Screen Time Downtime blocking "Always Allowed" Safari & Chrome

Hi everyone,

I'm experiencing a frustrating and illogical bug with Screen Time's Downtime feature.

The Problem:

Even though I have Safari and Google Chrome added to my SETTINGS > SCREEN TIME > ALWAYS ALLOWED list, their web browsing functionality is being blocked during my scheduled Downtime.

•⁠ ⁠The app icons themselves are not greyed out on the home screen.

•⁠ ⁠Tapping on the app opens it, but any attempt to browse the internet is immediately blocked by a "Time Limit" message.

What I've noticed:

This has been a problem for me for some time with Safari. The issue with Google Chrome started after ios26 update. This behavior seems to completely undermine the purpose of the "Always Allowed" feature. Then what’s the point of settings these apps as ALWAYS ALLOWED?

Has anyone else experienced this, or does anyone have a fix?

Thanks for any help!

iPhone 16, iOS 26

Posted on Sep 17, 2025 7:32 AM

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46 replies

Sep 17, 2025 6:22 PM in response to arathi80

Yeah, same here. I use Arc Browser, and it is blocked even though it is in the Allowed Apps section. Safari is blocked as well, although Safari doesn't show as an app option in the Allowed Apps section.

arathi80 Author

Level 1

69 points

Sep 24, 2025 3:28 PM in response to AndiLeeBee

Same situation here . My partner has the passcode for the screen time override . My timeframe for downtime is huge to keep the social media away during the productive hours. And as you said it has made the phone completely unusable when I am unable to use the basic browser apps , even though when they are under “Always Allowed” . I hope they fix this soon

arathi80 Author

Level 1

69 points

Sep 28, 2025 12:00 PM in response to arathi80

This problem also seems to appear in the Amazon app with different tabs. The app opens fine because it's 'Always Allowed,' but clicking on different product pages or sections within the app causes the 'Time Limit' block to pop up. It confirms the issue is with blocking internal web activity.

Oct 24, 2025 2:08 AM in response to arathi80

I had this issue and it was so irritating that I just turned off downtime for now. If I find out that they’ve fixed, I might turn it back on but it is not worth the frustration. It sucks because I liked the feature. Maybe someday Apple will fix this so it is usable again.

JenDD88

Level 1

8 points

Nov 18, 2025 12:14 AM in response to arathi80

Yup. Also experiencing this issue. My partner has my screen time passcode because my ADHD has a mind of its own and can’t control itself at night with most time doomscrolling apps (negatively impacting my sleep, etc.). Guess I’ll be exploring a paid app like Opal…

[Edited by Moderator]

Nov 28, 2025 1:45 PM in response to arathi80

Same! Updated daughter to a new phone and have had this issue with screentime since. She had to switch to Chrome a while ago because of this same issue with safari. Now chrome has the same problem as well as other apps. Ridiculous that the downtime that we’ve been using successfully to manage her screen time is now making it a pain to utilize. She has to ask for screen time for every website, several things that are on the always allowed list. Clearly a problem for others for awhile. Fix the bug already.

Dec 12, 2025 2:39 AM in response to arathi80

I am having the same issue.

Oh the irony. Even after searching for this article, I had to enter my screen time password once to search, once to open the article, and again to make this very Reply. HELP Apple - this is the first thing I’m smacked with after updating to 26?

You could really set yourself apart on the market with parents trying to keep their kids safe if you would actually update these controls to give us more granular options, like flexible scheduling. But instead you make it completely unusable.

Jan 14, 2026 9:26 AM in response to arathi80

Please address this bug, we want our son to be able to go to specific sites he needs for school, but not play games or access inappropriate content online. What is the alternative giving kids full access to all websites 24/7? Please Apple - long time supporter here.

Jan 20, 2026 11:47 PM in response to arathi80

They absolutely must add the option to allow web browsing. Just like the original poster, I could get around it by using Chrome until the most recent update. For me, this makes Downtime borderline unusable...

Jan 28, 2026 7:59 PM in response to arathi80

Agh, I am also having this issue!! The lack of customization for downtime is so frustrating. I have been using a different browser for months on my phone because Safari isn't even listed. Now that the browser is also affected by this newest update, which was not a thing even a few weeks back for me. I cannot believe they are still letting this bug sit around.