General: Forums topic: Family Controls Forums tag: Family Controls Configuring Family Controls documentation Requesting the Family Controls entitlement documentation Screen Time Technology Frameworks documentation FamilyControls documentation What's new in Screen Time API video Meet the Screen Time API video

We have developed a Parental/Self control app using Screen time API. We have used individual authentication to authorize the app, using the instructions here: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/familycontrols/authorizationcenter The problem is , that individual auth can be disabled easily , by the following steps: enter Settings app. in Settings app, click on the Parental/Self control app. click to disable screen time restriction. show the device owner's face/fingerprint. (or pin code) Why is that a problem: Parental control apps, or self-control apps, are about giving control to the software, To make it hard for the user to disable the restrictions. So using the flow I have introduced above, it's super-easy for a user to disable his Parental control restrictions, which misses the entire point of Parental/Self control idea. Furthermore, not only the user have the means to unlock his screen time restrictions, he also MUST have the means to unlock it. This makes Screen time (with individual auth) useless: I have a code ready to make a great parental control app for my clients, with amazing ideas, but I can't use the Screen time API unless this problem is fixed. Why child-parent auth is not enough: My clients are grownups people between ages of 15-40, that are interested in self-control, so they don't have iCloud child accounts. also, the child-parent auth solution forces my clients to give some control to other person, and my clients prefer their privacy. Some of them prefer self-control and not parental-control. What I suggest as a solution: 1: Give more options to users how to disable the Screen time restrictions. including: a second faceID / FingerPrint (that isn't the same as the one used to unlock the device) a second pin password. a string password 2: Give the users the option to choose to not have the device's owner Face/Finger/Pincode ID , as a method to disable the Screen time restrictions.

Hello, we’re seeing a rather serious regression on iOS 26.6: The issue appears to reproduce with a single named ManagedSettingsStore: import ManagedSettings let store = ManagedSettingsStore(named: ManagedSettingsStore.Name("specific")) store.webContent.blockedByFilter = .specific([ WebDomain(domain: "specific-domain-marker.example") ]) Expected behavior: Only the explicitly configured .specific(...) web domain filter should be reflected in the effective ManagedSettings / ManagedConfiguration state. Observed behavior: After configuring this single store with .specific(...), I’m seeing unexpected additional websites being blocked (mostly adult content) which should only happen when using the .auto(…) API. Documented under FB22890915 with Sample Project and Sysdiagnose.

Hi Apple Developer Support, I am writing to escalate an urgent unresolved request regarding our app BetterUs (Team ID: TK8M23SECQ, Bundle ID: com.dalesidebottom.betterus). Timeline of attempts: ~1 May 2026 — Submitted FamilyControls Distribution entitlement request via the official form at developer.apple.com/contact/request/family-controls-distribution for bundle IDs com.dalesidebottom.betterus.shield and com.dalesidebottom.betterus.report. No confirmation number received, no response. ~20 May 2026 — Raised support case 102892887667 via developer.apple.com/contact. Received acknowledgement from Eugene. ~21 May 2026 — Replied with all requested information (date of submission, business need, bundle IDs). Today — Still no approval and no further response. It has now been over 3 weeks since the original request. What I need: The FamilyControls Distribution entitlement is already approved on my account for: com.dalesidebottom.betterus ✅ com.dalesidebottom.betterus.monitor ✅ I simply need it extended to these two sub-extensions of the same app: com.dalesidebottom.betterus.shield (Shield Configuration extension) com.dalesidebottom.betterus.report (DeviceActivity Report extension) These are not new use cases — they are part of the same approved parental screen time app. Without this, BetterUs cannot be submitted to the App Store at all. I have active testers waiting and this delay is significantly impacting our launch. I would greatly appreciate urgent attention on this matter. Thank you, Dale Sidebottom

Hi, I am experience bad customer service from Apple not answering, or updating anything about my request for family controls. Is there a way we can speed up things?

Dear Developer Technical Support, I wanted to ask for technical advice regarding the DeviceActivityMonitor which is part of the DeviceActivity framework: The DeviceActivityMonitor has a very strict memory limit of 6MB. That’s not a lot and it doesn't leave a lot of room for any kind of code that accesses permanently stored data. I would therefore like to ask for advice on best-practices on how to share information between the main app and that extension: Is UserDefaults a good idea to use here? Can/should we use CoreData or SwiftData? Should we build super small file-based data sharing (e.g. via .plists)? Why is it necessary to share data? This can be simple things that inform the decision of the device activity monitor in intervalDidStart, intervalDidEnd, eventDidReachThreshold, eventWillReachThresholdWarning. For example a setting where the user decides if they want to receive a push notification on eventWillReachThresholdWarning. Or the list of tokens that is supposed to be blocked in eventDidReachThreshold or intervalDidStart. I’m asking because even though we are super careful and conservative about memory allocations in our DeviceActivityMonitor we are regularly seeing it being killed due to memory pressure. What’s the best way to approach this? I’m grateful for any kinds of hints! Thanks a lot and have a great day! – Frederik

Ive spent nearly one month to develop my first app, and now its done. but i am stuck with getting Family Controls Distribution entitlement. i`ve request that one month and half ago. but still get no response. I tried connect the apple developer support、send post on Forum、send code-level support on appstoreconnect. All completely disappeared into a black hole. I understand that you may be facing a significant backlog, waiting for nearly two months without any response or update regarding the Family Controls Distribution entitlement is extremely difficult for me to understand. I genuinely cannot understand why Apple’s review process is operating with such low efficiency.

