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# How to Set Up "Free Apps" in ScreenCoach that won't consume Tokens or Screen Time?

|| Overview:

If you’d like certain apps (like **Duolingo**) to be used freely — without consuming tokens or screen time — you can easily set them up using a **Free Mode**.

This ensures your child can access educational or creative apps at any time of the day without it reducing their daily allowance.

| Option 1: Create a “Free Mode” for Certain Apps

If you want to allow a group of apps to be used freely (for example, Duolingo or Khan Academy), the best approach is to create a **custom Free Mode**.

**Steps:**

1. Go to Settings > Modes
2. **Create New Mode** and name it (for example, *Free Apps Mode*).
3. Under General Tab > Set the **Time Multiplier** to **0** — this ensures apps used under this mode **do not consume Screen Time or Tokens**.
4. Make sure the **Access Times** of this Mode are set up properly — for example, from **7 AM to 8 PM** — allowing these free apps to be used during the day, but not after bedtime for the days you want these rules to be applied. 
5. Under Apps, Choose "**Allow some apps only**" and select the apps that is allowed to be used for free anytime 
6. ⚠️ Important: The child must **switch to this Free Mode** on their device for apps to be truly free. If they use the same app in another mode, it will still consume Screen Time and Tokens.


| Option 2: Always Allowed Apps

Apps that are **Always Allowed** are available at all times (24 hrs a day)— even when everything else is blocked — but **they will still consume tokens and screen time during Normal Mode** usage, unless used in a Free Mode.

Note that apps in this special “Always Allowed Apps" can continue running even when your screen is locked. This makes them perfect for audio apps that you want to listen to in the background. Normally, using an app consumes screen time, but for these apps, background audio will play without consuming any screen time 🙂

If you want the “**Always Allowed apps**” not to use time allowance, you must:
* Include them in a **Free Mode** (a mode with **zero time multiplier**).
    * Choose “Only allow some apps”
    * If you do not add any other app categories here by default, it will be only the “Always Allowed” Apps that can be used in this mode. 
* Make sure they’re correctly set up under that Free Mode.

This way, the app will remain always available but will not consume Screen Time or Tokens when used. 

**Please note: **
You'll need to teach your children how to switch modes that will quickly remember to switch to the free mode if they know it's not going to use their screen allowance