I'm currently working with the FamilyControls API and testing my app on two different devices. Both apps are in the same family-sharing network with one phone being the owner of the network (I'll call this A) and the other one being an adult in the network(I'll call this B). When device A picks apps using the FamilyActivityPicker, it shares that selection with device B (via encoding, sending over network, and decoding on device B). However, interacting with the token (displaying it, using it in shield) throws an error saying the token is null. From the documentation, I thought every token would be the same across all devices in the family sharing network. So my question: How do I send the FamilyActivitySelection from A to B and have the tokens still be functional? Does this functionality only work if A is a "parent" and B is a "child" in the family sharing network? Also, side note: If I reverse the process and send the tokens from B to A. Interacting with the token works exactly as expected. For some reason, it's only going from A to B where it doesn't work.

I'm trying to accomplish the features in this video where the child device requests permission from parent to control scren time. Then the parent can choose apps on the childs phone from their phone. Everything on the childs device is working exactly like in the video. However, on the parents phone, when the FamilyActivityPicker appears, it's only the apps on the parents phone and when an app is selected, nothing changes in the FamilyActivitySelection. I found this forum post describe the same issue I am having. I have a physical device logged in the child and a simulator running as the parent. Why can't I see the child's apps on the parents phone? Is it cause I'm running one of them on a simulator?

Hello, I am unable to figure out how I tell the FamilyActivityPicker whether it should show apps installed on my personal device (to be used with AuthorizationCenter.shared.requestAuthorization(for: .individual)) or apps installed on my child’s device (authenticated their phone via AuthorizationCenter.shared.requestAuthorization(for: .child)). Is there any parameter or SwiftUI modifier I need to apply? Otherwise, how does the user or the app know which token belongs to them and which token belongs to their child’s device? Radar: FB17020977 Thanks a lot for your help!

Hey everyone, I have an app using the screen time api, I've had quite a few reports from users saying that our monitoring features stop working until they open our app. What happens is that activities and schedules set with the device activity monitor seem to disappear. This is something we check on app re-opens and so we schedule them again and that is why the monitoring starts working again. Of course our current solution is not optimal since our app is mainly passive. Has anyone experienced these kinds of issue ?

Versions XCode version: 16.2 iOS version: 17.0 Background I am trying to generate a QR code inside the ActivityReportExtention which encoded the FamilyActivitySelection information. The code is roughly: Question Can I create Image inside the ActivityReportExtension? I cannot even render a simple image (not QR code) inside the extension. How can I debug inside the extension? Logs of the extension are not shown in the console. Code A function to generate QR Code import CoreImage import UIKit func generateQRCode(from string: String) -> UIImage? { let data = string.data(using: .ascii) guard let filter = CIFilter(name: "CIQRCodeGenerator") else { return nil } filter.setValue(data, forKey: "inputMessage") filter.setValue("Q", forKey: "inputCorrectionLevel") // Q for medium quality guard let outputImage = filter.outputImage else { return nil } // Scale the QR code image so it looks clear on screen let transform = CGAffineTransform(scaleX: 10, y: 10) let scaledImage = outputImage.transformed(by: transform) // Create a CIContext and generate a CGImage from the CIImage let context = CIContext() if let cgImage = context.createCGImage(scaledImage, from: scaledImage.extent) { return UIImage(cgImage: cgImage) } else { return nil } } Inside ActivityReportExtension sandbox: struct LineChartView: View { var body: some View { VStack { if let qrImage = generateQRCode2(from: "this is a test") { Image(uiImage: qrImage) .resizable() .scaledToFit() .frame(width: 200, height: 200) } else { Text("QR Code generation failed") } } } }

We are trying to create a screentime app using the Family Controls as well as Device activity frameworks. The build succeeds but while pushing to an iphone we are getting an info.plist file for deviceactivity.framework could not be found error. For reference when using the Screentime API a physical device must be used not a simulator. When we remove the device activity framework this error also occurs for the family controls framework. We have added the Family Controls(development) Capability and applied for the distribution capability. We have redownloaded xcode multiple times on the main device, deleted derived data, and redownloaded all of the iphone SDKs and the issue still persists.

Hey guys I have may problem in screen time in ios 18 and ever update make it worse pl fix it in ios 18.4 some of these problems 1.when you restart the device the locking of out time app is disappear 2.it take long time to lock the website after restart the device

