On pressing the secondary button on my ShieldConfigurationExtension, I remove the shields by setting shields in the named ManagedStore to nil in my ShieldActionExtension. // ShieldActionExtension.swift let store = ManagedSettingsStore() store.shield.applications = nil store.shield.applicationCategories = nil Now after some duration I want to re-apply the shields again for which I do the following: // ShieldActionExtension.swift DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + unlockDuration) { [weak self] in self?.reapplyShields(for: sessionId, application: application) } private func reapplyShields(for sessionId: String, application: ApplicationToken) { store.shield.applications = Set([application]) } Followed by the completionHandler: // ShieldActionExtension.swift completionHandler(.defer) Now the expectation is ShieldConfigurationExtension should be re-triggered with store.shield.applications = Set([application]), however I see the default iOS screen time shield. This behavior is experience when the blocked app is running in the foreground. However, if I close and re-open the blocked app - the ShieldConfigurationExtension is trigerred again correctly. If I do a completionHandler(.none) instead, the overriden configuration method in ShieldConfigurationExtension is not triggered. How do I make sure ShieldConfigurationExtension is triggered if the blocked app is running in the foreground when the shields are re-applied again?

I'm stuck in an impossible situation with DeviceActivityReportExtension on iOS 18. THE ISSUE: Configuration that works on device (iOS 18.2): Info.plist has only NSExtensionPointIdentifier Swift code uses u/main attribute App installs and runs perfectly Extension works correctly App Store validation FAILS: "Missing NSExtensionPrincipalClass" Adding NSExtensionPrincipalClass (as validation requests): Device installation FAILS with Error 3002 Error says: "NSExtensionPrincipalClass key is not allowed for this extension point" Cannot test on device Validation would likely pass ENVIRONMENT: Xcode 16.2 iOS 18.2 Extension point: com.apple.deviceactivityui.report-extension EVIDENCE IT'S WIDESPREAD: Apple Forums (3 days ago): https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/812380 Stack Overflow (1+ year): https://stackoverflow.com/questions/77866230/ ROOT CAUSE: iOS 18 changed this extension to use u/main pattern (no NSExtensionPrincipalClass needed). App Store validation hasn't been updated and still expects iOS 17 configuration. WHAT I'VE TRIED: ✅ All deployment targets set to iOS 18.3 ✅ Code follows Apple's WWDC 2022 guidance ✅ All entitlements correct ✅ Info.plist validated ✅ Clean builds ✅ Works perfectly on device No configuration satisfies both device runtime AND App Store validation. Has anyone successfully uploaded an app with DeviceActivityReportExtension to TestFlight on iOS 18? Any workarounds? This is blocking TestFlight deployment completely.

Hi everyone, I'm hoping someone can share their experience or offer advice on entitlement request timelines. I previously had two bundle IDs approved for an app I'm testing via TestFlight - both were approved within a few days. I recently submitted a request for a third bundle ID (JMSHRM8W5J), and after realizing I may not have included enough detail, I submitted a follow-up request (XS2QYC59UU) with more context. It's now been almost three weeks, which is significantly longer than my earlier approvals - though I recognize some of that time included the holidays. A few questions for the community: Has anyone experienced longer wait times for additional entitlements on an existing project (with approved entitlements)? Did submitting a second request help or potentially slow things down? Is there anything I should include in a request to improve chances of quick approval? Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

We're building a parental control app using FamilyControls (.child authorization). Our architecture: Parent sends pause command → Firestore + FCM Child receives push → NotificationService Extension triggers main app Main app sets ManagedSettings Shields Problem: If child disables Notifications in Settings and force-quits the app, we cannot enforce Shields. What we've tried: Firestore Realtime Listener (works only when app is running) DeviceActivityMonitor (intervalDidStart/End only triggers at schedule boundaries, eventDidReachThreshold requires explicit app selection via FamilyActivityPicker) Question: Is there a recommended approach for parental control apps to reliably enforce Shields when the child has disabled notifications? Or is this a known limitation?

