Screen Time. Seeking expertise

Tech Support
1

I need help with Screen Time. I figured out its weird interface quirks, fixed some issues but still, my daughter is getting more TikTok than the system seems to be set to allow. Not a lot of Screen Time traffic here, which I understand. Anyone know of a forum or place where I could find Screen Time expertise?

2

Not an expert. Any chance she knows the screen time passcode and is bypassing that way? Otherwise is she getting more time through the app or web browser?

3

Do you have it set up to restrict time for certain classes of apps or for specific apps? I have found setting a specific apps’ screen time limit can be effective. However, I admit that I feel like I’m regularly tweaking settings to obtain the desired result, like an alchemist might do. I still haven’t found Screen-time-gold, yet.

4

Can you post screenshots of settings? How much more time than allowed is she getting?

5

LOL. It does feel that way.

Yes! Have been through those loopholes. Documenting for the benefit of others:

  • Don’t assume that your kid’s exemplary integrity offline will guide behavior with a device. We treat the phone as an addiction. And the other kids share workarounds.

  • The passcode was the big surprise. Their eyes and minds are quick—seeing you enter the code, even from afar, is all they need. And when you ask, “how did you have three hours on TikTok,” the answer is that it was “a glitch.” The system’s dubious reliability makes the “glitch” claim believable.

  • You need to block the app and the web address. (e.g. TikTok app and tiktok.com.) I wonder if there is another web portal for TikTok.

I wish there were a book on managing Screen Time. One would think there would be a great YouTube channel, a book and a discussion group. I have not found anything that has any depth. If we can find soneone who knows Screen Time, maybe we can pretty-please MPU to do a show on the topic.

I heard that over time, the screentime database gets munged up and you have to periodically reset the phone to get the controls working right. Like some 1995 Windows box, sheesh.

With their emphasis on security and safety, you would think a usable, high-quality Screen Time would be a priority for Apple.

Thanks for the comments. I am doing a deep dive into her phone soon, will share what I learn and maybe screenshots of any areas where I have questions. We parents have to stick together!

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6

Updates.

  1. I found several references that say Apple introduced a bug. This is from Aug 2023:

    Apple Confirms Screen Time Problems For iPad, iPhone Users

    Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Apple acknowledged an ongoing bug that affects its Screen Time feature, a parental control tool on iPhones and iPads, which allows children to bypass time limits and access potentially unsafe content without their knowledge.

    "We are aware that some users may be experiencing an issue where Screen Time settings are unexpectedly reset. We take these reports very seriously and we have been, and will continue, making updates to improve the situation,” said an Apple spokesperson.

  2. I found some claims that App Limits “just disappear” and some that say a kid can uninstall an app and them reinstall using the App Store and the day’s limit resets. “To avoid this, go to Screen Time > Contents > Privacy Restrictions > iTunes & App Store Purchases, and change the Installing and Deleting app settings to Don’t Allow.”

  3. Finally, this. There is apparently a flaw that allows kids to access any site, bypassing content restirctions, by including “google.com” at the end of the URL. “For instance to access twitter.com: x.com”

Fix: “Go to screen time and enable content restriction (allowed sites only)—> add google.com”

I have not tested this but I wonder if Apple is worried. These issues are inviting some really negative publicity.

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7

For what it’s worth, I have found ScreenTime and the accompanying parent controls to be terrible. I was using Bark, which was good until Apple (quite reasonbly) broke the deep system access required to run it, then (unreasonably) has falied to provide any path forward.

8

I’ve realised this year that Screen Time is inadequate on its own for moderating internet and device access for my kids:

  • My adolescent daughter asked me to block some harmless but distracting online game websites between certain times when she was meant to be doing homework. It’s not possible to use a time-based content block in Screen Time.

  • It’s not possible to block apps entirely, they can only be limited to one minute and only if they’re already installed on the device.

  • It’s not possible to enforce the ‘safe search’ feature of search engines or ‘Strict Mode’ on YouTube.

  • I’ve been unable at times to ‘unrestrict’ a specific app because I don’t know what category Screen Time puts it in. In frustration I’ve just removed all app restrictions to get it to work.

  • Making changes to any Screen Time settings for one child can’t be automatically applied to other children. Okay if you’ve got one or two kids, but I have four.

  • The App & Website Activity tracking feature has never given me any useful data.

I recently came across techlockdown.com. It’s geared towards adults to block addictive and distracting content, but it looks just as relevant to parents like us trying to foster healthy screen habits in our offspring. There is helpful in-depth information in its blog posts and guides. This one is about problems with Screen Time. The overall approach is of multiple levels of filtering as well as preventing the filters from being bypassed.

I’ve learned that device supervision and/or management offers the kind of granular and precise control over Apple devices that I previously (wrongly) thought Screen Time provided.

I’ve signed up and created a DNS content filter and pointed the home router and all the kids’ devices to it. I’ve also set up an Apple Business account and started remote device management. As a first step I created a ‘dumb phone’ out of an iPhone 11 sitting in the drawer. Its apps are limited to phone, messages, maps, camera and contacts. We give it to the kids when we need to stay in contact with them or when they are at home on their own. My next step is to start to ‘manage’ all the devices my kids use, starting with the MacBook Air my daughter needs to use for school.

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9

A source of frustration in our family is trying to limit FaceTime calls for our daughter. There is seemingly no way to do it. Yes, you can add FaceTime time limits, but ScreenTime seems to only keep track of the time you’re in the FaceTime menu and not track when you’re actually FaceTiming. So, if our daughter is on a FaceTime call for an hour, it really only shows as 1 minute Screen Time, if at all, if she initiates the FaceTime from a text message.