In my app I want to integrate a personilized Lock Screen. Does anybody know how that works?

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 Apple Engineers and fellow developers, I'm a student developer working on an educational focus management app that helps users hide distracting apps during study sessions. The app consists of: macOS app: Simple "Hide apps" button that triggers app hidding sessions iOS app: Uses Screen Time API to temporarily hide selected apps from home screen Communication: Bonjour networking between Mac and iPhone for session coordination The Challenge My app requires two entitlements that aren't available with Personal Developer Teams: com.apple.developer.family-controls (for Screen Time API) com.apple.developer.networking.multicast (for Bonjour device discovery) Current Error Messages text Cannot create a iOS App Development provisioning profile for "focuser.focuser-app". Personal development teams, including "My Name", do not support the Family Controls (Development) capability. Provisioning profile doesn't include the com.apple.developer.family-controls and com.apple.developer.networking.multicast entitlements. My Question for Apple Engineers Is there any legitimate way to test these privacy-sensitive APIs on my own devices for educational/learning purposes without purchasing the $99/year Apple Developer Program membership? I understand the security reasons behind these restrictions, but as a student just learning iOS development, it creates a significant barrier to experimenting with these technologies.

I am building a screen time management app. It has the main app target, and then three extensions - those are the four targets in Xcode. The three extensions are: Shield Device Activity Monitor Device Activity Report Extension I requested "Family Controls (Distribution)" capability from Apple for the main app target / bundle ID, and it got approved. Do I need it for the extensions too? Because previously I had "Family Controls (Development)" for the extensions...

I'm developing a parental control app that needs to block adult/18+ websites using the Screen Time API. I've run into scaling issues with 'ManagedSettings.webContent.blockedByFilter`. Environment: iOS 18.x, real device (iPhone) ManagedSettings framework Screen Time permissions granted Current Behavior: The Question: Commercial parental control apps successfully block tens of thousands of domains. What API or architecture should I be using to scale beyond 30-50 domains? Approaches I'm considering: Safari Content Blockers (limited to Safari only) Multiple ManagedSettingsStore instances Network Extension / DNS filtering A different Screen Time API approach What's the recommended way to block large domain lists (1000-60000+) across all apps and browsers? Any guidance appreciated! //33 domains - Works perfectly let blockedSites: Set<WebDomain> = [ WebDomain(domain: "example1.com"), WebDomain(domain: "example2.com"), // ... 31 more domains ] store.webContent.blockedByFilter = .specific(blockedSites) // All 33 domains blocked successfully // 101 domains - Complete failure (no domains blocked at all) let blockedSites: Set<WebDomain> = [ WebDomain(domain: "example1.com"), // ... 100 more domains ] store.webContent.blockedByFilter = .specific(blockedSites) // No errors thrown, but ZERO domains are blocked

Hello, I think it is quite a common use-case to open the parent app that owns the ShieldActionDelegate when the user selects an action in the Shield. There are only three options available that we can do in response to an action: ShieldActionResponse.none ShieldActionResponse.close ShieldActionResponse.defer It would be great if this new one would be added as well: ShieldActionResponse.openParentApp While finding a workaround for now, the problem is that the ShieldActionDelegate is not a normal app extension. That means, normal tricks do not work to open the parent app from here. For example, UIApplication.shared.open(url) does not work because we can’t access UIApplication from the ShieldActionDelegate unfortunately. NSExtensionContext is also not available in the ShieldActionDelegate unfortunately, so that’s also not possible. There are apps however, that managed to find a workaround, in my research I stumbled across these two: https://apps.apple.com/de/app/applocker-passcode-lock-apps/id1132845904?l=en-GB https://apps.apple.com/us/app/app-lock/id6448239603 Please find a screen recording (gif) attached. Their workaround is 100% what I’m looking for, so there MUST be a way to do so that is compliant with the App Store guidelines (after all, the apps are available on the App Store!). I had documented my feature request more than 2 years ago in this radar as well: FB10393561

