Post not yet marked as solved
I'm looking to make an app using the ScreenTime API and the Managed Settings Framework. I'm experimenting with the FamilyActivityPicker, but when i open it from the simulator i see only categories with no applications.
Without being able to select applications, i cannot test properly the app.
I can't install it on a real device to test it because i do not have a paid Apple Developer account and therefore can't access the capability if i select my Free Developer Account in order to install it on my iPhone.
Post not yet marked as solved
I am currently trying to build a prototype parental control app using the ScreenTime API.
I was just wondering if I needed to create a separate parent and child app?
Post not yet marked as solved
Hi,
we are facing issues with the FamilyActivityPicker.
I have 2 devices in the same family, one successfully authorised as child device using AuthorizationCenter.shared.requestAuthorization(for: .child), the other one is used as parent device.
When I invoke FamilyActivityPicker on the children's device it works as expected but when invoked on the parent's device it only shows list of categories but not a single app. This behavior doesn't occur every time, on some devices it sometime works as it should.
It's very odd and I can't find any reason why it is happening. I would appreciate any tips.
Tested on app built with Xcode 15.3 an run on iOS 17.4.1 and iOS 16.7.2
Post not yet marked as solved
I am building an app that manages ScreenTime and I would like to persist the tokens of which apps are frequently limited to CoreData locally. I attempted to do so by converting to a string but was unable to find a way to initialize an ActivityCategoryToken with a string.
Is this possible? Am I going about it the wrong way?
Thanks.
Post not yet marked as solved
I currently have an app that is a companion app alongside the iOS app. I wonder if it is possible for me to make this app both a standalone and a companion app. Essentially if someone does not have an iphone they can still use the app. Is this possible?
Post not yet marked as solved
Hi !
We are super exited to switch to Xcode 15 when it will be released, but we have a major issue :
Apps built with Xcode 15 beta fail to show DeviceActivityReport base view on iOS 16.
The following message shows in the console :
] [default] LaunchServices: store (null) or url (null) was nil: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-54 "process may not map database" UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=process may not map database, _LSLine=66, _LSFunction=_LSServer_GetServerStoreForConnectionWithCompletionHandler}
2023-07-31 14:54:12.568332+0200 Opal[57940:4651501] [default] Attempt to map database failed: permission was denied. This attempt will not be retried.
2023-07-31 14:54:12.568420+0200 Opal[57940:4651501] [db] Failed to initialize client context with error Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-54 "process may not map database" UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=process may not map database, _LSLine=66, _LSFunction=_LSServer_GetServerStoreForConnectionWithCompletionHandler}
We Opened a bug report at the end of june but got no answer from Apple (FB12416769). It's 100% reproductible with a very simple sample project
If you guys could report the issue as well, it would be nice !
Post not yet marked as solved
I am developing a parental control app using Flutter and platform channels to integrate with the Screen Time API on iOS. The app has two interfaces - one for the parent and one for the child. I have set up Family Sharing correctly and installed the app on both the parent's and child's devices. However, I am encountering some issues with the Family Activity Selection feature.
It's worth noting that I am a Flutter developer with limited knowledge of Swift and iOS development, so if my issues stem from a mistake I made, please forgive me.
The problems I am facing are as follows:
When calling the family activity selection, the list of apps shown in the apps sheet is from the parent's device, and no apps from the child's device are displayed. I have double-checked that Family Sharing and other necessary configurations are set up correctly, including the family control capability.
Even if I select apps on the parent's device, the selected apps are not returned in the result. The returned array is empty. Additionally, there is no close or done button on the sheet, and drag-to-dismiss is not working either. This might be an issue with the way I have written the code (most of the native code was generated by AI assistants like Claude and GPT, as I am a Flutter developer with limited knowledge of Swift and iOS development).
I have tested other parental control apps that use the Screen Time API and observed the same issue, where the parent's apps are shown on the parent's device instead of the child's apps.
