I am using ScreenTime on my child’s phone. Mostly works (ugh). I would like to allow her more access on the family Mac than I give her on the phone. I did a web search which said it is possible but I don’t see how.
Thanks!!
I am using ScreenTime on my child’s phone. Mostly works (ugh). I would like to allow her more access on the family Mac than I give her on the phone. I did a web search which said it is possible but I don’t see how.
Thanks!!
Would it work if you turned off “Share Across Devices” in the screentime settings on the MAC for that account?
Followup: After messing with this on and off for months, I now have definitive answer. I asked ChatGPT and it somehow ‘knew’ that you cannot have different ScreenTime settings for the same account on separate devices. It identified the nuances of this and a couple of workarounds.
But first, a quick comment.
I would have thought so but after experimenting, I am now befuddled. I have no idea what this setting does.
Anyway, back to ChatGPT. See ChatGPT’s tl;dr at end but the bottom line is that the only way is to set up two separate iCloud accounts, one for the child when using the Mac, one when using the phone.
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“In managing screen time on multiple Apple devices for a child, using apple Screen Time, how do you have different screen time parameters for each device? For example, I’d like to have some apps available on the Mac, but different apps available on her iPhone.”
Apple’s Screen Time is designed to manage usage across all of a child’s Apple devices under a single Apple ID. However, by default, Screen Time settings (including App Limits and Downtime) apply globally across all devices signed into the same iCloud account.
You want different app limits or access rules on each device — say, certain apps allowed on the Mac but not on the iPhone, or vice versa.
While app limits apply across devices, you can:
Still, this doesn’t help if you want an app available on one device but completely blockedon the other.
If the devices are signed into different Apple IDs, you can set completely separate Screen Time controls — including different Downtime, App Limits, and Content Restrictions — per device.
This requires:
Note: This is the only way to fully separate Screen Time rules per device.
Option A: Use Two Apple IDs (One for Mac, One for iPhone)
Pro Tip: Keep iCloud syncing (like Photos, iMessage, etc.) linked with shared Apple IDs if needed by selectively enabling iCloud services under Settings > iCloud.
You want:
With separate Apple IDs, you could:
Apple Screen Time does not natively support per-device rules under the same Apple ID. To manage different screen time parameters on each device:
Use separate Apple IDs for each device and manage both under Family Sharing — this is the only way to configure device-specific rules.
Would you like a cheat sheet or step-by-step setup guide for creating a second Apple ID and linking it via Family Sharing?