Lock it to one screen.

SlowTV already hides every menu, library, and app-switcher from your child — up and down change the channel, and that's it. This guide is the last step: stopping a curious kid from leaving the app at all, by turning a spare iPad or Android tablet into a SlowTV-only kiosk. For each platform there are two routes — a full single-app lockdown, or the strongest restrictions you can layer on without kiosk mode.

Full kiosk (recommended)

The device boots into SlowTV and can't leave it. Best for a tablet you dedicate to the TV. Use Guided Access or Single App Mode on iPad; screen pinning or the home launcher on Android.

Max restrictions, no kiosk

Keep the tablet usable for other things, but fence it in hard so SlowTV can't be deleted and little else can be opened. Use Screen Time on iPad; Family Link on Android.

Good to know

Install SlowTV first — grab it from the downloads page. Everyday limits (daily watch time, allowed hours) are set in the parent portal; the steps below only stop the child from leaving the app.

iPad & iPhone

iPadOS has the lockdown built in. Guided Access takes a minute and needs no computer; Single App Mode is the reboot-proof, hands-off version and needs a Mac once.

Option A · fastest, no computer

Guided Access

Locks the iPad to whatever app is open until you enter a passcode. Perfect for handing the tablet over for a viewing session.

  1. 1

    Open Settings → Accessibility → Guided Access, and turn it on.

  2. 2

    Tap Passcode Settings → Set Guided Access Passcode.

    Choose a code only the adults know. You can also enable Face ID / Touch ID as a second way to end a session.

  3. 3

    Optional: set Display Auto-Lock to keep the screen awake.

    Handy if the iPad is acting as an always-on TV rather than something handed back and forth.

  4. 4

    Open SlowTV, then triple-click the top button.

    On an older iPad with a Home button, triple-click that instead. If a shortcuts panel appears, tap Guided Access.

  5. 5

    Tap Options / Session Settings and choose what to disable.

    If you control SlowTV with a Bluetooth remote or keyboard, turn Touch OFF to block stray taps. If you rely on SlowTV’s on-screen two-finger channel knob (no remote), leave Touch ON or the knob won’t work. Leave the volume buttons enabled so volume still works.

  6. 6

    Tap Start.

    To end a session later: triple-click the top button again, enter your passcode, and tap End.

Good to know

Guided Access protects a single power session and can be ended by anyone who knows the passcode. For a tablet that always boots straight into SlowTV and can't be exited at all, use Single App Mode below.

Option B · true kiosk, survives reboots

Single App Mode (supervised)

Apple’s real kiosk lock. The iPad launches into SlowTV, stays there through restarts, and can only be unlocked from the computer that set it up. Free, but it needs a Mac and erases the iPad once.

  1. 1

    Install Apple Configurator on a Mac (free, Mac App Store).

  2. 2

    Connect the iPad with a cable and supervise it.

    In Apple Configurator, Prepare the device with “Supervise devices” turned on. This erases the iPad — the one-time cost of a true kiosk, so do it on a spare or freshly-reset tablet.

  3. 3

    Install SlowTV on the now-supervised iPad.

    Use the TestFlight beta link, or push the app from Apple Configurator.

  4. 4

    Select the iPad → Actions → Advanced → Start Single App Mode.

    Pick SlowTV from the list and apply.

  5. 5

    Done — the iPad is now a SlowTV kiosk.

    It boots straight into SlowTV and can’t leave it. To unlock later, connect it to the same Mac and choose Stop Single App Mode.

Best for a hands-off kiosk

This is the gold standard for a shared, hand-it-to-the-kid iPad. SlowTV detects the supervised lock and engages its own kiosk lockdown automatically — no extra setup in the app.

Option C · keep the iPad usable

Maximum restrictions without kiosk

If the iPad still needs to do other things, Screen Time lets you fence it in hard: SlowTV can’t be deleted, nothing new can be installed, and the hours are capped.

  1. 1

    Settings → Screen Time → turn on, and set a Screen Time passcode.

    Make it different from the device unlock code, and don’t share it with the child.

  2. 2

    Content & Privacy Restrictions → turn on.

    Under iTunes & App Store Purchases set Installing Apps, Deleting Apps, and In-app Purchases to Don’t Allow — now SlowTV can’t be removed and nothing new gets added.

  3. 3

    Allowed Apps → switch off Safari, Camera, and anything else not needed.

