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.

After transferring the App ownership to a different account, if you update the app on iOS, two identical apps will show up in Settings > Screen Time. Users can't control the blocking settings from before the update - the only fix is to restart the phone. After the next execution of manageStore.shield.applications, users still can't manually disable the restrictions - their only option is to uninstall and reinstall the app. I believe this is related to how Screen Time API's authentication works - it's not just tied to the app's bundle ID, but also linked to the developer account's organization ID. Any suggestions for a clean solution that would allow smooth app updates after the transfer without running into these issues?

A screen time app I'm making has started telling users that their limit was reached even when they're far below their limit for the day (sometimes even at 0 minutes for the day). This issue only started happening after upgrading my software to iOS 26.2. Is this happening to anyone else? If so how have you found any solutions or does anyone know of any changes that could be causing this? Any help would be appreciated.

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!

Since the iOS 26.2 update, we have been experiencing anomalous behavior with the DeviceActivityMonitor extension when utilizing the ScreenTime API. Specifically, we are receiving the eventDidReachThreshold event within a few minutes of initiating monitoring, despite configuring a high usage limit. The process of turning off Screen Time -> restarting the device -> turning on Screen Time does not work. Any ideas? Thanks Filed Feedback Assistant: FB21560904

Hello, I'm experiencing a significant delay getting the Family Controls entitlement approved for my Shield Configuration Extension, and I'm hoping someone here can help or has experienced something similar. Background: I'm developing an app that uses the Screen Time API with Family Controls. My main app bundle (lukedev.Bloka) was approved for Family Controls (Distribution) and works perfectly. The Problem My Shield Configuration Extension (lukedev.Bloka.Shield) has been stuck waiting for approval for over 2 weeks: Request ID: 6C8LD22UVM Submitted: November 20, 2025 Status: Still "Submitted" Current State: Only shows "Family Controls (Development)" in capabilities What I've Tried ✅ Submitted entitlement request via the proper channels ✅ Contacted Apple Developer Support (case #102762028251) ✅ Verified the main app has full Family Controls approval ✅ Deleted and regenerated all provisioning profiles multiple times ✅ Confirmed the App ID configuration is correct in the Developer Portal The Issue Without Family Controls (Distribution) approval for the Shield extension, I cannot: Test the complete app functionality on physical devices Submit the app to App Store Connect Move forward with development The error I'm getting during provisioning: Provisioning profile failed qualification Profile doesn't include the com.apple.developer.family-controls entitlement Questions Has anyone experienced multi-week delays for Shield extension entitlements? Is this normal? Should Shield extensions automatically inherit entitlements from the main app, or do they really require separate approval? The documentation isn't clear on this. Are there any known workarounds to test Shield Configuration Extensions during development while waiting for distribution approval? How can I escalate this request? Developer Support initially told me I already had approval (for the main app) but didn't address the extension's separate bundle ID. Technical Details Xcode: 16.2 Target: iOS 18+ Main App: Family Controls (Distribution) ✅ Approved Shield Extension: Family Controls (Development only) ❌ Stuck Why This Matters The Shield Configuration Extension is a core component of Screen Time API apps - it's not optional. Without it, the app cannot properly display blocking interfaces. The fact that it requires a separate 2+ week approval process (after the main app was already approved) seems like a significant oversight in Apple's review process. Has anyone successfully navigated this situation or found a way to expedite the review? Any help or insights would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Luca

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'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?

Hey there, We are being incorrectly blocked by Time Limits since the iOS 26 update released earlier this year. We are receiving complaints from parents that set a screentime limit for "All apps", and then add an exception for us, that they are still getting blocked by the OS after a certain period of time. While we originally thought this was fixed in 26.1, we have recently been made aware it still occurs. Has anyone else experienced this issue? Is there something we can do from our side to protect ourselves from this? Telling customers to remove their "All app" limit isn't really practical given our customer base, so we're looking to see if there's something on Apple's end or our end that can alleviate this.

WKWebView has a new property "isBlockedByScreenTime" since iOS 26. But I do not yet understand when exactly this property could be used. When I setup content-based restrictions in the ScreenTime settings then WKWebView reports an error 105 via "webView:didFailProvisionalNavigation:" delegate. The isBlockedByScreenTime property still returns false in this case. If ScreenTime has a time-based limit, the App would not run at all. Under which circumstances would the property "isBlockedByScreenTime" return the value true? When exactly and for what can this property be actually used? The "problem" is that I want to find if a web page is blocked and can not be loaded, why this is the case. By simply trial and error I found out that WKWebView returns error codes 104 and 105 for blocked web sites because of content filters and Screen Time restrictions, however these error codes are not documented at all (at least I've not found any documentation or documentation for these error codes and also some other codes like 100, 102, 204 etc), so I'm not really sure if I handle all cases correctly. I hoped that isBlockedByScreenTime would at least tell me one reason for blocked pages. If there are documents which explain these error codes (100 and above), where I can find these?