For more context, I have provided the relevant code snippet below:
import Flutter
import FamilyControls
import ManagedSettings
import SwiftUI
class FamilyActivityHandler: NSObject, FlutterPlugin {
// ...
private func openFamilyActivityPicker(result: @escaping FlutterResult) {
let store = ManagedSettingsStore()
let selection = FamilyActivitySelection()
// Adjusting for UIWindowScene for iOS 15 and later
guard let windowScene = UIApplication.shared.connectedScenes.first as? UIWindowScene,
let window = windowScene.windows.first else {
result(FlutterError(code: "NO_WINDOW_SCENE", message: "No window scene found", details: nil))
return
}
let viewController = UIHostingController(rootView: FamilyActivityPicker(selection: .constant(selection)))
viewController.modalPresentationStyle = .formSheet
window.rootViewController?.present(viewController, animated: true, completion: nil)
DispatchQueue.main.async {
let applications = selection.applicationTokens
let categories = selection.categoryTokens
let webDomains = selection.webDomainTokens
store.shield.applications = applications.isEmpty ? nil : applications
store.shield.applicationCategories = ShieldSettings.ActivityCategoryPolicy.specific(categories, except: Set())
store.shield.webDomains = webDomains
// Custom method to generate descriptive strings for tokens
let applicationsDescription = applications.map { token in
// Implement a custom description method or use an identifier property
"\(token)"
}
let categoriesDescription = categories.map { token in
// Implement a custom description method or use an identifier property
"\(token)"
}
let webDomainsDescription = webDomains.map { token in
// Implement a custom description method or use an identifier property
"\(token)"
}
let resultDict: [String: Any] = [
"applications": applicationsDescription,
"categories": categoriesDescription,
"webDomains": webDomainsDescription
]
result(resultDict)
}
}
}
I would greatly appreciate any guidance or insights from the community on how to resolve these issues and properly implement the Family Activity Selection feature using the Screen Time API in a Flutter app with platform channels.
Thank you in advance for your help!
Post not yet marked as solved
I am developing a parental control app using Flutter and platform channels to integrate with the Screen Time API on iOS. The app has two interfaces - one for the parent and one for the child. I have set up Family Sharing correctly and installed the app on both the parent's and child's devices. However, I am encountering some issues with the Family Activity Selection feature.
It's worth noting that I am a Flutter developer with limited knowledge of Swift and iOS development, so if my issues stem from a mistake I made, please forgive me.
The problems I am facing are as follows:
When calling the family activity selection, the list of apps shown in the apps sheet is from the parent's device, and no apps from the child's device are displayed. I have double-checked that Family Sharing and other necessary configurations are set up correctly, including the family control capability.
Even if I select apps on the parent's device, the selected apps are not returned in the result. The returned array is empty. Additionally, there is no close or done button on the sheet, and drag-to-dismiss is not working either. This might be an issue with the way I have written the code (most of the native code was generated by AI assistants like Claude and GPT, as I am a Flutter developer with limited knowledge of Swift and iOS development).
I have tested other parental control apps that use the Screen Time API and observed the same issue, where the parent's apps are shown on the parent's device instead of the child's apps.
For more context, I have provided the relevant code snippet below:
import Flutter
import FamilyControls
import ManagedSettings
import SwiftUI
class FamilyActivityHandler: NSObject, FlutterPlugin {
// ...
private func openFamilyActivityPicker(result: @escaping FlutterResult) {
let store = ManagedSettingsStore()
let selection = FamilyActivitySelection()
// Adjusting for UIWindowScene for iOS 15 and later
guard let windowScene = UIApplication.shared.connectedScenes.first as? UIWindowScene,
let window = windowScene.windows.first else {
result(FlutterError(code: "NO_WINDOW_SCENE", message: "No window scene found", details: nil))
return
}
let viewController = UIHostingController(rootView: FamilyActivityPicker(selection: .constant(selection)))
viewController.modalPresentationStyle = .formSheet
window.rootViewController?.present(viewController, animated: true, completion: nil)
DispatchQueue.main.async {
let applications = selection.applicationTokens
let categories = selection.categoryTokens
let webDomains = selection.webDomainTokens
store.shield.applications = applications.isEmpty ? nil : applications
store.shield.applicationCategories = ShieldSettings.ActivityCategoryPolicy.specific(categories, except: Set())
store.shield.webDomains = webDomains
// Custom method to generate descriptive strings for tokens
let applicationsDescription = applications.map { token in
// Implement a custom description method or use an identifier property
"\(token)"
}
let categoriesDescription = categories.map { token in
// Implement a custom description method or use an identifier property
"\(token)"
}
let webDomainsDescription = webDomains.map { token in
// Implement a custom description method or use an identifier property
"\(token)"
}
let resultDict: [String: Any] = [
"applications": applicationsDescription,
"categories": categoriesDescription,
"webDomains": webDomainsDescription
]
result(resultDict)
}
}
}
I would greatly appreciate any guidance or insights from the community on how to resolve these issues and properly implement the Family Activity Selection feature using the Screen Time API in a Flutter app with platform channels.