  4. 4

    Downtime → schedule the hours the iPad is off-limits.

    Then use “Always Allowed” to whitelist only the apps you want reachable during downtime.

  5. 5

    Hand it over with Guided Access (Option A) for a locked session.

    Screen Time fences the device in; Guided Access pins it to SlowTV the moment you actually give it to the child.

Android tablets & phones

Includes Amazon Fire tablets (paths are named slightly differently per brand). App pinning is the one-tap lock; setting SlowTV as the Home app — or provisioning it as device owner — is the permanent kiosk. Amazon Fire tablets are the exception: Fire OS hides the “Home app” setting, so on a Fire you lock down with app pinning or, for a true kiosk, the device-owner route below.

Option A · fastest, no computer

App pinning (screen pinning)

Pins SlowTV to the screen so it’s the only app reachable until you unpin with your PIN. Built into every modern Android.

  1. 1

    Settings → Security (or Security & privacy) → App pinning.

    On older Android it’s under Advanced → Screen pinning; on Samsung it’s Security and privacy → More security settings → Pin windows.

  2. 2

    Turn App pinning on, and turn on “Ask for PIN before unpinning.”

  3. 3

    Open SlowTV, then open the Recents / Overview view.

    Swipe up from the bottom and hold, or tap the Recents button.

  4. 4

    Tap SlowTV’s icon at the top of its card → Pin.

  5. 5

    To unpin later, enter your PIN.

    Gesture nav: swipe up and hold. 3-button nav: touch and hold Back and Overview together.

Good to know

Pinning lasts for one session and drops after a reboot, and a child who knows the PIN can exit. For a permanent kiosk, set SlowTV as the Home app below.

Option B · true kiosk

Set SlowTV as the Home app (or device owner)

SlowTV is built to run as the device’s launcher, so pressing Home always returns to it. For a fully locked, reboot-proof kiosk, provision it as the device owner.

Simple — no computer (standard Android)

  1. 1

    Settings → Apps → Default apps → Home app.

  2. 2

    Choose SlowTV.

    Pressing Home now always returns to SlowTV. Combine with App pinning (Option A) for a strong lockdown.

Good to know

Amazon Fire tablets are different.Fire OS doesn’t expose a “Home app” choice — Settings → Apps & Notifications → Default Apps only lists a browser — so you can’t set SlowTV as the launcher this way, and Home keeps returning to Fire’s own home screen. On a Fire, use App pinning (Option A) for a quick lock, or the device-owner route below for a fully locked, reboot-proof kiosk.

Advanced — full lock-task kiosk

  1. 1

    Factory-reset a spare device and skip adding any account.

    No Google account on standard Android; on a Fire tablet, skip Amazon registration too. Device-owner provisioning is refused once an account is on the device.

  2. 2

    Turn on Developer options → USB debugging, and install SlowTV.

    On a Fire tablet, Developer options live under Settings → Device Options → tap the serial number 7 times; then enable ADB. Sideload the SlowTV APK from the downloads page.

  3. 3

    From a computer with adb, make SlowTV the device owner (works on Fire too).

    Run adb shell dpm set-device-owner co.slowtv.mobile/expo.modules.kiosk.AdminReceiver.

  4. 4

    SlowTV locks the device down on its own.

    It blocks Back, Home, Recents, and the notification shade, hides the status bar, and re-enters itself on every boot.

Best for a hands-off kiosk

Device owner is the Android equivalent of iPad Single App Mode — the strongest hands-off kiosk. The simple Home-app route is enough for most families.

Option C · keep the tablet usable

Maximum restrictions without kiosk

Google Family Link supervises the device from your own phone — block every app except SlowTV, require approval for new installs, and cap the hours.

  1. 1

    Set the tablet up with a child Google account in Family Link.

    Install the Family Link app on your phone and create / sign the device into the supervised account.

  2. 2

    In Family Link → your child → Controls → Apps.

    Block everything except SlowTV, and require your approval before any new app installs.

  3. 3

    Screen time → Time limits → turn on Daily limit.

    Set per-day amounts and a Bedtime / Downtime window.

  4. 4

    Optional: mark SlowTV as an “Always allowed” app.

    So it still works during downtime if you want a calm wind-down channel.

  5. 5

    On the device, use Digital Wellbeing for extra app timers.

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