Just curious if there is anyway to expedite the FamilyControl entitlement. I have seen few people stuck in this step for few days. I submit mine on the 4/18, and my Case ID: 102874096254 Just want to see if I can see any estimate time for my request. Thanks, Jing

When FamilyActivityPicker is used as an embedded view (not via the .familyActivityPicker sheet modifier), the search bar that normally appears at the bottom is not rendered on iPad. The same code shows the search bar correctly on iPhone. Environment Frameworks: SwiftUI, FamilyControls Device: iPad (reproduces on multiple models / iPadOS versions — 26.2, 26.5) iPhone: search bar appears as expected Usage The picker is placed directly inside a SwiftUI view hierarchy: import SwiftUI import FamilyControls struct ContentView: View { @State private var selection = FamilyActivitySelection() var body: some View { FamilyActivityPicker(selection: $selection) } } Expected A search field is visible at the bottom of the sheet (same as iPhone), allowing the user to search for apps/categories/websites. Actual On iPad, no search field is rendered. The picker only shows the category/app list. There is no way to search. Notes I would like the embedded FamilyActivityPicker to show the same search affordance on iPad that it shows on iPhone, so apps that rely on custom surrounding UI don't have to give it up to gain search.

With the ScreenTime API Apple talks a lot about their focus on privacy and the data not leaving the device. Does that mean there would be a problem with an app where the users ScreenTime data is shared to a custom backend? Could this potentially cause an app to be rejected from the AppStore?

Issue: The search functionality in FamilyActivityPicker has disappeared on iPadOS 26.0+. This feature was working in previous versions but is now missing. Framework: FamilyControls Expected: Search bar should be available in FamilyActivityPicker to help users find apps quickly. Actual: Search functionality is completely missing. Impact: Makes app selection difficult for users with many installed apps. Is this a known issue? If it's a bug, please address it in an upcoming update. If intentional, guidance on alternatives would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hey . So i'm building a screentime app whereby users can add an accountability partner who will be able to see their total screentime.(no app breakdowns included) . This will require me to send the data to firebase realtime database and retrieve for the accountability partner to see. Problem is , I've literally tried everything but the screentime still shows 0m on the accountabiliy partner's end. I need the data to be displayed rounded down to the nearest 0.5 e.g 1hr43mins ->1.5hrs+ ,2.0hrs+ ,3.5hrs+ , meaning it only moves when a threshold is crossed by the user. (this is to save database costs). Anyway i'd really appreciate if someone could help me out here. Thanks

Hello, I'm an iOS developer currently working on an application in Xcode. I submitted a Capability Request for Family Controls (Distribution) through App Store Connect, but the status has remained "Submitted" with no approval to date. My oldest request was filed on April 21, 2026, so it has now been almost a month. Approval of this request is essential for releasing my application, and the length of this review process has become a significant source of stress. Based on what I've seen from other developers, most requests are approved within four weeks at the latest. I would like to know when I can expect a decision on my requests. The Request IDs in question are the following five: AS9LZVLSRX, 2UB9RY7AJF, LJ5TWZ6HH3, DGA3UBV6W9, ANZD3T8X23 Please note that some of these are duplicate submissions for the same identifier, so I'd appreciate it if you could check and consolidate them as needed. Thank you in advance for looking into this. Best regards, Tomo

Hi everyone, I submitted my Family Controls (Distribution) entitlement request on April 19 and it's been stuck on "Submitted" for over 4 weeks now, no approval, no rejection, nothing. My app is an anti-doomscrolling app that uses the Screen Time API to block distracting apps until the user completes a workout. Individual use, not parental control. I have Family Controls (Development) approved on all targets, but Distribution is still stuck on Submitted for all of them: com.kmgzora.replock com.kmgzora.replock.MORADeviceActivityMonitor com.kmgzora.replock.MORAShieldAction com.kmgzora.replock.MORAShieldConfig The app is fully ready to ship, this is my last step. I've seen a few threads here where DTS engineers helped people in similar situation, hoping someone can take a look. Thanks in advance.