Thank you in advance for your help!
Hey, I am trying to use Family Controls in Mac Catalyst. On the iOS app it works fine. On macOs using Mac Catalyst it builds fine but I get following console output.
Failed to get service proxy: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4099 "The connection to service named com.apple.FamilyControlsAgent was invalidated: failed at lookup with error 159 - Sandbox restriction." UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=The connection to service named com.apple.FamilyControlsAgent was invalidated: failed at lookup with error 159 - Sandbox restriction.}`
When i try to open the FamilyActivityPicker on the macOs app following error is displayed in the GUI.
The operation could not be completed. (FamilyControls.ActivityPickerRemoteView Error error 2.)
Do I need a familyControls capability for macOs? If yes, I only find it for iOS.
Thanks for hints and help :)
Post not yet marked as solved
Update 1: Seems like app limits do work, but they don't account for time spent already in the day (only counts it since it first was scheduled? - but just guessing). This seems to be the change in behavior that is making it seem like broken.
I have an app that uses individual FamilyControls / Screen Time authorization. I am still investigating but reporting ASAP. Will add feedback and more later.
I am not sure what's going on, but so far:
App limits generally work fine throughout the day(?)
At around 9 PM they stop working if I clear ManagedSettingStore/DeviceActivityCenter (it might be unrelated to the time, but just clearing, but this is just what I know so far)
I tried setting app limits from Apple's Setting app (so I could see if it's not just my app, and that system could have issues) and it crashes. The whole Settings app freezes and then crashes. (edit: after some freezing, including in the app picker, I was able to set a limit and it worked...did notice some odd behavior where 1 minute break did not work, but selecting 15 minute break did work)
going to also update: FB13688616
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Hello, I am working on a screen time manager that can block certain apps. I want this to work by allowing a certain number of 5-minute sessions per day. For each app the user selects, I would like to store the number of sessions remaining for that app in a dictionary. Currently, I am storing them in a dictionary of type <AppToken: Int>. However, I would like to store this dictionary to UserDefaults, and it doesn't seem like it is possible to store the type AppToken to UserDefaults. I was wondering how I could go about storing the AppTokenas a String and maybe saving to UserDefaults as a <String: Int> instead? Thanks.
Post not yet marked as solved
Hi All,
I submitted a Family Controls Request Form but haven't heard back. I didn't get any case id when I submitted the request, so how do you track it and know when It is approved?
I'm currently developing an app that requires the main target and also the app extension to both use Family Controls. Does this mean I need to request forms for both app bundles separately or just the main app?
This is really worrying for us as our project is almost ready and we are unable to launch it :( . Would appreciate any responses.
Thanks,
Post not yet marked as solved
I've heard family controls request forms can take up to weeks and even months...
I'm currently developing an app that requires the main target and also the app extension to both use Family Controls. Does this mean I need to request forms for both app bundles separately or just the main app?
If I have to wait weeks or even months for both then that's a bit painful tbh. Is there a way to distribute to testflight without getting approved for the family controls entitlement? Thanks
Post not yet marked as solved
I am currently debugging an issue with DeviceActivityMonitor where the threshold is reached even though the target app (e.g. Instagram) is not being used actively.
I noticed that the device with the unexpected behavior had the instagram.com website opened in the Safari web browser (among hundreds of other tabs).
That tab was not actively used either (not in foreground, Safari app neither used).
However, I was wondering if it can happen that this website is contributing towards the threshold as well even though it is in background and not used?
Otherwise I cannot explain myself this strange behavior.
Post not yet marked as solved
I've requested for family control via:
https://developer.apple.com/contact/request/family-controls-distribution
& got approved.
I've now created new provision files with family control being checked in the identifiers & uploaded manually. Yet, still get:
Provisioning profile "redoAppStore" doesn't support the Family Controls capability.
Provisioning profile "redoAppStore" doesn't include the com.apple.developer.family-controls entitlement.
The family control capability is added to my main target (IOS app) as well.
What should I do to get it uploaded?
Post not yet marked as solved
currently when I try to set several schedules to the same activity the latest schedule I set is the only one
I understand I can have only 1 schedule for activity. ?
I thought about setting a new schedule on the intervalDidEnd but, I get no interval did start if the current time is in the middle of the interval I set
For example, now it is 15:00, and my previous interval started at 14:00 and ends at 16:00 but the user sets a new interval from 14:30 - 16:40
I call the deviceActivityCenter.stopMonitoring([someActivityName]) and get noIntervalDidEnd event
Then I set the new interval successfully with deviceActivityCenter.startMonitoring(someActivityName, during: deviceActivitySchedule)
and get no intervalDidStartEvent
So how can I achieve several intervals?
