If it were an option, androids implementation worked perfectly. I only 'had' to swap to ios because childs friends have iphones. Screen time has been a nightmare to contol & my child knows it!
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Apple Acknowledges Screen Time Bug, Promises Further Improvements
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I've been having to do the config on each device and not rely on doing it remotely as I've been seeing issues where the settings aren't working at all.
I see we’re at the “Apple PR confirms there is a bug affecting a very small number of users,” state of the Apple support chain. Prepare to not really ever hearing anything again from Apple about this. Their processes say this has been addressed, so poof, it’s gone.
Looks like I’m one of the lucky ones. I use Family Sharing for my 3 kids (ages 11, 7, and 7,) and manage Screen Time from my phone. It’s not perfect, but Downtime generally works and the Always Allowed apps feature works. I do wish I could specify more than one time window, such as 7pm-7am and 10am-2pm on the same day etc. Also I couldn’t create a Shortcut to speed up changes to downtime windows. But aside from that, I’m pretty golden (plus I’m lucky that my kids aren’t circumventing and glitching their iPads yet.) Added bonus: these devices are enrolled & supervised in Apple Business Manager for my business…
Would be nice, I've been trying to figure this out with tech support for months now. Downtime settings just disappear, sometimes minutes after being set. My kids struck gold with hours and hours of Minecraft and YT Kids. They also have a bug where my AW isn't getting screentime requests, another one I've had with their "high level" engineers for 5 months now.
I've been an Apple user since... well, pre-Macintosh. And with that said, Screentime has got to be one of the most disappointing Apple products/features I've ever encountered.
I just don't trust it. My teens are able to circumvent it in... minutes. It's almost worse than nothing because you expect it to work for your kids, then suddenly you realize it doesn't.
I just don't trust it. My teens are able to circumvent it in... minutes. It's almost worse than nothing because you expect it to work for your kids, then suddenly you realize it doesn't.
Seriously this. It works one time and then when the next request comes in it doesn't work. This use to work flawlessly and stopped a couple versions ago (I want to say in the middle of iOS 16, maybe slightly before in the beginning).
My screen time worked perfectly right up until I upgraded from my iPhone 7 to a 14 pro. After that it was glitchy and limits/restrictions would reset all the time and disappear randomly. This went on for months and I contacted apple support many times and they said they were aware of the issue and gave me steps to follow that never worked. This was so frustrating and I basically gave up….
A few months later around iOS 16.4.1 it randomly began working perfectly across all my kids 3 devices out of the blue. I did nothing so apple had to have been doing something server side. So this surprises me to see this is a still a bug for people. I guess they need to keep working on their code! Maybe it has something to do with different combos of devices and iOS versions. I have a 14 pro, one kid with a 13 and the 2 others with iPhone 7’s.
A few months later around iOS 16.4.1 it randomly began working perfectly across all my kids 3 devices out of the blue. I did nothing so apple had to have been doing something server side. So this surprises me to see this is a still a bug for people. I guess they need to keep working on their code! Maybe it has something to do with different combos of devices and iOS versions. I have a 14 pro, one kid with a 13 and the 2 others with iPhone 7’s.
Okay, good. I'm not crazy. I kept accusing my kids of guessing the screen time PIN and resetting it. Guess I have some apologies to give.
Absolutely still a bug. My wife gets the requests, my Mac gets the requests, but my iPhone does not. On my Mac, I need to manually launch go to system settings to find and approve the request, because the review button does not do anything. The review button for app approvals works, but I still don't get those requests on my phone. About a year ago the situation was reversed, I would get the requests and my wife would not. It's quite frustrating how unreliable this is.
So, whenever I notice my phone stops getting notifications (and/or they only come in on my mac) it's usually because I need to install an update on one or several of my devices.
Actually, most of my issues (many with syncing) are due to an update and upon updating, the issue remedies itself.
I can see the screen time issues being discussed here being a result of updates resetting them. I have no evidence of it, but I will test it with one of my kids' iPads to see.
Actually, most of my issues (many with syncing) are due to an update and upon updating, the issue remedies itself.
I can see the screen time issues being discussed here being a result of updates resetting them. I have no evidence of it, but I will test it with one of my kids' iPads to see.
