Share Across Devices Is Disabled but It’s Still Sharing Screentime

My son has a MacBook Pro and an iPhone 13. "Share Across Devices" is disabled within the screentime settings on both the iPhone and MacBook, yet it's still sharing his screentime allotment between the two. The issue at the moment is that he uses his MacBook for school projects, etc. and it's locking out his iPhone because it's still sharing the time. What gives?

Posted on Dec 28, 2024 12:21 PM

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Posted on Dec 28, 2024 11:09 PM

As stated in my original post, I’ve already done that.


Looking into it further on various sites, I think the issue may be that my son’s phone is part of my family and it’s getting shared across his devices anyway because of this. I’m not 100% that’s the issue, but that’s what it looks like may be going on.

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Dec 28, 2024 11:09 PM in response to SravanKrA

As stated in my original post, I’ve already done that.


Looking into it further on various sites, I think the issue may be that my son’s phone is part of my family and it’s getting shared across his devices anyway because of this. I’m not 100% that’s the issue, but that’s what it looks like may be going on.

Dec 28, 2024 10:46 PM in response to amsgator

To stop sharing Screen Time settings between your iPhone and Mac, you need to disable the "Share Across Devices" option on both devices. Here are the steps to do so:


On your iPhone:

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Scroll down and tap on Screen Time.
  3. Tap on Share Across Devices.
  4. Toggle off the switch for Share Across Devices.


On your Mac:

  1. Open System Preferences from the Apple menu () in the top-left corner.
  2. Click on Screen Time.
  3. Click Options in the bottom-left corner.
  4. Uncheck the box for Share Across Devices.


By disabling this setting on both your iPhone and Mac, Screen Time data and settings will no longer sync across your Apple devices.

Jan 18, 2025 03:16 PM in response to amsgator

I’m having the exact same problem. I’ve turned off “Share Across Devices” on both devices (Mac and iPad). I even turned off screen time completely, reset it up as well as signed out of iCloud on the Mac (the device I’m trying to get to stop using the same settings). As soon as I signed back in, I turned off screen “Share Across Devices” again.


No matter what I do, App Limits, Content Restrictions, Downtime, etc is taking affect on both devices.

Jan 24, 2025 11:51 AM in response to amsgator

From what I've gathered, this feature is useless from a parental controls standpoint. If you are using your phone to manage your child's phone, this feature isn't possible. It only works if you are managing the screentime on the same devices the screentime applies to. It's literally useless from a parental controls standpoint and is a huge flaw IMO.

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Share Across Devices Is Disabled but It’s Still Sharing Screentime

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