I'm running into a contradictory requirement involving the DeviceActivity Report extension (com.apple.deviceactivityui.report-extension) that makes it impossible to both: upload the app to App Store Connect, and install the app on a physical device. This creates a complete catch-22. 📌 Overview My extension: Path: Runner.app/PlugIns/LoADeviceActivityReport.appex Extension point: com.apple.deviceactivityui.report-extension Implementation (SwiftUI): import SwiftUI import DeviceActivity @main struct LoADeviceActivityReport: DeviceActivityReportExtension { var body: some DeviceActivityReportScene { // ... } } This is the standard SwiftUI @main DeviceActivityReportExtension template. 🟥 Side A — iOS runtime behavior (device installer) If I add either of these keys to the extension's Info.plist: NSExtensionPrincipalClass NSExtensionMainStoryboard then the app cannot be installed on a real iPhone/iPad. The device installer fails with: Error 3002 AppexBundleContainsClassOrStoryboard NSExtensionPrincipalClass and NSExtensionMainStoryboard are not allowed for extension point com.apple.deviceactivityui.report-extension. To make the app install and run, I must remove both keys completely. This leaves the extension Info.plist like: NSExtension NSExtensionPointIdentifier com.apple.deviceactivityui.report-extension With this, the app installs and runs correctly. 🟥 Side B — App Store Connect upload validator However, when I upload the IPA with the runtime-correct Info.plist, App Store Connect rejects it: State: STATE_ERROR.VALIDATION_ERROR (HTTP 409) Missing Info.plist values. No values for NSExtensionMainStoryboard or NSExtensionPrincipalClass found in extension Info.plist for Runner.app/PlugIns/LoADeviceActivityReport.appex. So ASC requires that at least one of those keys be present. 💥 The catch-22 If I add PrincipalClass / MainStoryboard: ✔ App Store Connect validation passes ❌ But the app can NOT be installed on any device (Error 3002) If I remove PrincipalClass / MainStoryboard: ✔ The app installs and runs correctly ❌ ASC rejects the upload with “Missing Info.plist values” There is currently NO Info.plist configuration that satisfies both: Runtime: "NSExtensionPrincipalClass and NSExtensionMainStoryboard are not allowed." App Store Connect: "You must include NSExtensionPrincipalClass or NSExtensionMainStoryboard." 📌 Expected behavior For SwiftUI @main DeviceActivityReportExtension, the documentation and examples suggest the correct configuration is: NSExtensionPointIdentifier com.apple.deviceactivityui.report-extension with no principal class or storyboard at all. If that is correct for runtime, ASC seems to need updated validation rules for this extension type. ❓My Questions What is the officially correct Info.plist configuration for a SwiftUI DeviceActivityReportExtension? Should principal class / storyboard not be required for this extension type? Is this a known issue with App Store Connect validation? Is there currently a workaround that allows: installation on device and successful App Store Connect upload, without violating runtime restrictions?

Hello, I'm currently experiencing an issue with the DeviceActivityMonitor extension in my code, specifically with the eventDidReachThreshold callback. I'm hoping to get some insights into why this problem occurs and how to resolve it. Problem: Issue 1: The eventDidReachThreshold callback is not triggering as expected. It appears that the callback is not being invoked when the threshold is reached. Issue 2: After a few seconds, the eventDidReachThreshold callback starts to trigger multiple times. This unexpected behavior is causing problems in my code, as it results in incorrect actions being taken. iOS version: iOS16.7.2 and iOS17.1 Xcode version: 15.0.1 Swift version: 5.9 Here is my code to start the monitoring: func startMonitoring() { var startTime : DateComponents = DateComponents(hour: 0, minute: 0) let endTime : DateComponents = DateComponents(hour: 23, minute: 59) /// Creates the schedule for the activity, specifying the start and end times, and setting it to repeat. let schedule = DeviceActivitySchedule(intervalStart: startTime, intervalEnd: endTime, repeats: true, warningTime: nil) /// Defines the event that should trigger the encouragement. let event = DeviceActivityEvent(applications: socialActivitySelection.applicationTokens, categories: socialActivitySelection.categoryTokens, webDomains: socialActivitySelection.webDomainTokens, threshold: DateComponents(minute: 2)) let events: [DeviceActivityEvent.Name: DeviceActivityEvent] = [.socialScreenTimeEvent : event] do { activityCenter.stopMonitoring([.socialScreenTime]) /// Tries to start monitoring the activity using the specified schedule and events. try activityCenter.startMonitoring(.socialScreenTime, during: schedule, events: events) } catch { /// Prints an error message if the activity could not be started. print("Could not start monitoring: \(error)") } } If there are any known workarounds or potential solutions, please share them. Thank you for your help in resolving this problem.

