Help with Tilebird.
Last updated: 18 October 2026
Need help? Email josh@kovus.dev with your iPhone or iPad model, its software version and what happened. Please leave out a child's name and other details about a child. Kovus cannot see the practice stored on your device.
What is Tilebird?
Tilebird: Sentence Builder is a sentence practice app for children on iPhone and iPad, made by Josh Waller, trading as Kovus, in Perth, Western Australia. A grown-up looks after learners, settings and the purchase in Parents, which is protected by a six-digit PIN.
What is free, and what is paid?
Lesson 1 is free. The Starter Course Unlock is a one-time in-app purchase, not a subscription. It unlocks the other 15 lessons of the Starter Course, which has 16 lessons in four units, for every learner on the device. The App Store shows the price before you confirm.
How do I buy it?
From Parents, enter your PIN, choose See the Starter Course, then choose Unlock for the price shown. Each time you tap Unlock, Tilebird asks a new maths question, and the purchase starts only after the right answer. Buying is only in Parents.
How do I restore a purchase?
On a device signed in to the Apple Account that bought it, open Parents, choose See the Starter Course, then Restore purchases. Restoring brings back access to the lessons. It does not bring back practice.
Can I get a refund?
Apple handles refunds for App Store purchases, so ask Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com.
I forgot the parent PIN
On the PIN screen, choose Reset parent PIN, work out the maths question and set a new six-digit PIN. Your learners and their practice are kept.
How do I reset practice or delete a learner?
In Parents, if you have more than one learner, choose the learner under PRACTICE FOR. Then choose Manage followed by the learner's name. Reset practice clears that learner's practice and keeps the learner. Delete learner removes the learner and their practice. Other learners are not affected, and an older device backup is not changed. The privacy policy explains what deleting the app removes.
How does recording work?
Recording is off until a grown-up turns it on in Parents. The first time, iOS asks for permission to use the microphone. A child can then record their own sentence, up to 30 seconds, and play it back. Tilebird tries to delete a recording when the step ends or a grown-up turns recording off. It checks for leftover recordings each time the app opens and tries to remove them, including files left by a force-quit. If removal fails, a file can remain until a later attempt succeeds. Recordings never leave the device and are not marked.
What needs an internet connection?
Tilebird's network use is limited to the App Store (loading the price, buying, restoring and checking whether a purchase is active) and opening the privacy and support pages from Parents. Buying, restoring and opening those pages need an internet connection.
What about a new device or a backup?
Practice is not synced between devices. Restoring a device backup can bring practice back as it was when the backup was made. On a new device without a backup, practice starts fresh, and Restore purchases brings back access to the lessons. If Parents asks you to set up a PIN, work out the maths question and choose a new six-digit PIN.
Privacy
Read the privacy policy. It explains what is stored, what leaves the device, backups and how to delete practice.