iOS 18.5 Includes a Useful Change to Screen Time

[MacRumors]

Apple today shared release notes for iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5, ahead of the updates being released to the general public next week. The updates are minor overall, but they do include a useful change for the Screen Time feature on iPhones and iPads.

Specifically, Apple says that parents will now receive a notification when their Screen Time passcode is successfully entered on their child's device.

This change will allow parents to be alerted immediately if their child has correctly guessed or figured out the Screen Time passcode, which can allow the child to turn off or adjust the restrictions that were set by their parents.

Parents will also receive these notifications on a Mac running macOS 15.5, which should be released to the general public next week.

Screen Time launched in 2018 as part of iOS 12, providing parents with settings to remotely manage a child's device. For example, parents can restrict device usage to certain times, set time limits for apps, and block inappropriate content.

Article Link: iOS 18.5 Includes a Useful Change to Screen Time

 

[CalMin]

I'm all for parents having these tools, but it must suck to be a teenager to tech-savvy parents in 2025.

 

[Veinticinco]

Snitches get stitches.

 

[Veinticinco]

but it must suck to be a teenager to tech-savvy parents in 2025.

My eldest says it's both a blessing and a curse 😁

 

[jlwarlow]

They still need to remove the “1 more
Minute” option on kids accounts.

 

[TTTedP]

the amount of times I've seen "how to disable screen time" or derivatives thereof, in my kid's search history is hilarious.

 

[sesnir]

They still need to remove the “1 more
Minute” option on kids accounts.

Agreed, the fact the kid can just go from one game/app to the next, saying “1 more minute” on each one, is ridiculous lol

I’d also like an option to create a code that will allow the kid to unlock the iPad, but doesn’t grant all the powers that come with knowing the pass code… I would trust my kid to unlock the iPad and use it, but not to stick to the limits if they had the power to bypass them. It would just make things easier.

 

[Pcjis17]

As a child about to turn 18 i just hate screen time not because of the restrictions my mom has put on it but is generally terrible it restricts apps under certain age limit i turned 17 and was excited to actually be able to use the apps i should generally be able to use and did nothing still not able to use apps like discord or even perplexity. I somehow got youtube like 2 years ago back because they changed the age limit of the app. atp i don't care. ruin it more.

 

[Aeronauts]

I'm all for parents having these tools, but it must suck to be a teenager to tech-savvy parents in 2025.

Not necessarily. Hopefully those parents encourage their kids to get out and interact with the real world. Many teenagers seem to be so unhappy and unhealthy these days.

 

[scouser75]

I'd much rather Apple fixed all the glitches in screen time first. It's totally useless. The times are wrong. I told my eldest off thinking she'd been on the phone for 14 odd hours, then had confirmation here that there's a glitch in the total number of hours. I didn't tell my kid that though. Oh the shame 😉

Then there's the limit in apps. I've set a 4 hour limit. Does it work? Like heck it does!

Like I said, absolutely useless.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Not necessarily. Hopefully those parents encourage their kids to get out and interact with the real world. Many teenagers seem to be so unhappy and unhealthy these days.

Although at this point the “real world” *is* the internet. more and more jobs are going remote, tuns of schools and classes are going remote, that’s the “real world” for millions and millions of people, for better or for worse.

 

[bollman]

Nothing with screen time work, or can easily be bypassed. It simply doesn't work.

 

[abbstrack]

Just bought ipads for our two littles (ages 9 + 7) and havent set them up yet. I know there's a ton of info out there but given this thread figured i'd ask here. Is it possible for me to set screen time according to apps? i.e. i'd like to allow up to 1-2 hours for games/you tube kids, etc. but would be fine if they spent more time in educational or sketching apps.

Or is screen time an all or nothing situation?

 

[socialwill]

My BIGGEST request for Screen Time is to allow for the apps on the devices to be updated automatically via the store but still keeping the ability to not delete or install new apps. Just the option to allow to update what is already there.

Sometimes there will be an update option that shows up when going to a website or even in the app and it will update, but the App Store is not enabled. So this functionality could exist.