Apple needs to look to microsoft for some ideas here. The family safety app foir windows and xbox is way better. I can sent 0 screen time and approve any time my son asks for.
Screentime....I love to hate you.
Screentime can block all websites but if you ask Siri about bikini models then Siri will do a web search and show you bikini model images. There are so many holes in screen time that the children find and exploit. One of the big ones is how Siri can completely do its own things.
Children and phones ultimately come down to trust. We have limits but you also need to trust your kids will be on the same page about what is appropriate or not. But taking away phones is the best approach and most certain approach.
Screentime can block all websites but if you ask Siri about bikini models then Siri will do a web search and show you bikini model images. There are so many holes in screen time that the children find and exploit. One of the big ones is how Siri can completely do its own things.
Children and phones ultimately come down to trust. We have limits but you also need to trust your kids will be on the same page about what is appropriate or not. But taking away phones is the best approach and most certain approach.
I apologize and don't mean to sound condensing, however, from your comment, it appears you are not a parent, or at least not a parent of children above the age of 5 or 6.
Please understand that it is impossible to monitor what your children are doing on a mobile device without literally watching them interact with it. This is the point of parental controls. Apple blocks third-party parental controls because of Screen Time. If Apple's own parental controls don't work, the only option is to restrict physical access to the device.
Unfortunately, many parents find this difficult as kids expect to maintain access to their devices. As such, Apple's negligence in this area results in kids being hurt both by those intentionally looking to do harm, and, as is far more often, by a child's curiosity in searching online for something innocent and being shown something far from it.
I recently posted a comment about Twitter changing to X, wherein children who are searching to X posts, may, inadvertently, find something far from Tweets from classmates.
A society is only as good as we can protect our children from harm.
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Common nonsense comment.
The parents who are actively involved in their children are the ones who want this feature to work. Do you think actively involved parenting means looking over your childs shoulder at their phone 24*7? Technology problems usually need technology solutions. As the meme says modern problems require modern solutions.
While I am not a parent, I do have Screen Time enabled for myself on my iPhone. This is purely to preserve what mental sanity I have left. Only my wife knows the passcode for screentime. I give myself 5 minutes of Facebook and Instagram a day and when they time out, I'm out for the rest of the day. It does what I need I need it to do but it's far from perfect.
Example: I made the monumental mistake of jumping onto the TikTok bandwagon recently and while I set a 10 minute allotment for the app in Screen Time, I'm finding the app isn't timing out after those 10 minutes are up. Next thing I know, I'm down the rabbit hole for the next hour and the whole day has flown by. Not sure if that is related to this bug or not but like I said, Screen time is FAR from perfect.
Example: I made the monumental mistake of jumping onto the TikTok bandwagon recently and while I set a 10 minute allotment for the app in Screen Time, I'm finding the app isn't timing out after those 10 minutes are up. Next thing I know, I'm down the rabbit hole for the next hour and the whole day has flown by. Not sure if that is related to this bug or not but like I said, Screen time is FAR from perfect.
"A" bug, like in a single bug??? LOL.
There must be DOZENS of bugs in ScreenTime. What a pathetic POS. My 9 year old constantly bypasses it no matter what I do. What a joke! Apple, shame on you.
Ordering a Synology router tonight before the new school year starts. It has the best parental controls and for free.
There must be DOZENS of bugs in ScreenTime. What a pathetic POS. My 9 year old constantly bypasses it no matter what I do. What a joke! Apple, shame on you.
Ordering a Synology router tonight before the new school year starts. It has the best parental controls and for free.
Screen Time likes to report that I’ve been on my phone for over 18 hours a day because it detects some website running in the background.
As much as I enjoy using Apple devices, as a parent I disagree with the focus on the latest OS version. Some parents (myself included) hand down older devices. They need to be supported too. Having to buy a new device for the sake of using ScreenTime properly is just wrong, preying on worries of device misuse.
Pplaying Big Brother on your children is not teaching them or learning them anything. You know what does? Trusting them to more or less follow the boundaries you set for them, not by pressing a button on a phone, but a boundary you're telling, teaching and explaining to them.
That's the real parental control... But again, the horror of actually talking and teaching your kids instead of lazily blaming Apple for not doing it for you.
