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Koby for Mac: App Store and website versions

You can install Koby on a Mac from the Mac App Store or from our website. The rules are the same in both. They differ in how Koby stops an app when time is up.

Last updated: November 15, 2026EnglishTürkçe

    This page is about Mac only. On iPhone and iPad, Koby comes only from the App Store. On Windows, it comes only from our website. Neither has two versions.

  1. 1What differs

    • When time is up or an app is turned off

      Website version
      Koby hides the app and shows its blocking window. If your child opens the app again within a minute, Koby asks it to quit, the same way Quit in the app's menu does. The app may still ask to save first.
      Mac App Store version
      Koby can't close other apps. It brings its blocking window to the front, over the app. The app stays open behind the window.

    • Protection status in the Koby app and web panel

      Website version
      Protected, when every check passes.
      Mac App Store version
      Partly protected, with the reason: this version can't close apps.

    • Checked by Apple

      Website version
      Notarized by Apple and signed with our Developer ID.
      Mac App Store version
      Reviewed by Apple before it appears in the Mac App Store.

    Everything else works the same in both versions:

    • Daily limit, app limits, schedules, breaks, blocked apps and always-allowed apps.
    • Warnings 5 minutes and 1 minute before time runs out, and asking for extra time from the warning.
    • Time left in the menu bar, the Today list, tasks, stars and the break reminder.
    • What Koby sends you: which apps were used and for how long. Neither version reads the screen, what your child types, window titles or websites.

  2. 2Why they differ

    Apple requires every app in the Mac App Store to run in the App Sandbox. The sandbox keeps an app from interfering with other apps, and that includes closing them. Apple doesn't offer a permission that would let a parental control app in the store close the apps your rules turn off.

    The website version runs outside the sandbox. macOS allows this for apps that are signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple. That is why it can hide an app and ask it to quit when time is up.

  3. 3Which one to install

    For your child's Mac we recommend the website version, because it is the one that can close apps. Choose the Mac App Store version if you only install apps from the store. You'll then see the Mac as partly protected, and the reason why, in the Koby app and web panel.

    In both cases, give your child a standard (not administrator) user account on the Mac. Setup steps are in the help guide.