If I had gotten the events of the start and end it would be possible
Thanks for the help
Post not yet marked as solved
We persist ApplicationTokens in a storage container that ShieldConfigurationExtension has access to. In rare, cases all the ApplicationTokens for a user seem to change.
We know this because the Application parameter passed into configuration(shielding application: Application) -> ShieldConfiguration function has a Token that does not match (using == ) any of the ones we are persisting in storage.
Interestingly, the persisted ones still work, so I don't believe storage has gotten corrupted or anything. We can use them to add or remove shields, we can use them to display labels of the apps they represent, etc. But they don’t match what’s passed into the ShieldConfiguration extension. If the user goes into the FamilyPicker at this point and selects an app of a token that we are already persisting, the FamilyPickerSelection will have a token matching the new one that is passed into ShieldConfigurationExtension, not the one we persisted when they last selected that app.
This leads me to believe the tokens are updated/rotated in some cases. When and why does this happen, and how can we handle it gracefully?
I am trying to understand how to approach 'x minute' pauses for a DeviceActivitySchedule.
For instance, I would like to let the user pause for 5 minutes from an active schedule (meaning un-shielding the apps and re-applying the shield after the 5 min has passed).
The only way that came to my mind was calling the following:
Calling .startMonitoring to start monitoring a new event with the same apps starting .now and ending .now + 5 minutes;
Calling in the intervalDidStart, store.shield.applications.subtract(apps) so that the apps are removed from the shield.
Calling in the intervalDidEnd, store.shield.applications = apps so that the apps are now shielded again.
The problem is that, from the Apple Developer Documentation:
The minimum interval length for monitoring device activity is fifteen minutes.
So the minimum pause I could offer to the user would be 15 minutes.
And that tells me this approach is most likely wrong, because all other Screen Time apps, like Opal, Jomo, AppBlock offer also 5 min pause.
Does anyone know / can think of a different and better approach?
Post not yet marked as solved
Here is a post to gather findings in case anyone found out what this new API does.
Apple did not include any comments or documentation and due to the generic naming we don't know what this API might does.
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/deviceactivity/deviceactivityauthorization?changes=latest_major
Post not yet marked as solved
I am relatively new to swift, and working on an app blocker using flutter and swift. In my Xcode runner file, I used File > New > Target > ShieldConfigurationExtension and File > New > Target > ShieldActionExtension to create the extensions with all the necessary Info.plist values. However, when I try to build, I am presented with this error message:
Error (Xcode): Cycle inside Runner; building could produce unreliable results.
Cycle details:
→ Target 'Runner': CodeSign /Users/arshgupta/Documents/pledge-1/build/ios/Debug-iphoneos/Runner.app
○ That command depends on command in Target 'Runner': script phase “[CP] Copy Pods Resources”
○ That command depends on command in Target 'Runner': script phase “Thin Binary”
○ Target 'Runner' has process command with output '/Users/arshgupta/Documents/pledge-1/build/ios/Debug-iphoneos/Runner.app/Info.plist'
○ Target 'Runner' has copy command from '/Users/arshgupta/Documents/pledge-1/build/ios/Debug-iphoneos/shieldAction.appex' to '/Users/arshgupta/Documents/pledge-1/build/ios/Debug-iphoneos/Runner.app/PlugIns/shieldAction.appex'
2
Raw dependency cycle trace:
target: ->
node: <all> ->
command: <all> ->