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It’s simple: The more features you use, and the more you use them, the clearer it becomes that EVERYTHING is BROKEN. It’s either badly designed from the start, or it was never finished being developed, because it’s missing obvious functionality and is FULL of bugs due to not being tested and debugged properly, which is now the “norm” for every tech industry company and product, including Apple.
The tech industry is appalling. There’s zero accountability and near-zero regulation.
The tech industry is appalling. There’s zero accountability and near-zero regulation.
Note: This is a bit long as I addressed several points. I reiterate that I'm not judging you or your parenting style. I'm addressing the Screen Time issue alone.
1. Smartphones are very different than a computer with a publicly visible screen. Children are, by nature, curious and, unfortunately, many innocent internet searches provide results that are far from it. Further, computers allow third-party parental controls, which are not available on iOS because Apple insists on Screen Time.
2. If you're OK with tweens viewing explicit material, purposely or not, that is your choice. You may feel justified in that this is world we live in or some other reasoning. Again, I'm not judging you, however, I am not OK with it. I am also not OK with my kids receiving text messages from predators or even a wrong number. Yes, my kids know not to talk to strangers, but the content of the text messages itself can be explicit.
3. I am all for children learning about the dangers of the world, at the right age and time. But my 7 year old, who uses an iPod touch as a gaming and learning device, has no business on the internet or texting people. The device is meant for specific apps alone.
4. The point is that Apple restricts third-party parental controls and states clearly that Screen Time is what should be used to customize the iOS experience. And, it's not based on my style or your style but to the individual parent's style.
When Screen Time doesn't work, when controls that are meant to limit a child's interaction with the dangers of the web are faulty, when parents allow children to use devices solely based on the safeguards they rely on, when those safeguards contain bugs that aren't timely addressed, it is a dereliction of duty on Apple's part and one that is plainly inexcusable.
5. In closing: If Apple does not want to spend the time or money to ensure Screen Time is bug free, that's their prerogative. However, as has been the case, Apple's claim that Screen Time protects children, is plainly false. They would be better to, at the very least, allow third-party developers the option to create customizable, reliable, tools in its place.
P.S. You're very correct in that too many people don't parent their kids. Screen Time is a tool that we, who do parent, try to make use of.
Regarding those who say we should trust our kids: how many of you, grown adults, are reading and posting to MR during work hours when you're getting paid to focus on work? If we can't trust adults to do the right thing, how can we expect children to have the sensibility to steer curiosity away from inappropriate content, at an age when their hormones are not in-line with their brain development? Saying "trust your kids" is reminiscent of the failed campaign of "just say no to drugs". Effective parenting requires both speaking with your kids and effective controls.
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This is hardly the only bug on Screen Time. It’s had a multitude of issues for YEARS.
For starters, all your apps don’t show up in the list, most of apple’s stock apps from Apple Watch don’t show on Screen Time. Known issue with no resolution.
Apps and settings also don’t sync across devices.
Screen Time settings don’t function the same across mac and ios either.
It’s clearly been abandoned from active development
For starters, all your apps don’t show up in the list, most of apple’s stock apps from Apple Watch don’t show on Screen Time. Known issue with no resolution.
Apps and settings also don’t sync across devices.
Screen Time settings don’t function the same across mac and ios either.
It’s clearly been abandoned from active development
1. This is not about parenting. It's part of parenting. Screen Time is supposed to be a tool for parenting.
2. A big part of parental controls is not the purposeful searching of explicit material. It's to limit what is shown by innocent searches and to prevent unwarranted communication, wherein a child can receive explicit text messages from random numbers or predators.
3. Making an attack and saying that anyone who relies on parental controls does not parent is both asinine and offensive. Children need parenting and parenting includes both talking with your kids and putting controls in place to prevent them from getting hurt. You talk to your kids about not taking candy from strangers and you put the predators behind bars. It works both way.
Modern risks require modern tools. Simple and easy. The parents who don't monitor kids, thinking that a conversation and trust is needed for teens whose brains are not fully developed, are taking a risk. Those of us who make Screen Time a part of parenting, not because we don't trust them, though many kids don't fully understand trust, but because they are immature and their brains are not fully developed, these parents should be lauded.
And again, to get back to what the post is actually about, Apple's problem is that the tool they claim does the job, has not been reliable thus far.