This is expected, and it's worth understanding. Balanced Play doesn't reach into a console directly — it drives each platform's own parental controls. Those reach the device on the device's check-in schedule, and only while it's online. So a limit can take a few minutes to land, and a console that's offline won't apply it until it reconnects.
If a limit hasn't landed after a while on a device that's definitely online, email us — that's a real bug and we want it.
Each platform reports play time its own way, and some round or batch it. Small differences are normal. Large ones aren't — send us the child, the platform, and roughly when, and we'll go look at the actual records.
Console and store links (Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, Steam) are set up in the mobile app, not on the web — the sign-in has to happen in the app's browser window to capture the connection. If a link keeps failing, it's usually an expired sign-in on the platform's side: disconnect it in the app and link it again.
The PC agent pairs with your household using an activation code from the app. If a PC stops reporting, confirm the agent is still running and still paired — re-pairing with a fresh code is safe and won't lose history.
Balanced Play is free during early access. There's nothing to cancel and nothing to pay. If that changes, we'll tell you well beforehand, and you'll never be charged without agreeing to it first.
When paid subscriptions start, you'll be able to cancel yourself online at any time — no email, no phone call. Our refund policy is short: ask and you get your money back.
Same address — support@getbalancedplay.com. Balanced Play is small and actively built; a good bug report tends to turn into a fix quickly, and early-access feedback genuinely shapes what gets built next.