I'm facing a problem where notification permissions are working fine in the main app, but failing in the Device Activity Report Extension on iOS 26. This issue wasn’t present in earlier iOS versions. Despite having notification permissions granted in the main app, the extension fails to get authorization. iOS 26: " Before iOS 26:

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 submitted this feature request through Apple’s Feedback Assistant and wanted to share it here, because many families run into the same issue and Apple prioritizes features based on the number of reports they receive. Current limitation: Screen Time only allows one single Downtime period per day for child accounts. For families with separate school hours and bedtime, this is very impractical. My real-world use case: • Downtime 1: 08:00–13:00 (school) • Downtime 2: 20:00–06:00 (bedtime) Both serve completely different purposes, but are not possible to combine with the current system. My suggestions to Apple: Support multiple Downtime periods per day for child accounts. Allow custom exceptions per Downtime block (e.g., allow Phone app). Provide more flexibility overall for families using Screen Time. If you would benefit from this too, it would be great if you could submit the same request via the Feedback app – the more reports Apple receives, the higher the chance for implementation. My Feedback ID: FB21265678 Thank you! 🙏 Hallo zusammen, ich habe über die Feedback-App einen Vorschlag an Apple eingereicht und wollte ihn hier teilen, weil viele Familien dasselbe Problem haben und Apple mehr Rückmeldungen braucht, um das Thema zu priorisieren. Aktuelles Problem: In Bildschirmzeit kann für Kinder aktuell nur eine einzige Auszeit pro Tag eingerichtet werden. Für Familien mit getrennten Schul- und Schlafenszeiten ist das extrem unpraktisch. Mein Anwendungsfall: • Auszeit 1: 08:00–13:00 (Schule) • Auszeit 2: 20:00–06:00 (Schlafenszeit) Beides erfüllt unterschiedliche Zwecke, ist aber nicht kombinierbar. Mein Vorschlag an Apple: Mehrere Auszeiten pro Tag für Kinderaccounts. Pro Auszeit eigene Ausnahmen festlegen (z. B. Telefon erlauben). Allgemein mehr Flexibilität im Screen-Time-System für Familien. Wenn ihr das ebenfalls hilfreich findet, wäre es super, wenn ihr es auch über die Feedback-App meldet – je mehr, desto besser. Feedback-ID meines Vorschlags: FB21265678 Danke euch! 🙏

Is it possible to change the title "Choose Activites" and also remove the search on the FamilyActivityPicker?

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

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

When I tap on one of the buttons in the ShieldAction extension I want to close the shield and open the parent app instead of the shielded app. Is there any way of doing this using the Screen Time API? class ShieldActionExtension: ShieldActionDelegate {      override func handle(action: ShieldAction, for application: ApplicationToken, completionHandler: @escaping (ShieldActionResponse) -> Void) {     // Handle the action as needed.           let store = ManagedSettingsStore()               switch action {     case .primaryButtonPressed:       //TODO - open parent app       completionHandler(.defer)     case .secondaryButtonPressed:       //remove shield       store.shield.applications?.remove(application)       completionHandler(.defer)         @unknown default:       fatalError()     }   }   }

I’m developing an app that uses Family Controls to block other apps. I’ve already received approval from Apple for the entitlement, and everything works perfectly when I run the app from Xcode on a physical device. However, when I upload the same build to TestFlight, the app installs and runs, but the Family Controls functionality doesn’t work — it seems like the entitlement isn’t being applied in the TestFlight version. So I’d like to ask: 👉 Do Family Controls entitlements work automatically on TestFlight builds, or is there any additional step required to enable them?

Hi everyone, solo iOS dev here. I’ve built a small focus app (“Modo”) that uses Apple’s Screen Time APIs to help curb social-media overuse. In development everything works: FamilyActivityPicker for selection, a DeviceActivityMonitor extension for schedules, and ManagedSettings shields (plus uninstall guard only while “Blocked” is active). I requested the Family Controls distribution entitlement so I can ship, but my capability request has been pending for a while and I’m not sure what the usual path forward is. What I’ve already done • Submitted the capability request (Account Holder), describing the use case (self-control / digital well-being), user consent flow,. • Implemented app + DeviceActivityMonitor + ManagedSettingsUI extensions; verified the debug build has the right entitlements and behavior. • Regenerated profiles after the request; checked codesign entitlements on the built targets. • Filed a Developer Support ticket referencing the capability request. I really appreciate any timelines, examples, or advice you can share. If an Apple engineer needs specifics (Team ID, request number), I can provide them as well. Thanks in advance!

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?