Situation: I previously had Family Controls (Distribution) approved for a different bundle ID during initial development (for the same app I'm currently working on). I have since migrated to a new bundle ID to align with my app's branding and have already configured multiple third-party integrations (RevenueCat, backend services, etc.) with this new bundle ID. Request: In this scenario, can Apple please expedite the review process for Family Controls (Distribution) on the new bundle ID? The migration is necessary to maintain existing service integrations and avoid significant reconfiguration work for my app. Current Status: Submitted request for approval on new bundle ID over a week ago, still pending review.

class ShieldActionExtension: ShieldActionDelegate { override func handle(action: ShieldAction, for application: ApplicationToken, completionHandler: @escaping (ShieldActionResponse) -> Void) { // Handle the action as needed. switch action { case .primaryButtonPressed: if let url = URL(string: "blockfocusapp://") { let extensionContext = NSExtensionContext() extensionContext.open(url, completionHandler: nil) } // completionHandler(.defer) case .secondaryButtonPressed: let userDefaults = UserDefaults(suiteName: "group.in.appsquare.FocusApp.shieldExt") userDefaults?.set(false, forKey: "shouldOpenMainApp") completionHandler(.defer) @unknown default: fatalError() } } override func handle(action: ShieldAction, for webDomain: WebDomainToken, completionHandler: @escaping (ShieldActionResponse) -> Void) { // Handle the action as needed. completionHandler(.close) } override func handle(action: ShieldAction, for category: ActivityCategoryToken, completionHandler: @escaping (ShieldActionResponse) -> Void) { // Handle the action as needed. completionHandler(.close) } } I want to be able to open my app from ShieldActionExtension

I work at a school in NYC and have a software idea that could better support the new NYC phone ban law than current market options (i.e. Yondr pouches). Right now at my school, students and staff scan a QR code upon entering the building to indicate that they are in the building. They scan again on the way out to indicate they've left the building. This is super helpful for attendance, particularly in emergency situations (fire drills, etc). Imagine if when students scanned their QR code, it also activated an app similar to Opal or ScreenZen, but with an admin preset whitelisted apps. The idea is that this app would default deny access to all apps on students' phones except the admin preset whitelisted ones such as Phone, Calculator, etc. Depending on the age/needs of the student, other apps like Spotify, or medical apps could also be whitelisted. My question is -- is this idea possible to create? We would need admin preset controls to create the preset whitelist. We can't have students picking their own restrictions, as we know most would opt to not restrict at all. We would need an admin dashboard so teachers/admin can see which students have activated the app in the building, and which may be trying to sneakily avoid it. We would ideally need to be able to whitelist both system apps like Phone and Calculator, as well as non-system apps such as Spotify (and medical apps -- we have some students who manage/monitor their Diabetes with an app). I don't have a background in software. I'm a math and health teacher. I've experimented with trying to have friends who majored in CS to create this app for me, but they've all either struggled/lost interest. So I'm also looking for a business partner in this venture. If anyone has any guidance here, it would be so helpful! My boss (Head of School) is super interested in this idea and significantly prefers it to every other alternative that he has encountered. The problem is this idea does not exist yet! Note: I know this is a super similar idea to the app and product "Brick". Notably, though, Brick does not have the ability for admin preset controls, or the admin dashboard. We reached out to the company to see if they're create this for us and they said it's a back burner idea that they're aware of, but it's not a priority for them right now. Thank you for any guidance!

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!

