Learn how to deactivate Screen Time and restrictions on your or your child’s iPhone, iPad, and Mac if you no longer want to use these features or face issues because of Screen Time.
Screen Time is an umbrella option that includes many sub-features, such as parental controls, daily usage insights, app limits, Downtime, communication limits, and more. If you don’t want to use these features on your device or your child’s, you can easily turn them off, as explained below.
But before you begin, keep these important points in mind:
- You’ll manage all these options by going to the iOS Settings app and tapping Screen Time.
- To manage Screen Time on your child’s device, follow these steps directly on their iPhone or iPad. Or, go to Settings > Screen Time on your iPhone or iPad and select your kid’s name under the Family heading. Note that the latter will work only if you have added your child to your Apple digital family.
- You may have to enter the Screen Time passcode to turn off some features. If you don’t remember it, here’s how to reset it first.
Turn off Downtime
Downtime blocks all apps except for the few you choose to allow. To turn it off and get full app access:
- Go to iPhone or iPad Settings > Screen Time > Downtime.
- If it’s currently on, tap Turn Off Downtime or Ignore Downtime Until Schedule. If a schedule is set, turn off the Scheduled switch.
Turn off App Limits
You can use App Limits to set how many minutes or hours a particular app can be used every day. To turn it off:
- Head to iPhone or iPad Settings > Screen Time > App Limits.
- Swipe left on an added limit and tap Delete. Or, just turn off the App Limits switch to disable all added limits.
Allow all apps
The Always Allowed section in Screen Time lets you choose which applications are permitted for use during Downtime. Since this option is a sub-feature of Downtime, just turning off Downtime (already mentioned above) makes it powerless.
Disable the eye safety feature
Your iPhone or iPad with Face ID will block the contents on the screen and prompt you to move the device to arm’s length before you can use it again. It does so to prevent you from using the screen too close to your face, thus helping reduce eye strain. If you find it too nagging, turn it off in Settings > Screen Time > Screen Distance.
Turn off all communication limits
You can choose who you or your child is allowed to call, FaceTime, and text during Screen Time and Downtime. Since you want no restrictions, go to iOS Settings > Screen Time > Communication Limits and set both options to Everyone.
Disable communication safety
When enabled, this thoughtful feature blurs any sensitive/nude media you or your child receives via Messages, FaceTime voicemail, or Contact Posters. Go to Settings > Screen Time > Communication Safety and turn it off if you want unrestricted access to all kinds of media.
Turn off apps, media, privacy, and other restrictions
The Content & Privacy Restrictions option inside Settings > Screen Time is powerful with many features. You can disable each of them individually, or just toggle off the main Content & Privacy Restrictions master switch to nullify all restrictions in one swoop.
Turn off Screen Time passcode
This is an important one.
When you have a Screen Time passcode set up, some things, like the Sign Out button in your Apple Account settings may be grayed out. If you face such issues:
- Head to Settings > Screen Time, and tap Change Screen Time Password.
- Tap Turn Off Screen Time Passcode and enter the current Screen Time (not device) passcode to authenticate.
Stop Screen Time from affecting your other devices
If you don’t want the Screen Time settings of your iPhone to also apply to your iPad, Mac, or another iPhone, turn off the ‘Share Across Devices’ switch.
Turn off several core Screen Time features in one go
Finally, if you don’t want Screen Time to track your usage or you don’t want to set app limits and use Downtime, then head to iOS Settings > Screen Time and tap Turn Off App & Website Activity from the bottom.
After this, the top activity section, Downtime, App Limits, and Always Allowed options will disappear from your Screen Time pane. You can get these back by tapping App & Website Activity > Turn On App & Website Activity.
This is how you can deactivate Screen Time on your iPhone or iPad. The fundamentals are the same if you want to do this on your Mac. Simply, head to System Settings > Screen Time and disable the sub-features you have no need for.
Also, check out: 20 simple yet effective tips to reduce your iPhone usage