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Screen Time and family

Screen Time

Most people call this usage reports, limits and parental controls.

Screen Time reports how you use your iPhone and provides the limits, downtime and content restrictions used for parental controls.

Available

This setting is present on your iPhone.

  • We have this path on file but have not yet confirmed it against an official source.

Where to find it - iOS 12 and later

  1. Settings
  2. Screen Time

What it does

On your own phone it is a reporting and self control tool. On a child's account it is the parental control system, protected by a separate passcode and managed through Family Sharing.

What changes

When it is on

Usage is recorded and any limits you set are enforced.

When it is off

No reporting and no limits.

Should you turn it on?

Good reasons to turn it on

  • Honest data about where your time goes.
  • App Limits and Downtime are effective when you actually set them.
  • The only built in parental control system.

Good reasons to turn it off

  • The reports can be dispiriting.
  • Limits are easy to dismiss on your own phone.

Battery

No real change

Privacy

Depends how you use it

Performance

No real change

Cellular data

No real change

Storage

No real change

Out of the box: Off until you turn it on.

Worth reading first

What your iPhone needs

  • Needs iOS 12 or later

Questions people actually ask

How do I set parental controls on an iPhone?
Set the child up in Family Sharing, then use Screen Time on their account for limits and content restrictions.
I forgot my Screen Time passcode.
You can reset it with your Apple Account if you linked one when setting the passcode.

If it is not working

  • Set a Screen Time passcode different from your device passcode, especially for a child's phone.
  • A forgotten Screen Time passcode can be reset using your Apple Account if you set that up.
  • Limits apply across devices when Share Across Devices is on.

Related settings