Sharing Screen Time statistics between devices, only having Downtime on some of them?

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Level 1

8 points

Sharing Screen Time statistics between devices, only having Downtime on some of them?

So I have an iPhone (iOS 13.3.1), an iPad (iPadOS 13.3.1), and a MacBook Pro (macOS Catalina 10.15.3) all with the "Share Across Devices" option turned on using the same Apple ID. This allows me to have aggregate usage statistics about my Screen Time on all of my devices. This also means that they all share the same Downtime schedule.

My goal is to have my iPad and iPhone have the same Downtime schedule and be able to turn off Downtime for my MacBook Pro, while still sharing Screen Time statistics between these devices. Is this possible?

I've noticed recently that there is a (maybe new) setting in the Downtime options called "Block at Downtime" with the explanation "Turn on to block the device at downtime." This setting is also shared between all devices (if I turn it off on my MacBook Pro, it's then turned off on my iPhone and iPad). Can anyone explain what this option does? It seems like it would be exactly what I am looking for, but it's shared across devices.

iPhone 8

Posted on Mar 5, 2020 11:10 AM

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Answer 1

Leanne_68

Community Specialist

Mar 6, 2020 7:24 AM in response to LovelyLuke

Hello LovelyLuke,

Thank you for posting in the Apple Support Communities. I understand that you'd like to disable Downtime on your Mac while keeping the same downtime limits across your devices. You'd also like to know what Block at Downtime does. I’d love to assist.

When Share Across Devices is enabled in Screen Time, each device that's signed into the same iCloud Apple ID will share the same downtime schedule. When Block at Downtime is enabled with a passcode, a prompt will appear asking if you'd like more downtime when downtime starts. Entering the passcode will allow you to approve more time with the app for 15 minutes, an hour, or all day. The resource below explains these features in more details.

Use Screen Time on your Mac

I hope this information is useful. Kind regards.

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Answer 2

LovelyLuke Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 6, 2020 8:08 AM in response to Leanne_68

Thanks for the response Starr.C!

What I have gathered is that what I am asking for cannot currently be done with the existing screen time settings.

With "Block at downtime" turned off the prompt looks like this during downtime:

which then allows me to pick between these options (without entering the Screen Time passcode):

Whereas with "Block at Downtime" Turned on the prompt looks like this:

And asks for the Screen Time passcode (or "One More Minute") before proceeding to allow more time:

Since every Screen Time setting is shared between all devices when "Share Across Devices" is enabled the setting to block devices during downtime is also shared.

The way to have different devices have different settings would be to disable "Share Across Devices" which would mean that the screen time statistics would be reported per individual device rather than being able to see usage across all devices. Is this correct?

Thanks again!

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Answer 3

Teddy_B

Community Specialist

Mar 6, 2020 11:20 AM in response to LovelyLuke

LovelyLuke,

Thanks for getting back to us with those screenshots. Yes, you would need to disable Share Across Devices in order to turn off downtime on your Mac. Doing so will prevent Screen Time stats from being shared with your Mac.

Have a great rest of your day.

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Sharing Screen Time statistics between devices, only having Downtime on some of them?

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