Hello! I am working on a screentime app and wondering if anyone has had success achieving reliable background shield application while using com.apple.ManagedSettingsUI.shield-configuration-service? I recently switched from com.apple.deviceactivity.shield-configuration (which worked reliably but isn't accepted by TestFlight) and have not found any consistency getting shields to apply while the app is backgrounded. I believe this is a known limitation of ManagedSettingsUI and want to know if there are successful workarounds or any specific patterns/timing that improve consistency?

anyone has the same problem which is that your device activity extension ain't working even tho all the code work perfectly in the console, I setup it in the right way , tried to make schedule and it did the same exact thing when I tried to create usage threshold. anyone know the reason for this bug? here is my extension code import ManagedSettings import FamilyControls import Foundation import OSLog import UserNotifications class MonitoringExtension: DeviceActivityMonitor { private let defaults = UserDefaults(suiteName: "group.com.William.app") private let logger = Logger(subsystem: "com.William.app", category: "MonitoringExtension") override func eventDidReachThreshold(_ event: DeviceActivityEvent.Name, activity: DeviceActivityName) { let activityRaw = activity.rawValue logger.info("Limite atteinte: \(activityRaw)") scheduleNotification(title: "Limite dépassée", body: "Tu as utilisé trop de temps sur \(activityRaw).") guard let data = defaults?.data(forKey: "\(activityRaw)_selection"), let selection = try? JSONDecoder().decode(FamilyActivitySelection.self, from: data) else { logger.warning("Pas de sélection pour \(activityRaw)") return } let store = ManagedSettingsStore() // ← LE SEUL QUI MARCHE store.shield.applications = selection.applicationTokens if !selection.categoryTokens.isEmpty { store.shield.applicationCategories = .specific(selection.categoryTokens) } logger.info("BLOCAGE ACTIF via ManagedSettingsStore.default") } override func intervalDidEnd(for activity: DeviceActivityName) { super.intervalDidEnd(for: activity) let store = ManagedSettingsStore() store.clearAllSettings() // ← Débloque à minuit logger.info("Restrictions levées à la fin de l'intervalle") } private func scheduleNotification(title: String, body: String) { UNUserNotificationCenter.current().requestAuthorization(options: [.alert, .sound]) { granted, _ in guard granted else { return } let content = UNMutableNotificationContent() content.title = title content.body = body let request = UNNotificationRequest(identifier: UUID().uuidString, content: content, trigger: nil) UNUserNotificationCenter.current().add(request) } } }

Our app uses a 24-hour DeviceActivityMonitor repeating schedule to send users notifications for every hour of screen time they spend on their phone per day. Notifications are sent from eventDidReachThreshold callbacks at 1, 2, 3, etc, hour thresholds to keep them aware of their screen time. We have recently received an influx of emails from our users that after updating to iOS 17.6.1 their DeviceActivityMonitor notifications are saying their screen time was much higher than what is shown in DeviceActivityReport and their device's Screen Time settings. These users have disabled "Share Across Devices" - but I suspect the DeviceActivityMonitor is still getting screen time from their other devices even though that setting is turned off. Has anybody else noticed this, understands what is causing this, or could recommend a fix that we can tell our users to do?

Hi! For some reason my DeviceActivityReport sometimes fails to load. I've tried setting up a very simple mock views and displaying a report with a simple "Hello world" but even that won't work. It prints the following error message in the terminal but doesn't show anything else or any context as to what has gone wrong. Failed to update the client's configuration: Error Domain=DeviceActivityReportService.ReportViewController.ClientError Code=2 "(null)" It seems like the "makeConfiguration" method for the report isn't even being invoked. That may though just be an issue with printing messages in the extension. Any help on what could be the issue, or even just a message that you're being the same thing would be greatly appreciated!

Pretty much as per the title and I suspect I know the answer. Given that Foundation Models run on device, is it possible to use Foundation Models framework inside of a DeviceActivityReport? I've been tinkering with it, and all I get is errors and "Sandbox restrictions". Am I missing something? Seems like a missed trick to utilise on device AI/ML with other frameworks.

I am still struggling to nail down the screen time between monitoring and showing it in a DeviceActivityReport. It's always off by a couple of percentage points, which results in a difference of a couple of minutes between the time shown for my total screen time in DeviceActivityReport and DeviceActivityMonitor with a threshold set for all apps/websites/categories. In the report, I am looping through all segment (there is only 1 segement using .daily segment interval for a given day) then loop through all categories and all apps within each category and sum up all totalActivityDuration for each app. Based on avaiable documentation, that should corrolate to DeviceActivityMonitor threshold but it doesn't. Are there any differences in how these 2 places count screen time? Are there any apps/core ios services which are excluded from DeviceActivityMonitor. Would appreciate any help at all, I'm losing my mind here. My current suspicion is that Apple Developer documentation is counted twice. i.e. this website https://developer.apple.com/documentation/deviceactivity/deviceactivitymonitor shows up in usage as an App with bundleId of apple.developer.wwdc-release and time spent there is counted twice, against this bundleId AND Safari. I don't know why it's not counted as a webdomain.

