I'm looking at the list of "always allowed" apps to include for the Downtime feature but Safari is not listed there and when downtime is enabled Safari is still able to be used (my allowed apps are phone, messages, FaceTime, maps - the default). Anyone else seeing this issue?
iMac, macOS High Sierra (10.13.1)
Seriously guys the “solution” or reason safari stays active during downtime has been explained several times on this thread. When Downtime is active safari stays accessible. *However* it is restricted from loading any websites by the user. Please see the attached screenshot.
No need to download chrome, or other workarounds. This is how it’s meant to operate.
I have just turned on downtime, clicked on safari and tried to load several websites. As expected nothing loads. I tried google.com, YouTube.com, and even the apple.com site. None of them loaded. So I don’t understand where the problem is?
By the way if you are setting this up for a child and you want to replace the “ignore limit” option with “ask for permission to extend limit” option you need to set up downtime under family sharing.
For an inelegant workaround, you could download the Chrome browser and use that instead of Safari. Block all access to Safari.
Make sure you have
Settings -> Screen Time -> App Limits -> Your chosen categories -> then the slider for "block at end of limit" is green and set on, otherwise they just get a notice that their time is up but are able to continue to use the various apps.
For my sons phone with all apps blocked after 3 hours and no apps but phone allowed safari just keeps working. Very stupid if apple is serious about protecting from over use of the phone.
it was worse before iOS 12.1.2, but there is still some work to be done on this screetime implementation.
I think I found it! For my case, I wanted to limit Chrome use. This is what I did:
I hope this works for you.
My problem was that how it was supposed to work wasn't working. I get that Safari itself isn't managed by Screen Time, but videos opened into full-screen mode in Safari, if left open, continued indefinitely during downtime and after the allotted time for the day. Maybe it has been fixed since I first voiced this complaint, but it was so frustrating that I turned off Safari on my boys' devices and I haven't looked back. Not an ideal solution, but it felt so broken at the beginning that I didn't want to spend any more time trying to deal with it.
Not only is Snapchat unaffected by downtime, this has extended to Instagram too! I have tried adding an ‘app limit’ to social networking apps but it’s as though these apps aren’t included. There is just no way to control them at all. (Incidentally, on my phone, Messenger is unaffected by downtime). Something is not working like it should.
Seriously fix this issue Apple. Down time is down time right. The entire concept of down time is shut off phone activity. Safari is about as active as you can get on a phone. As parents it’s frustrating when a company decides they will allow certain activity that a parent wishes to restrict. If I want my child using safari during downtime then I can turn it on.... not you Apple! Make down time so the entire phone can be shut down if I want.
You can put an app limit on a single app, rather than on a whole class of apps (e.g., Social Networking).
Let's say you want to restrict Snapchat. To do this, you have to go to that devices usage history and see Snapchat listed there. Touch it and you will be taken to a new screen which will include the option to restrict that app only.
It's a rather inconvenient way to set a limit on a single app, but it is available.
I have the same problem. My child got notice that Snapchat would be shut off in 5 minutes, yet 35 minutes later she was still video chatting away with multiple friends. Same with Instagram, FaceTime, and messages. Sometimes it works, but more often it doesn’t. I’ve read posts about how some kids get around Screentime, but I’ve verified that’s not happening here. Screen time just doesn’t work consistently.
Jimjimms64, Just because it's working that way for you doesn't mean everyone else is having the same experience. I was able to get Screen Time for Safari working, but only after I deleted all my settings a couple times. I easily spent a couple hours troubleshooting the problem. Not everyone has that much spare time and a simple workaround may be the best solution for them.
Having said that, people should read thru the previous posts to see what worked for other people.
So how exactly using "Downtime" (under Screen Time) on a parent's or child's phone are you able to restrict web access? The web content restrictions are always in place as far as I understand.
Agreed this is stupid. If downtime is meant to help limit phone usage then having access to the entire internet on Safari seems like a incredibly glaring oversight
Not being able to limit or restrict browser use by time doesn’t make sense. I also noticed that ScreenTime doesn’t seem to record time using Safari, either. Since it’s where I tend to waste lots of time, I’d like to impose time limits and track time spent. Seems like an oversight...
I am having the same issue with Snapchat. It is not listed with my ‘allowed apps’ yet can be used indefinitely when in ‘downtime’ (no other social media can, only Snapchat). I’ve tried restarting etc but to no avail. This is the one app I really want disabled for my teenager during downtime!
Same issue is happening for YouTube. I want that app restricted for downtime. It was inii, but somehow after the update a couple of night ago, I noticed that it is affected by downtime. Something is seriously wrong.
Any solutions to this?!
Screen Time and Safari
