Apple is aware of an iOS bug that has allowed kids to bypass certain parental restrictions set for their iPhones, like the Screen Time Downtime limits.
This is an old bug dating back to iOS 16 that should’ve been fixed in iOS 16.5 but has persisted—it continues to be present even in the latest iOS 17 beta.
Apple is aware of the situation and has promised to release a fix in a future software update. In the meantime, parents can use workarounds.
A Screen Time bug stops time limits from sticking for kids
The Screen Time feature shows you how much time you’ve spent on apps, websites, and more on your devices. With built-in parental controls, parents can limit kids’ screen time on iPhones with the Downtime feature in the Screen Time settings.
Parents can go to Settings > Screen Time to set a time limit for a category of apps, like Games or Social Networking, as well as for individual apps. Unfortunately, the feature has been broken for months, allowing kids to easily bypass usage limits.
Julie Jargo, The Wall Street Journal:
Downtime, found in Settings under Screen Time, is the tool parents use to define the hours each day that a kid’s device is limited or completely unusable. But when they check the setting lately, they often see the times they scheduled have reverted to a previous setting, or they see no restrictions at all. This can go unnoticed for days or weeks—and kids don’t always report back when they get extra time for games and social media.
Time limits that parents set for kids’ devices seem to be resetting on a whim. Sometimes, weeks would pass without the bug raising its ugly head. Other times, a parent may reset the Screen Time password a couple of times a week, to no avail.
None of the Screen Time troubleshooting steps apply to this Downtime issue.
Temporary fixes for Screen Time limits not sticking
Some parents have switched to setting Screen Time limits directly on their kids’ devices to work around the situation. Others are turning to third-party apps to manage kids’ screen time. This isn’t ideal because parental apps cost money, whereas Screen Time is a free feature of iOS, iPadOS and macOS.
Despite Apple’s stated fix, this bug has persisted for over a year, with over 2,000 users posting about the Screen Time limits not sticking on Apple’s forums.
A buggy Screen Time
As mentioned, this bug was first discovered in iOS 16, and a fix arrived in iOS 16.5. According to the iOS 16.5 release notes, the update “fixes an issue where Screen Time settings may reset or not sync across all devices.”
The issue obviously hasn’t been entirely resolved. Otherwise, the Wall Street Journal wouldn’t have been able to replicate the bug in the latest iOS 17 beta.
These sorts of problems are nothing new.
Apple rolled out the Screen Time feature in 2018. In 2019, a bug in Screen Time permitted children to work around the Communication Limits feature, which is meant to help parents limit who their kids talk to at certain points in the day.