on your child’s device
  • You will be asked to enter your OurPact account email and password
  • If prompted to save the password, select Never on this Device (otherwise, your kids may be able to access the password)
  • Select Add Child, enter how you want to name the device, and click Assign *

*You can assign multiple iOS devices to the same child which means one Allowance time across both. However, we generally recommend creating separate profiles for iPads and iPhones , so that phones can be used for communication purposes and iPads for entertainment. When adding a child, name the “child,” for example, as Emma’s iPad and Emma’s iPhone. With two different profiles, your child can have more flexibility to text and FaceTime throughout the day, but you can still schedule the device to shut off at bedtime. When kids are older and start using social media (usually on iPhones), you can use Apple’s Screen Time to set specific time limits for social media apps if desired. For example, if you give your child a 2 hour allowance, you can set a limit to make sure they don’t spend the entire time on Instagram.

 

Step 10: Select Pair 

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Here’s what comes next:

Step 11: Once the OurPactProfile is downloaded and installed go back to Safari on your child’s device and go to: pair.ourpact.com. Select install OurPact Jr.

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Set Up for Existing OurPact Premium Users 

Start here if you want to Add a Child or Device

Step 1: From your computer, log into your OurPact account by going to Ourpact.com

Step 2: Select the Add Child icon

Step 3: Select iOS device, then if using a Mac, select Download for Mac. Go to your Downloads folder, and double click the OurPact Utility to launch it. Click the utility to drag it into the Applications folder. For other types of computers, go to your downloads folder and follow the same procedure. 

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Step 4: Select the OurPact utility from your Applications folder, double-click it to launch and then select Unlock Premium

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Step 5: Now on your child’s device , you’ll need to turn off Find My: Go to Settings, tap on your child’s profile, tap iCloud, tap Find My and toggle it off. Next go to the App Store and download OurPact Jr. on your child’s device. We will set it up in a later step. 

Step 6: Connect  your Child’s Device to your computer with an Apple-supplied USB Cable and WAIT. Confirm that your computer recognizes your child’s device is connected BEFORE selecting Start. 

Here’s what you can expect:

Step 7: Your child’s device will restart. When the restore is complete:

  • Open Safari and go to pair.ourpact.com on your child’s device
  • You will be asked to log into your Ourpact account
  • If prompted to save the password, select Never on this Device (otherwise, your kids may be able to access your account password)
  • Select Add Child, enter how you want to name the device, and click Assign*

*You can assign multiple iOS devices to the same child which means one Allowance time across both. However, we generally recommend setting up phones for communication purposes and iPads for entertainment. That way your child has more flexibility to text and FaceTime throughout the day, but you can still schedule the device to shut off at bedtime. When kids are older and start using social media, you can use Apple’s Screen Time to set time limits on the phone if desired.

Step 8: Select Pair 

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Here’s what comes next:

Step 9:  Go back to Safari on your child’s device and go to: pair.ourpact.com. Select install OurPact Jr.

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Once you’ve completed setup and OurPact JR. is installed on your child’s device, you can create Schedules,  set App Rules, grant Allowance Time from your parent account. Do from your computer or download the parent app.

Before proceeding, be sure to turn Find My iPhone back on (Settings > Your Child’s Account > Find My or Find iPhone > toggle ON. You will also likely want to toggle on Enable Offline Finding and Send Last Location.

 Best Practices for Using OurPact

  How to Create Schedules

From the Schedule tab, you can create multiple schedules. The important point to understand is that you are essentially telling OurPact when to block your child’s device. You can:

  • Set multiple block periods throughout the day
  • Create different schedules for when you’re on vacation as compared to a normal school week.

