Safari/Chrome blocked by Downtime despite Always Allowed

CANNOT access Chrome / Safari during Downtime (even though it’s in always allowed)

I cannot get Safari or Chrome to work during my ipad “downtime.” After IpadOS 26.2.1 (23C71) upgrade. This is driving me nuts because Chrome asks for approval for EVERY SINGE WEBSITE/PAGE I’m trying to access.

I purchased ipad to use the Apple Screen Time settings for my work / study productivity. I have downtime set for entertainment apps / non-work related apps during work hours. I need to access Safari and Chrome to search during downtime so these are in the always allowed list. I prefer to keep all other Downtime settings in place during work hours (limited access to certain apps, full access to other apps, the ability to call/text specific contacts, etc.) but need to still allow full usage of Safari or Chrome.

Safari /Chrome is an app that is in “Always Allowed.” However, once you open the app, the “Time Limit > Ask For More Time” prompt will appear thus blocking the usage of the app while in downtime.

I have attempted various options to try to remedy the situation, including apple support but this appears to be a bug in the system. On a side note, after the upgrade, there are more occurrence of freezing or bugs where I’m clicking a button/option and it doesn’t respond so I have to restart the app. And please don’t give ‘upgrade to the latest software’ as your solution because I AM ON THE LATEST VERSION of the software. I’ve done my fair share of searching Apple Online Support, have called Apple Support directly, and have browsed the internet and various help forums and haven’t had any luck.

Clicking through to “Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Content Restrictions > Web Content” and setting this to “Limit Adult Websites” while manually entering each allowable website within the “Always Allow” section below DOES NOT WORK.

Clicking through to “Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Content Restrictions > Web Content” and setting this to “Unrestricted” DOES NOT WORK.

Clicking through to “Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Content Restrictions > Allowed Apps” and making sure that access to the Safari app is toggled to the “ON” position DOES NOT WORK.

When clicking through to “Settings > Screen Time > Always Allowed” the Safari app is not available to be selected from the list so this DOES NOT WORK.

Clicking through to “Settings > Screen Time > App Limits” and making sure that the Safari app is not limited to a specific usage time DOES NOT WORK.

Clicking through to “Settings > Screen Time > App Limits” and setting the Safari app to the maximum available 23-hours-and-59-minutes usage time DOES NOT WORK.

Can anyone help please?