The number of times you turn off ST to update apps, then enable it only to find that another device did not "lock" happens often.

 

[socialwill]

Just bought ipads for our two littles (ages 9 + 7) and havent set them up yet. I know there's a ton of info out there but given this thread figured i'd ask here. Is it possible for me to set screen time according to apps? i.e. i'd like to allow up to 1-2 hours for games/you tube kids, etc. but would be fine if they spent more time in educational or sketching apps.

Or is screen time an all or nothing situation?

It is a system wide setting, but you can do App Limits. It is pretty good at what it does, and works across devices with the same Apple ID. Not perfect, but good.

 

[ATmahe]

I'm all for parents having these tools, but it must suck to be a teenager to tech-savvy parents in 2025.

For us it’s fun.
I set the restriction, my son finds a way around it.
It’s a challenge

 

[sherwinzadeh]

How do you block kids from changing the time? That's how my kids get around it every day.

 

[svish]

Good to know about the change. However Screen Time measurements/readings were never accurate for me for a long time. Wonder whether it works properly when it is an account for the child and parental controls are used.

 

[Ndndn]

I still have so many bugs with screen time.
Once a game has used all of the screen time allowance, when you enter the code on the iPad, then you almost always have to restarts the game to get sound to work again.
Another one is having screen time disable itself entirely for the child accounts quite randomly, super annoying, as quite reliant on it for the fully Apple household.

 

[BGPL]

My kids have the IQ of a dolphin when it comes to making life/safety decisions, but come time to crack the screen time passcode, their IQ goes to 200 and they have somehow figured out a way to defeat three passcodes in a matter of a few months. This feature is exactly what I needed because I had no idea it was happening. If we can somehow incorporate the shortcomings for the cure to cancer with parental control passwords, kids will figure it out if it means 15 more minutes of TikTok.

 

[McDLT]

Screen time flat out does not work and apple clearly does not care.

 

[johnsawyercjs]

I'd much rather Apple fixed all the glitches in screen time first. It's totally useless. The times are wrong. I told my eldest off thinking she'd been on the phone for 14 odd hours, then had confirmation here that there's a glitch in the total number of hours.

Yup. My iPhone has been sending me notifications for weeks that I've been using it somewhere around ten to eleven hours a day. But I'm not.

 

[mcdawg]

Screen time flat out does not work and apple clearly does not care.

Absolutely. Screen Time is completely non-functional for us; nothing has made me want to ditch being an "Apple family" after many decades of using almost exclusively Apple products as 🤬🤬🤬 Screen Time. I'd happily provide endless detail on exactly how it doesn't work (and have in the past, on the dystopian discussions.apple.com)... if I thought it'd matter at all. But in totality, your description "Screen time flat out does not work" says it all.

Although I will quibble on the "Apple clearly does not care"; they have called out improvements to Screen Time more times that just about any other function during major and minor releases over the past several years, and they all make me optimistically think 'Hey, maybe Apple has finally gotten serious about Screen Time."... and then no. Apple's software quality has fallen off a cliff in the past decade. I just think they're a total mess - they sorta care... and it still doesn't matter. It's truly sad, and endlessly frustrating for a long-long-time Apple user.

 

[tennisproha]

Screen Time is riddled with bugs and is non-functional so why does it matter? Set a time limit for any website snd it just straight up ignores it lol. Plus no way to delete past devices that were tied to the account. Also, missing apps from Watch in allowed apps section. And a ton of other issues.

Can't believe Apple has the audacity to "add" a feature when the whole thing has been broken for years.

 

[DFierce]

I'd much rather Apple fixed all the glitches in screen time first. It's totally useless. The times are wrong. I told my eldest off thinking she'd been on the phone for 14 odd hours, then had confirmation here that there's a glitch in the total number of hours. I didn't tell my kid that though. Oh the shame 😉

Then there's the limit in apps. I've set a 4 hour limit. Does it work? Like heck it does!

Like I said, absolutely useless.

This. I’m amazed it’s gone so long without being flagged. It’s a great idea but borderline unusable.