Hello! I am experiencing some strange bugs around DeviceActivityEvents: When creating a DeviceActivityEvent we can assign a threshold and applicationTokens. The idea is, that after the user has spent said threshold on said apps, eventDidReachThreshold is called. includesPastActivity is set to false. On iOS 26 however, it happens (quite reliably after updating to a new beta seed) quite often that eventDidReachThreshold is called immediately (after a couple of seconds) instead of waiting for the threshold to be met. Is anyone else seeing similar issues on iOS 26? Only workaround I have found is to ask users to re-grant Screen Time permissions. This only holds for about two weeks though or at most until the next iOS 26 beta update is installed. Feedback filed under: FB18061981 FB18927456

Hi everyone, I’m currently developing a parental control app that uses the Screen Time API (FamilyControls, ManagedSettings, DeviceActivity). I have a question regarding the customization limits of the Shield UI in ManagedSettingsUI. From the documentation, I understand that we can customize the ShieldConfiguration (background color, blur style, icon, title, subtitle, button labels, etc.). However, I’d like to clarify a few points before finalizing the design: 1. Is it allowed (or technically possible) to display custom media content, such as videos, animations, or interactive elements, inside a custom Shield? 2. Are there limitations on the text length for the title and subtitle fields (e.g. maximum number of characters, multiline support, truncation behavior)? 3. Can the Shield be personalized per user (for example, showing a different title or color scheme based on user preferences or device state)? 4. Are there App Store Review restrictions or UI guidelines that define what a Shield should or should not contain (for instance, whether the Shield can resemble a mini-app experience)? I want to ensure that the implementation fully complies with Apple’s technical and design expectations before submission. Thanks in advance for any official clarification or best practices on how far we can go with Shield customization! Best regards, Ferdinand

Hi - appreciate your help in advance! Building a simple habit tracking app. I got approval for FamilyControls distribution. After creating a new provisioning profile with those capabilities enabled, when I try and build in xcode (16.4) using that Profile I get an error stating: "Provisioning profile "CreateMoreFamilyControlsv2" doesn't include the com.apple.developer.deviceactivity and com.apple.developer.deviceactivity.reporting entitlements" I've confirmed bundle identifier matches, Team etc Similarly when i do automatic signing see 3rd screenshot. Not sure what to do at this point, I've heard deviceActivity is automatically applied when family controls is approved but still running into this issue.

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.

I'm experiencing a conflict between Xcode 16's build requirements and App Store validation for DeviceActivityReport extensions. The Issue: Created a DeviceActivityReport extension using Xcode 16's template Extension builds and runs perfectly locally TestFlight upload fails with Apple saying EXAppExtensionAttributes is incorrect for widget extensions When I remove EXAppExtensionAttributes from Info.plist, local builds fail with: "Appex bundle does not define an EXAppExtensionAttributes dictionary" Current Info.plist (works locally, rejected by App Store): EXAppExtensionAttributes EXExtensionPointIdentifier com.apple.deviceactivityui.report-extension NSExtension NSExtensionPointIdentifier com.apple.deviceactivityui.report-extension NSExtensionPrincipalClass $(PRODUCT_MODULE_NAME).ActivityReportExtension The Problem: Xcode 16's "Device Activity Report Extension" template uses fileSystemSynchronizedGroups which appears to require the EX configuration format. But App Store validation rejects this format. Has anyone successfully uploaded a DeviceActivityReport extension created in Xcode 16? Any workarounds for this conflict between local build requirements and App Store validation? Using: Xcode 16.4, Family Controls entitlement (approved), iOS 18.5 SDK Thanks for any insights!

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!

Hello everyone, I would like to know if there is any way for an iOS app to automatically access a user’s total Screen Time (for example, daily or weekly usage) and then share this with friends so they can compare results, like in a “Screen Time battle”? Thanks you very much for you help!

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?

We are developing a parental control application in SwiftUI with features like app blocking and screen time management. We are using the Family Control API along with Apple Family Sharing, allowing parents to add multiple children to the family group. We have followed the apple documentation still we are facing following issues: App Blocking Issue: The family picker does not display each child's name separately or their apps individually. Instead, it shows all children's apps together, making it difficult to block apps for a specific child. Screen Time Data Issue: We receive the total screen time usage for all children combined rather than separate screen time data for each child. Syncing Delay: When a new child is added to the Family Sharing group, we are unsure how long it takes for their apps to sync and appear on the parent’s device.