Hello everyone, I’ve been stuck for weeks on an issue with Family Controls + Device Activity entitlements in my iOS app, and Apple Developer Support has not provided a solution so far. I’m hoping someone here who has successfully implemented Family Controls + Device Activity can point me in the right direction. About the App • The app is a Digital Wellbeing app called Breakloop. • It lets users select apps they want to block, requires them to complete a positive affirmation before opening those apps, and can re-block apps after a set time (e.g., 10 minutes). • This functionality exactly matches the purpose of Family Controls and Device Activity APIs. What Works So Far • Family Controls capability is enabled in the main app target in Xcode. • We have valid Apple Developer certificates (Apple Development) and a team account. • The main app builds and runs fine when using Family Controls alone. • We have App IDs for: • bl.Breakloop (main app) • bl.Breakloop.BreakloopMonitorExtension • bl.Breakloop.BreakloopShieldConfigurationExtension The Problem The provisioning profiles for the extension targets (BreakloopMonitorExtension and BreakloopShieldConfigurationExtension) do not include the com.apple.developer.device-activity entitlement even though: • The App IDs in the Developer Portal have Family Controls (Development) enabled. • The extensions have the correct entitlements file with both: com.apple.developer.family-controls com.apple.developer.device-activity • Xcode Signing & Capabilities points to the correct provisioning profile + certificate. Because the provisioning profiles don’t include the entitlement, the build fails with: Provisioning profile doesn't include the com.apple.developer.device-activity entitlement. What Apple Support Said Apple Support told me: • “Family Controls grants access to Device Activity.” • They cannot enable it manually or guarantee that profiles will include the entitlement. • They sent links to the documentation but no further assistance. What I Need Help With 1. Has anyone successfully built extensions using Family Controls + Device Activity? 2. Do I need to request any additional approval for Device Activity, or should it appear automatically once Family Controls is enabled? 3. Is there a known Xcode or Apple Developer Portal configuration issue that causes the entitlement to be missing in provisioning profiles? 4. Any working example of a project setup that uses Family Controls + Device Activity in extensions would be extremely helpful. Extra Info • We use the latest Xcode + iOS SDK. • Tried recreating certificates, profiles, and App IDs multiple times. • Followed Apple’s docs for Family Controls + Device Activity exactly. I would greatly appreciate any guidance, especially from someone who has this working with iOS app extensions. Thank you!

Hi, after updating to iOS 26 I'm encountering an issue where the FamilyActivityPicker no longer opens. No errors are shown in the console, it just never shows up. It works fine pre iOS 26. I've never had any issues with the picker showing up until iOS 26. My latest update was rejected because of this issue, but I've changed nothing in the code. Is anyone else experiencing this?

I started monitoring using the following code: deviceActivityCenter.startMonitoring( DeviceActivityName(name), during: makeDailySchedule(), events: events ) Where: DeviceActivitySchedule( intervalStart: DateComponents(hour: 0, minute: 0), intervalEnd: DateComponents(hour: 23, minute: 59), repeats: true, warningTime: nil ) In DeviceActivityMonitor, I read and write data using UserDefaults and keep the logic minimal to ensure the size does not exceed 6MB. However, after a period of time, monitoring continues to fail. Why is this happening? How can I resolve this issue?

I'm working on an app for iOS that will help people get tasks done. Within the app, we use a ManagedSettingsStore to let the user setup distracting apps. When the user opens any of those apps while it is being shielded, our ShieldConfiguration target opens and displays a screen that we configure with the description of the task they are supposed to do. On the bottom of the view, there are two buttons, one to start the task, and another to dismiss and return to their home screen. I want to have the button that starts the task open up the main application and deeplink to the focus view with the task that they started. Currently, the only thing that we can tell the system to do is via a ShieldActionResponse which is an enum with 3 cases: none, close, or defer. None of these three allow us to open the main application. I have found no workarounds that allow us to do it either. I've tried creating a custom URL scheme and calling UIApplication.shared.open(url), but there is no shared application available within the action extension. I have tried using a NSExtensionContext to open a url, but that does not work either. I have even tried starting a live activity to show the user what task they are working on and have a live timer, but that does not work either. I know it is technically possible, because an app I downloaded does it perfectly. The app is called "Ascent: Screen Time Control". Is there some sort of extension I am missing, or entitlement I have not requested? Any help would be very appreciated.