node: /Users/arshgupta/Documents/pledge-1/build/ios/Debug-iphoneos/Runner.app/_CodeSignature ->
command: P0:target-Runner-18c1723432283e0cc55f10a6dcfd9e0288a783a885d8b0b3beb2e9f90bde3f49-:Debug:CodeSign /Users/arshgupta/Documents/pledge-1/build/ios/Debug-iphoneos/Runner.app ->
node: /Users/arshgupta/Documents/pledge-1/build/ios/Debug-iphoneos/Runner.app/GoogleSignIn.bundle/ ->
directoryTreeSignature: [ ->
directoryContents: /Users/arshgupta/Documents/pledge-1/build/ios/Debug-iphoneos/Runner.app/GoogleSignIn.bundle ->
CYCLE POINT ->
node: /Users/arshgupta/Documents/pledge-1/build/ios/Debug-iphoneos/Runner.app/GoogleSignIn.bundle ->
command: P2:target-Runner-18c1723432283e0cc55f10a6dcfd9e0288a783a885d8b0b3beb2e9f90bde3f49-:Debug:PhaseScriptExecution [CP] Copy Pods Resources /Users/arshgupta/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/Runner-gkxkhzabeikourbemhpfsdwlgfor/Build/Intermediates.noindex/Runner.build/Debug-iphoneos/Runner.build/Script-F71E8F68D8E3D1B95F11D101.sh ->
node: /Users/arshgupta/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/Runner-gkxkhzabeikourbemhpfsdwlgfor/Build/Intermediates.noindex/Runner.build/Debug-iphoneos/Runner.build/InputFileList-F71E8F68D8E3D1B95F11D101-Pods-Runner-resources-Debug-input-files-276c84640d21f41dd725929b3125799d-resolved.xcfilelist ->
command: P2:target-Runner-18c1723432283e0cc55f10a6dcfd9e0288a783a885d8b0b3beb2e9f90bde3f49-:Debug:WriteAuxiliaryFile /Users/arshgupta/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/Runner-gkxkhzabeikourbemhpfsdwlgfor/Build/Intermediates.noindex/Runner.build/Debug-iphoneos/Runner.build/InputFileList-F71E8F68D8E3D1B95F11D101-Pods-Runner-resources-Debug-input-files-276c84640d21f41dd725929b3125799d-resolved.xcfilelist ->
node: <target-Runner-18c1723432283e0cc55f10a6dcfd9e0288a783a885d8b0b3beb2e9f90bde3f49--fused-phase4-thin-binary> ->
command: P0:::Gate target-Runner-18c1723432283e0cc55f10a6dcfd9e0288a783a885d8b0b3beb2e9f90bde3f49--fused-phase4-thin-binary ->
node: <execute-shell-script-18c1723432283e0cc55f10a6dcfd9e02f1eee2015e8ff5ebcd27678f788c2826-target-Runner-18c1723432283e0cc55f10a6dcfd9e0288a783a885d8b0b3beb2e9f90bde3f49-> ->
command: P2:target-Runner-18c1723432283e0cc55f10a6dcfd9e0288a783a885d8b0b3beb2e9f90bde3f49-:Debug:PhaseScriptExecution Thin Binary /Users/arshgupta/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/Runner-gkxkhzabeikourbemhpfsdwlgfor/Build/Intermediates.noindex/Runner.build/Debug-iphoneos/Runner.build/Script-3B06AD1E1E4923F5004D2608.sh ->
node: /Users/arshgupta/Documents/pledge-1/build/ios/Debug-iphoneos/Runner.app/Info.plist/ ->
directoryTreeSignature: R ->
directoryContents: /Users/arshgupta/Documents/pledge-1/build/ios/Debug-iphoneos/Runner.app/Info.plist ->
node: /Users/arshgupta/Documents/pledge-1/build/ios/Debug-iphoneos/Runner.app/Info.plist ->
command: P0:target-Runner-18c1723432283e0cc55f10a6dcfd9e0288a783a885d8b0b3beb2e9f90bde3f49-:Debug:ProcessInfoPlistFile /Users/arshgupta/Documents/pledge-1/build/ios/Debug-iphoneos/Runner.app/Info.plist /Users/arshgupta/Documents/pledge-1/ios/Runner/Info.plist ->
node: /Users/arshgupta/Documents/pledge-1/build/ios/Debug-iphoneos/Runner.app/PlugIns/shieldAction.appex ->
command: P0:target-Runner-18c1723432283e0cc55f10a6dcfd9e0288a783a885d8b0b3beb2e9f90bde3f49-:Debug:Copy /Users/arshgupta/Documents/pledge-1/build/ios/Debug-iphoneos/Runner.app/PlugIns/shieldAction.appex /Users/arshgupta/Documents/pledge-1/build/ios/Debug-iphoneos/shieldAction.appex ->
node: <target-Runner-18c1723432283e0cc55f10a6dcfd9e0288a783a885d8b0b3beb2e9f90bde3f49--fused-phase5--cp--copy-pods-resources> ->
command: P0:::Gate target-Runner-18c1723432283e0cc55f10a6dcfd9e0288a783a885d8b0b3beb2e9f90bde3f49--fused-phase5--cp--copy-pods-resources ->
node: /Users/arshgupta/Documents/pledge-1/build/ios/Debug-iphoneos/Runner.app/GoogleSignIn.bundle
What can I do to fix this?
Clucch.