Here’s an example when you want: 

  • Devices are shut off at 8:30 pm every night
  • No screen time allowance during the school week
  • Screen time on Friday can begin at 4 pm
  • Devices are available on Saturday and Sunday from 8 am until 8:30 pm 
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Note: When the Allowance time runs out, the device will default back to the Schedule mode for the next day. If you want to extend screen time, just use the Grant feature:

  How to Set App Rules

From App Rules tab, you can designate each app as: 

Always Blocked – you can grant access as needed

Counted as part of Allowance time 

Always On – these apps are on 24/7, regardless of whether you’ve scheduled a block

How to Set Allowance Time

Parents can set a daily screen time allowance.
From the Allowance tab:

  • Slide Allowance to the ON position
  • Define allowance for each day of the week

Now your children’s devices will be governed by Allowance time. They can decide how to budget their time within the Schedules that you’ve set. Because they need to start and stop their screen time using the OurPact Jr app, children learn that technology has an on and off switch. This helps them to build self-regulation skills and makes them more aware of their digital habits. Best of all, you know their devices will shut off automatically without requiring any intervention from you. 

  How to Set Other Parental Controls

From the world tab location sharing, parents can set other parental controls. The ones to focus on include: 

  • Blocking Adult Content and Always Blocked Websites (some parents like to include Youtube
  • Limit Ad Tracking
  • Disable AirDrop (to prevent photos from being shared from strangers)
  • Require Purchase Password
    • We leave this off
    • Either block the App Store or use Apple’s Ask to Buy feature to require your permission to approve downloads
    • We think in-app purchase to remove ads is worth the money
  • Disable Passcode Changes
  • Disable Factory Reset

Note: While OurPact Jr. must remain installed on your child’s device, do not select Disable App Removal because we’ve found it glitchy. Alternatively, use Our Family Agreement to set the expectation, or use Apple’s Screen Time to prevent kids from deleting OurPact Jr. by selecting Don’t to delete apps (found in Content & Privacy Restrictions > iTunes and App Store)

 How to Set Up Different Profiles For iPads and iPhones

We’ve found that when children have access to multiple devices, it can be helpful to set designate the phone for communication purposes and the iPad for entertainment. Then it’s easy to establish different use parameters. 

For example:

  • You may not want to subject the phone to Allowance time 
  • You may not want the phone to have a different bedtime than the iPad
  • You may want the block and grant access differently

OurPact makes this easy to do because setup is by device (not user as with Apple’s Screen Time). 

What Parents Should Know

  How OurPact Works from Your Child’s Perspective 

  • To use Allowance time, your child must open OurPact Jr. and press the play button.
  • To stop the clock on Allowance time, your child must hit the pause button.
  • When Allowance time runs out, your child’s device will go into the Block mode.

In this way, OurPact Jr can help to teach children self-regulation skills.

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our pact, time, allowance, block, location

How to Keep Your Kids from Getting Annoyed 

OurPact’s technology may scramble how apps are organized on a child’s device. It’s easy to prevent this from happening:

  • From your child’s device, tap into Ourpact Jr., tap the App organizer
  • Turn on the App Organizer feature
  • Organize App
  • Select Save(top left)

What to Do When You Travel 

Allowance time does not work without a WiFi or cellular connection. Similarly, your kid’s devices cannot receive a screen time grant without the internet. To ensure a smooth journey and happy kids:

  • Use the Grant access mode rather than Allowance time when you’re en route.
  • Be sure the grant went through before you leave the house.

Connecting to a Personal Hotspot or WiFi at the airport can serve as a plan B, just do it before that flight takes off!

What to do if OurPact isn’t working

On occasion, a child’s device can become unpaired (this can happen completely independently of any action your child might take). You should receive an email to your account email or you’ll see a warning signal when you check your child’s profile:

 

To get OurPact working again, on your child’s device , go to pair.ourpact.com and follow the instructions.

How to Prevent Your Child from Hacking OurPact

When kids know their parent’s device passcode, they may be tempted to make changes to OurPact settings. Prevent this by locking your parent account:

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From within the parent app, make sure you’ve activated these setting under the location sharing

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OurPact


During setup, OurPact requires you to log in to your Parent Account from the child’s device.  For some of us, saving passwords is so routine, that you may have accidentally done this in the setup process.  Some wily kids may discover OurPact password credentials.
To check on their device , go to:

  • Settings
  • Passwords & Accounts
  • Website & App Passwords
  • Swipe left to delete



Why OurPact and Screen Time
Work Better Together

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