"screen time agent" is eating up CPU on activity monitor??

Hi all,

Recently I've noticed two items on Activity Monitor that are eating up about 90% of CPU on a constant basis.

One is called "Screen Time Agent" and the other is "Screen Time Service (System Preferences)"


If there are related to my family screen time, it seems odd that they are using so much memory. I'm just a little suspicious and am hoping for some reassurance.


Thanks,

Dan

Posted on Feb 29, 2020 9:50 AM

Reply
2 replies

Feb 29, 2020 10:25 AM in response to A$X

I would start by using Activity Monitor to kill the processes. They may restart automatically but this may reduce the amount of processor time they are consuming. Next, you should take a look at your Screen Time settings.


You have not included information on your computer model or version of macOS in use. It would also help to know if the version of macOS you have was installed by update or upgrade. To find the complete model information select About This Mac from the Apple menu. You can create a snapshot of the dialog as follows:


How to take a screenshot on your Mac

Capture, Save or Record Screenshots in Mac OS X - Help Desk Geek


OS X Screen Capture Shortcuts


(⌘⬆︎3) Command-Shift-3 Capture the screen to a file

(⌘⬆︎⌃3) Command-Shift-Control-3 Capture the screen to the Clipboard

(⌘⬆︎4) Command-Shift-4 Capture a selection to a file

(⌘⬆︎⌃4) Command-Shift-Control-4 Capture a selection to the Clipboard

(⌘⬆︎5) Command-Shift-5 Invoke new screen grabber


You can then post the image in the forum's message editor.


FWIW, %CPU and memory use are not the same things. You reported a problem with %CPU, then said the processes were using "so much memory."


Please read Writing an effective Apple Support Communities question. We are here to help. We are all users. We are not mind-readers nor clairvoyants. We only know what you write down and tell us. Be specific and thorough. Include your hardware information and installed version of macOS.


Mar 2, 2020 6:45 AM in response to Kappy

Hi Kappy,

Thanks for the reply. I did try to kill them in Activity Monitor but they seemed impervious. However, they appear to have stopped. Maybe it's a periodic memory intensive task associated with screen time monitoring for the family.

Sorry about the lack of details. If it recurs I'll post with more details. For what it's worth now, this is a macbook pro 13" 2017b model running Catalina 10.15.3

Dan

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"screen time agent" is eating up CPU on activity monitor??

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