Getting Started Guide

Set up FadeTube
in under 5 minutes

Everything a parent needs to know — from first launch to handing the tablet to your child.

Open FadeTube →
What is FadeTube?
A calm, kid-safe YouTube experience with a built-in wind-down

FadeTube gives children access only to the YouTube channels you approve. As the session nears its end, the screen very gradually loses colour — invisibly in the moment, but perceptibly in retrospect — until the child naturally puts the device down.

Zero infrastructure No server, no database, no account. Everything lives in your browser.
Zero data egress Settings are stored locally on your device. Nothing is transmitted anywhere.
Free, forever No subscriptions, no paywalls, no ads. One optional "Buy Me a Coffee" link.
Runs inside kiosk mode Designed for iOS Guided Access or Android kiosk mode — no browser chrome visible.
How the fade engine works
Imperceptible in real time, noticeable in retrospect

You set a session duration (e.g. 45 minutes) and a fade start time (e.g. 30 minutes). For the first 30 minutes the screen is full colour. Then it very slowly reduces saturation over the remaining 15 minutes — one step per minute using a 60-second CSS transition.

Session start — full colour Fade begins Session end
0 min 30 min 45 min

When the session ends, a gentle end-of-session screen appears — no alarm, just a friendly message encouraging the child to rest their eyes.

Step-by-step setup
1
Open FadeTube for the first time

Visit fadetube.com (or open the local file) in Safari on iOS or Chrome on Android. You'll see the welcome screen. Tap Set up for your child.

2
Choose a parent challenge

Pick how you'll unlock the parent panel later. Options are a maths puzzle, a PIN, or a dot-grid pattern. The answer is hashed — it's never stored in plain text.

🧮 Maths puzzle — a random arithmetic question each time
🔢 PIN — 4–6 digit numeric code
◾ Pattern — connect dots on a 3×3 grid
3
Set session duration and fade timing

Choose how long a session lasts and when the fade kicks in. Defaults are a good starting point: 45-minute session, fade starts at 30 minutes, minimum saturation 20%.

4
Set the schedule

Choose which days and hours screen time is allowed. Outside those hours the child sees a friendly locked screen instead of the app grid.

5
Add your approved YouTube channels

In the parent panel under App Configuration, paste in a YouTube channel handle or playlist URL. Only those channels will appear in the child's grid.

YouTube Premium tip FadeTube works best with YouTube Premium — it removes ads from embedded videos. Without it, pre-roll ads may appear inside the player.
6
Enable kiosk mode on the device

This is the most important containment layer. It prevents the child from switching tabs, entering a URL, or pressing the home button.

7
Hand the device to your child

That's it. FadeTube runs itself. The session timer starts automatically when the child opens the app within the scheduled window.

Enabling kiosk mode

Kiosk mode prevents children from leaving the browser. Set it up before handing over the device.

 iOS — Guided Access

  1. Settings → Accessibility → Guided Access
  2. Turn Guided Access on
  3. Set a Guided Access passcode
  4. Open FadeTube in Safari
  5. Triple-click the side button
  6. Tap Start

🧠 Android — Kiosk / Pin Screen

  1. Settings → Security → Screen Pinning
  2. Turn Screen Pinning on
  3. Open FadeTube in Chrome
  4. Open Recents, tap the app icon
  5. Tap Pin this app
Note on security scope FadeTube is designed for young children (under ~10) in a supervised environment. A determined older child with DevTools access can clear localStorage — that's accepted and documented. The QR backup below is the recovery path.
Accessing the parent panel
Long-press the clock or tap the lock icon

A challenge overlay appears before any settings are shown. After 3 wrong attempts there's a 60-second cooldown to prevent brute-force by a child watching over your shoulder.

What you can do in the parent panel

Add 15 minutes to the current session  ·  End the session early  ·  Reset to full colour  ·  Add or remove channels  ·  Change session duration and fade settings  ·  Change the schedule  ·  Change your challenge type or answer  ·  Back up and restore settings via QR code

Found a bug or have feedback? Report issues and suggest improvements on GitHub — the quickest way to get help or share ideas.
Open an issue ↗
Backup & restore (no cloud needed)
Print a QR code — your offline backup

In the parent panel under Backup & Restore, tap Generate Backup QR. Screenshot or print the QR. If the browser is ever cleared — after an update, privacy wipe, or new device — scan the QR to restore all your settings instantly.

Important The QR backup does not include your challenge answer (PIN / pattern / maths hash). You'll be asked to re-enter it fresh after scanning. Keep your answer somewhere safe.
Philosophy

FadeTube runs entirely on your device. There are no servers, no user accounts, no analytics, and no data transmitted anywhere. All settings live in localStorage. Session state lives in sessionStorage and resets naturally when the tab is closed. The only external requests are Google Fonts on load and YouTube's embed player when a child opens a channel.

Ready to get started?

Open FadeTube and follow the in-app setup wizard. It takes under 5 minutes.

Open FadeTube →