screen time impossible to block

Hi everyone

Hi all

Sad update about the outcome, which I learned this AM

The internal/developer team came back and said it's not apple, it's the apps

*cue eyerolling*

Of course, as we've all seen, that is NOT the case, since the apps have no way of controlling that built-in-apple-screentime toggle that is done with face-ID and not the screen time passcode (and really? ALL of the screen time apps have the exact same bug?)

I showed them the glitch with multiple apps (at least 4, maybe 6?), including apps that I just downloaded for the sake of showing them it wasn't the app, it's the iPhone.

That being said, the go-between guy who was my contact said that it's possible (but not guaranteed) that if many people go through the same process as I did (which I'll explain), then they might pay more attention to it.

So, the way the process worked was that I talked to apple support and explained the issue, which was the kickoff point.

In subsequent calls, I was asked to take screencasts of the glitch and upload those via a link that was sent to me for my case. I was asked to show the glitch several times in each screencast so that they could look at the code at each instance. I was also asked to do some things on my phone and computer (which basically included clicking different buttons and sending them logs from the devices). Sometimes they'd come back and ask for certain things to be done (certain settings to be turned on or off, apps to be offloaded and reloaded, etc).

With all that being said, if any of y'all are willing to do the undertaking, maybe it can bother them enough to decide to do something about it (because, again, it's clear as day to us that it's NOT the apps, but the iPhone!).

Thoughts??

Yes!

It's been great finally speaking to someone who understood that it wasn't a "me" issue (meaning, I set up screen time controls completely correctly and really it's an issue where the screen time passcode should be the "keeper of the keys" to toggle the "Apps with Screen Time Access" function and NOT the passcode to the phone itself, b/c that's completely useless AF).

I have spent 4 weekly phone calls with this dude who's been the middle man between me and the internal team, spending several hours getting them all the data they need - screen shots, screen casts, repeating the problem so they can examine the code, etc.

I just spoke with him yesterday and the issue has been pushed up and up and is now being looked at by the developers (cue triumphant sounds). The timeline is not specific - could be 2 weeks or 2 months. He said he'd call me if/when he gets an update, and most likely it's something that will be resolved on a future update.

So this is VERY EXCITING! Because I'm so tired of this workaround existing! XD

It's not quite a victory yet, but "cheers" to at least getting it to the attention of the developers!

You should pay attention to two commonly overlooked aspects...

1. Configuring device restrictions for your child's device.
2. Setting up a screen time passcode on your own device for your child.

Set Screen Time Restrictions for your Child in your Family using Parental Control.

Please see the pic below which is self-explanatory.

Set Screen Time Passcode for your child's device through your device.

Please see the pic below which is self-explanatory.

This GIF below will depict how to set Screen Time Restrictions for your Child's Device

1. Add your Child as a Family Member
2. Then Start Screen Time on your Device.
3. Now watch the GIF below

Go to Settings and tap Screen Time. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions and enter your Screen Time passcode. Tap Content Restrictions, then tap Web Content. Choose Unrestricted Access, Limit Adult Websites, or Allowed Websites Only.

Use parental controls on your child's iPhone, iPad, and iPod ...

Set up parental controls with Family Sharing on iPhone

1. Go to Settings > [your name] > Family Sharing > Screen Time.
2. Tap the name of a child in your family group, tap Turn On Screen Time, then follow the onscreen instructions.

Set up parental controls with Family Sharing on iPhone

As far as I can tell, even with a passcode set, the passcode doesn't prevent simply turning off the 3rd party app access to screentime.

I'm currently 3 weeks in on a back-and-forth with Apple's "internal team," whatever that means. I really hope they resolve this because it completely undermines any and all 3rd party apps used to try and curb screentime.

How's it going? Any updates you can share?

Precisely. That's what makes parental and self control apps on iPhone useless.