Hello, I have noticed that the ShieldConfiguration is only requested when opening a target app, and never when the application token is moved to a different shield while the target app remains in foreground. This causes problems because many times the wrong ShieldConfiguration is displayed (recycled) instead of requesting a new ShieldConfiguration. This bug has been around since the introduction of the Screen Time API in 2020 and is has not been addressed. Bug reports: FB14237883 FB17902392 Please fix asap!! Not acceptable to have bugs not being addressed for more than 5 years. Most concerning: This is still reproducing on iOS 26 beta 7!! Thanks a lot for your help.

As discussed and acknowledged here, there is a known bug with the FamilyActivityPicker. When a user expands a category that contains enough tokens to exceed the 50mb memory limit, the FamilyActivityPicker crashes. This happens quite frequently for heavy Safari users. An apple engineer mentioned on this thread that WebDomains shown in the picker are present based on the last 30 days of usage data as surfaced by WebKit. Is there any way a user can clear these WebDomains? Either programatically through our app or any other process we can guide them to as a workaround while this issue is getting fixed?

Hello, I am trying to display basic screen time data on my main screen. On the initial load of the screen, the DeviceActivityReport renders correctly and visible, but after being in the background and coming back to the app, the whole view is just blank. I don't think I'm doing anything special. Is this a known bug? @main struct MyActivityReportExtension: DeviceActivityReportExtension { var body: some DeviceActivityReportScene { // Create a report for each DeviceActivityReport.Context that your app supports. TotalActivityReport { totalActivity in TotalActivityView(totalActivity: totalActivity) } // Add more reports here... } } extension DeviceActivityReport.Context { // If your app initializes a DeviceActivityReport with this context, then the system will use // your extension's corresponding DeviceActivityReportScene to render the contents of the // report. static let totalActivity = Self("Total Activity") } struct TotalActivityReport: DeviceActivityReportScene { // Define which context your scene will represent. let context: DeviceActivityReport.Context = .totalActivity // Define the custom configuration and the resulting view for this report. let content: (String) -> TotalActivityView func makeConfiguration(representing data: DeviceActivityResults<DeviceActivityData>) async -> String { // Reformat the data into a configuration that can be used to create // the report's view. let formatter = DateComponentsFormatter() formatter.allowedUnits = [.day, .hour, .minute] formatter.unitsStyle = .abbreviated formatter.zeroFormattingBehavior = .dropAll let totalActivityDuration = await data.flatMap { $0.activitySegments }.reduce(0, { $0 + $1.totalActivityDuration }) return formatter.string(from: totalActivityDuration) ?? "No activity data" } } struct TotalActivityView: View { let totalActivity: String var body: some View { VStack(alignment: .center, spacing: 4) { Text("Screen Time") .font(.system(size: 14, weight: .regular)) .foregroundColor(.secondary) .frame(maxWidth: .infinity, // stretch to the full cell width alignment: .center) Text(totalActivity) .font(.system(size: 18, weight: .medium)) .foregroundColor(.primary) } } } And I am using it in my main view: private var analyticsSection: some View { HStack(spacing: 24) { // Some View DeviceActivityReport(DeviceActivityReport.Context(rawValue: "Total Activity"), filter: DeviceActivityFilter( segment: .weekly( during: Calendar.current.dateInterval( of: .weekOfYear, for: .now )! ), users: .all, devices: .init([.iPhone, .iPad]), )) .frame(maxWidth: .infinity) // another view } .frame(maxWidth: .infinity, maxHeight: showAnalytics ? 58 : 0) .padding(.horizontal, showAnalytics ? 24 : 0) .opacity(showAnalytics ? 1.0 : 0.0) .clipped() }

Hello everyone, I'm hoping to find a solution for a critical issue that is blocking my app's submission to the App Store. My app uses the Screen Time API and therefore has a main app and a DeviceActivityMonitor extension. The main app has been successfully granted the Family Controls (Distribution) entitlement. However, the DeviceActivityMonitor extension is stuck with only the Family Controls (Development) entitlement. This mismatch causes my build to fail during the archive/distribution process with the error: "Provisioning profile failed qualification. Profile doesn't support Family Controls (Development)." This is a hard blocker, as the extension is a mandatory part of the API. I have already filled out the entitlement request form and also contacted Developer Support (Case #102666581576), who confirmed they could not assist and directed me here. My question is: What is the correct procedure to escalate or resolve the issue of a required extension not receiving the distribution-level Family Controls entitlement after the main app has already been approved? Has anyone else encountered this specific "Development" vs. "Distribution" mismatch and found a definitive way to resolve it? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!