Hi Apple DTS, FivePrayer is a live App Store app and we are blocked by Family Controls (Distribution) after an app transfer. Bundle ID: com.fiveprayer.app Current team: FivePrayer LLC Previous team: Gansoft Inc. App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fiveprayer/id6755536905 This same app previously had Family Controls (Distribution) approved under Gansoft Inc. After the transfer to FivePrayer LLC, the capability did not carry over, so we had to request it again. It has now been pending for almost one month, and we cannot ship critical updates because Family Controls is a core dependency of the app. Is there a way to re-associate the previously approved entitlement with the transferred App ID, or route this to the correct Managed Capabilities / Entitlements team? Thank you.

Hello, Between April 20 and April 25 of this year, I submitted a request for the Family Controls Distribution entitlement through the following page: https://developer.apple.com/contact/request/family-controls-distribution After submitting the request, I clearly saw the message: “Thank you for your submission. We’ll review your request and contact you soon with a status update.” However, I have not received any further update or feedback since then. Afterward, I contacted Apple multiple times. Unfortunately, the responses I received consistently indicated that the relevant teams were unable to check the status or progress of the entitlement request, and no clear timeline or follow-up commitment was provided. Eventually, I was informed via email that the issue had already been escalated to the operations team for handling. However, many more days have now passed without any progress or update. At this point, it has been nearly one month since I submitted the entitlement request, yet I still have not received any result, status update, or meaningful feedback. I genuinely do not understand why the tracking and communication process for this entitlement request is so unclear and slow. I would sincerely appreciate it if the relevant team could provide a clear update regarding the current status of my request and the expected next steps. Thank you.

It has been 20 days since we applied for Family Controls (Distribution) permission, but the status still shows as Submitted. Is there any way to expedite the review process?

Hello, I submitted a request for Family Controls (Distribution) approval, and it has now been over 12 days without any update on the status. I understand that review times can vary, but I wanted to check if this delay is expected or if there’s anything I might need to do on my end to help move the process forward. Could anyone from the Apple team or the community provide insight into: Typical processing times for Family Controls distribution requests Whether delays beyond a few days are common Any steps I should take to follow up or expedite the review For reference: Status: Submitted Submission time: April 29, 2026 Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hello, Between April 20 and April 25 of this year, I submitted a request for the Family Controls Distribution entitlement through the following page: https://developer.apple.com/contact/request/family-controls-distribution After submitting the request, I clearly saw the message: “Thank you for your submission. We’ll review your request and contact you soon with a status update.” However, I have not received any further update or feedback since then. Afterward, I contacted Apple multiple times regarding this issue through Case ID: 102881595688. Unfortunately, the responses I received consistently indicated that the relevant teams were unable to check the status or progress of the entitlement request, and no clear timeline or follow-up commitment was provided. Eventually, I was informed via email that the issue had already been escalated to the operations team for handling. However, many more days have now passed without any progress or update. At this point, it has been nearly one month since I submitted the entitlement request, yet I still have not received any result, status update, or meaningful feedback. I genuinely do not understand why the tracking and communication process for this entitlement request is so unclear and slow. I would sincerely appreciate it if the relevant team could provide a clear update regarding the current status of my request and the expected next steps. Thank you.

Hello, Between April 20 and April 25 of this year, I submitted a request for the Family Controls Distribution entitlement through the following page: https://developer.apple.com/contact/request/family-controls-distribution After submitting the request, I clearly saw the message: “Thank you for your submission. We’ll review your request and contact you soon with a status update.” However, I have not received any further update or feedback since then. Afterward, I contacted Apple multiple times regarding this issue through Case ID: 102881595688. Unfortunately, the responses I received consistently indicated that the relevant teams were unable to check the status or progress of the entitlement request, and no clear timeline or follow-up commitment was provided. Eventually, I was informed via email that the issue had already been escalated to the operations team for handling. However, many more days have now passed without any progress or update. At this point, it has been nearly one month since I submitted the entitlement request, yet I still have not received any result, status update, or meaningful feedback. I genuinely do not understand why the tracking and communication process for this entitlement request is so unclear and slow. I would sincerely appreciate it if the relevant team could provide a clear update regarding the current status of my request and the expected next steps. Thank you.

Some of our users encounter an issue after updating their iPhone/iPad to iOS 17.5.1. The tokens passed in the Shield Configuration extension don't match the tokens they selected in my app using the FamilyPicker before updating to iOS 17.5.1. It seems the tokens changed for no reason. My app can't match the token from the ShieldConfigurationDataSource to any tokens stored on my end, causing my shield screens to turn blank. The same applies to tokens in the Device Activity Report extension. The only workaround I've found is to tell affected users to unselect and reselect apps and websites to block in my app. This gets them new tokens from the FamilyActivityPicker, which solves the issue. However, for some users, the bug reoccurs a few days later. Tokens seem to change again, causing the same issue in the Shield Configuration extension. I am not able to reproduce the issue on my test devices so I have no sysdiagnose to attach. However, this issue is affecting other screen time apps: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/732845 https://forums.developer.apple.com/forums/thread/756440 FB14082790 FB14111223 A change in iOS 17.5.1 must have triggered this behaviour. Could an Apple engineer give us any updates on this?