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Screen Time shows "Ignore Limit" on child's iPhone

I've updated our family's iPhones to iOS 12 and I'm using Screen Time to manage my kids' iPhone usage. Screen Time is pretty buggy which is no surprise since it's still early, but there's one issue that basically makes it totally ineffective for parental controls.


Normally when my kids try to open an app that's been blocked by Downtime (the schedule you set), there's a message that says it's blocked with a link to "Ask For More Time". But yesterday we noticed that when one of my kids opened up a blocked app the link said "Ignore Limit". This basically allowed her to open the app and use it with no restrictions. I restarted her iPhone by holding down the home and power buttons until the Apple logo appeared. I checked the blocked apps again and this time the restriction was working correctly. But there was one app that wasn't being affected by Downtime at all. I checked it this morning and somehow it's working correctly.


But this evening my other kid needed some more time with an app so I told her to request more time. She said she requested it but I didn't receive any request on my end. Turns out her Screen Time had the same issue where it was showing the link to "Ignore Limit". So I looked at her Screen Time settings and saw that "Block At Downtime" was turned off. I turned it on and it changed the blocked apps to "Ask For More Time". But her Messages app wasn't being affected by Downtime. I'm guessing it was because she ignored the limit? So I restarted her iPhone by holding down the home and power buttons until the Apple logo appeared. The Messages app is still available and now all blocked apps are showing "Ignore Limit".


Would appreciate some thoughts on a solution from others who might have come across this.

Posted on Sep 24, 2018 9:50 PM

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Posted on Jan 4, 2019 6:26 AM

I’m also experiencing this problem. When my daughter’s friends began getting iPhones three years ago, I held out, waiting for Apple to provide strong, reliable parental controls. After the release of IOS 12, with all its touted parental controls, I finally gave in and bought her an iPhone. I spent hours watching tutorials and testing all the screen time features. I set it up a time limits applied to all apps and categories, toggled on block at end of limit, and created a screen time password.


Initially I was impressed, and the screen time limits worked properly for several weeks. But then last week something changed. Now when my daughter’s screen time limit is reached, she is asked if she wants to ignore the limit. (Well of course she wants to ignore the limit, she’s a child. If children could limit themselves, then we wouldn’t need parental controls in the first place!)


At first I thought she had somehow found a way to circumvent the controls. But I’ve now tested the phone for several days myself. Repeatedly I’ve powered down and restarted the phone, updated the IOS, removed and then reinstated all the screen time settings, uninstalled and reinstalled the apps — nothing works. Or, to be more specific, theblimits work for a day or two, but then for no apparent reason it starts prompting her to ignore the limit.


Between the time when the screen time block worked and when it stoped working, the phone has been in my possession the whole time, no new apps were installed, no changes were made in the settings, and the phone didn’t leave my strong password protected home WIFI. Nothing on my end changed and yet the parental controls went from working to not working. Anf the only way to know the limits have stopped working is to manually check her phone after the time limit has been ignored and exceeded.


So I now have to constantly monitor my daughter’s phone and physically remove it when her time limit is met — which is precisely the reason I didn’t want her to have a phone without parental controls in the first place. I would much rather she have no phone at all than to have an expensive iPhone that provides the illusion of parental controls that fail to function.

58 replies

Dec 13, 2018 3:37 AM in response to v6v6v6

Same happened to me. Was working fine until last night. Now, my children have the option to ignore a restriction without a passcode. Also, my son’s Snapchat and Twitter aren’t locked at all even thought they’re on his blocked list and we’re within the restricted timeframe. Tried all the suggestions listed here and nothing has worked.

Dec 17, 2018 8:24 PM in response to v6v6v6

Same here. I turned off the screen time controls to my kids phone (on my phone) in order to download an app on my kids phone. When I turned screentime back on, my kid now has the option to “ignore” the screentime limit when literally 5 minutes befor it had been successfully blocking. So frustrating. I’m losing faith in this app. This is the second bug I’ve found tonight.

Dec 18, 2018 6:47 PM in response to Angewa11

I am also having the same problem. It works sometimes and then other times just says "ignore limit". I have two iPads set up the same way. One Never gives problems and the other often does. I have a passcode set up , block at downtime is on. Turning it off and on again works but it's not sustainable. My son says it's when he is full screen on the You Tube app. Although that's Not always true. I hope it's fixed soon.

Dec 25, 2018 1:26 AM in response to azimuth77

I solved my problem. I original setup down time without a password so if they hit ignore it ignored for that day, maybe even longer. I went back and set a password and then hit block as well. Still the app that I hit ignore on was still allowed, the app was messenger despite me removing it from the allowed list. I then went to RESET PHONE SETTINGS and the phone reset just he settings. I put the WiFi password in and then went back and did password, then downtime, block and all the apps I wanted locked were locked.


I am hopinng this shuts shuts down my kids apps and phone basically when I don’t want them on it and I’m not around to police them 24/7.

Jan 2, 2019 4:18 AM in response to Hoolada

Same here. Have all settings up, pass-code enabled, block after limit expired both on downtime and daily quota. Still, apps, when opened, allow "Ignore" link, which renders whole feature useless for parent control.


This feature could be a game-changer for families, I'd put fixing it on high priority if I were Apple.

Jan 13, 2019 6:01 PM in response to crTopher

This is happening to us, too, and it’s very frustrating. I was using Qustodio on my kids’s Phones for about 6 months when Apple introduced Screentime. I thought it was a life saver at first. Qustodio has quite a lag time due to it's use of a VPN which wasn’t in necessarily the US, and Apple’s Screentime was so much more responsive and let them use all their apps. (They are teens so their apps are important to their social lives 🙄) But in the past few weeks it will sometimes allow them to ignore their screen time limits and will not block them at the end. It’s super frustrating and I am considering putting Qustodio back on their phones, although there were many arguments over its use. FIX THIS APPLE!!!!

Jan 28, 2019 2:36 AM in response to adolfgarlic

I think I found the solution to the ignore limits so if you are using the same password on your phone and your child phone when you set up the family sharing account on your child’s phone that might be your issue because the child’s phone is atomaticly igniring the limits because the password is already there for them to be able to do so. So to solve this issue under family sharing change the password for the limits that you set up and when your child presses ignore limits her or she would need the new password to do so.

Feb 2, 2019 1:17 PM in response to cpv123

If you are using the same password on your device and your child’s device this will happen because the ignore limits already has the password stored on your child’s phone so to fix this you will need to change the password for the limits on your phone and when your child trys to ignore the limits it will prompt to enter the new password or will need a parents approval

Feb 2, 2019 2:18 PM in response to Thrombokinase

Probably not justvthat. For messages probably. I have the same issue. Sometimes she is blocked and has to request more time but other times it does nothing. I actually put the limit in as she was watching something beside me and nothing happened. Diwn time came and went nothing. I did adjust all the settings so she has access only to phone messages and kindle.

Screen Time shows "Ignore Limit" on child's iPhone

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