I'm currently running into an issue during the App Store review process where my reviewer isn't liking how the Screen Time API is being used to hide apps. For some context, my app uses the Managed Settings and Device Activity frameworks in the Screen Time API to allow users to set restrictions on their personal devices and save those restrictions into a preference object that they can switch between. This was detailed as my app's primary purpose in my Family Controls & Personal Device Usage Entitlement Request, which was approved last year. After around a year of working on this app, it's finally done and ready for submission to the App Store. However, my App Reviewer recently rejected the app with this single complaint: Guideline 2.5.1 - Performance - Software Requirements The app uses public APIs in an unapproved manner, which does not comply with guideline 2.5.1. Specifically, your app uses ScreenTime API to hide apps. Since there is no accurate way of predicting how an API may be modified and what effects those modifications may have, unapproved uses of public APIs in apps is not allowed. Next Steps Please revise the app to ensure that documented APIs are used in the manner prescribed in the documentation. All I'm doing is passing a set of Application objects to ManagedSettings.ApplicationSettings.blockedApplications, I'm not doing anything special. The documentation for this API itself states: The system hides blocked applications and prevents the user from launching them. In my reply, I let the reviewer know Regarding Guideline 2.5.1, I believe my use of the Screen Time API appears to align with Apple's documented intended functionality. The specific API I'm using, ManagedSettings.ApplicationSettings.blockedApplications, is explicitly documented by Apple as: "The system hides blocked applications and prevents the user from launching them." This is why I used the term "hide" in my app's marketing and functionality descriptions - I was directly referencing Apple's own terminology for this feature. The documentation clearly indicates this is an approved capability of this API. The source for this documentation can be found here: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/managedsettings/applicationsettings/blockedapplications-swift.property. I've also provided a screenshot of this documentation below. Despite providing a link to the documentation and a screenshot that shows the text from Apple explicitly stating "The system hides blocked applications", the App Reviewer just copy-and-pasted the same text in their reply and rejected the app. I should also note that we don't have control over how the system handles the Application set we pass into ManagedSettings.ApplicationSettings.blockedApplications, the system will always try to "hide" these apps as specified in the documentation. We can't change this behavior. Has anyone else faced this sort of rejection before? Is using ManagedSettings.ApplicationSettings.blockedApplications now considered an illegal use of the API? Or are we not allowed to use the words noted in the documentation of this API? The app rejection suggested I "consult with fellow developers and Apple engineers on the Apple Developer Forums." Any guidance here would be much appreciated as I continue to appeal this. For any Apple staff members reading this post, I can provide the Submission ID of the App Review privately if needed to help resolve this issue.

Questions I am developing a social screen time application that enables users to create “sprints” and set sprint goals—essentially time limits on usage for selected applications. For this functionality, users select the apps they wish to manage using the FamilyActivitySelection interface (from the FamilyControls framework). However, our backend needs to distinguish each application uniquely (for example, via the app’s bundle identifier) in order to correctly map and enforce user-defined sprint goals. Unfortunately, we are encountering an issue where retrieving the bundle identifier directly from the FamilyActivitySelection is returning nil. As a result, we are unable to globally identify the selected apps. Could you please advise if there is an alternative method or property available in the FamilyControls API that would allow us to uniquely identify the apps? Alternatively, is there another approach recommended by Apple for obtaining a global identifier for applications selected via FamilyActivitySelection? Thank you for your time and assistance. I look forward to your guidance on how to resolve this issue. Code The following is the print statement I used to check if bundleIdentifier is nil after I stored user's selections to the variable selection using familyActivityPicker: for app in selection!.applications { let bundleId = app.bundleIdentifier ?? "Unknown Bundle ID" let token = app.token let localizedDisplayName = app.localizedDisplayName ?? "Unknown Localized Display Name" print("Selected app bundle identifier: \(bundleId)") print("localizedDisplayName: \(localizedDisplayName)") } Console log result I received from the print statement above: Selected app bundle identifier: Unknown Bundle ID localizedDisplayName: Unknown Localized Display Name

After reading Apple documentation (FamilyControls, DeviceActivity, ManagedSettings, ManagedSettingsUI, ScreenTime) and testing the API, I do not find a way to get the child's device apps on the parent device in order to block them or disable them for a certain time. Is there a way of doing it? Or can it only be done locally on the child device?

I am developing an app that can help users disable selected apps at a specified time, so that users can get away from their phones and enjoy real life. Here is my data structure: extension ActivityModel { @NSManaged public var id: UUID @NSManaged public var name: String @NSManaged public var weeks: Data @NSManaged public var weekDates: Data @NSManaged public var appTokens: Data } Among them, weeks is of [Bool] type, indicating which weeks from Sunday to Saturday are effective; weekDates is of [[Date,Date]] type, indicating the effective time period; appTokens is of Set type, indicating the selected apps。 At the beginning, I will open a main monitor: let deviceActivityCenter = DeviceActivityCenter() do{ try deviceActivityCenter.startMonitoring( DeviceActivityName(activityModel.id), during: DeviceActivitySchedule( intervalStart: DateComponents(hour: 0,minute: 0,second: 0), intervalEnd: DateComponents(hour: 23,minute: 59,second: 59), repeats: true ) ) }catch { return false } Since the time range may be different every day, I will start the sub-monitoring of the day every time the main monitoring starts： override func intervalDidStart(for activity: DeviceActivityName) { super.intervalDidStart(for: activity) if activity.rawValue.hasPrefix("Sub-") { ActivityModelManager.disableApps( Tools.getUUIDFromString(activity.rawValue) ) return } let weekIndex = Calendar.current.component(.weekday, from: .now) let weeks = ActivityModelManager.getWeeks(activity.rawValue) if weeks[weekIndex] { let weekDates = ActivityModelManager.getWeekDates(activity.rawValue) let deviceActivityCenter = DeviceActivityCenter() do{ try deviceActivityCenter.startMonitoring( DeviceActivityName("Sub-" + activityModel.id), during: DeviceActivitySchedule( intervalStart: getHourAndMinute(weekDates[weekIndex][0]), intervalEnd: getHourAndMinute(weekDates[weekIndex][1]), repeats: false ) ) }catch { return } }esle { return } } I will judge whether it is main monitoring or sub monitoring based on the different activity names. When the sub-monitor starts, I will get the bound application and then disable it: static func disableApps(_ id : UUID){ let appTokens = ActivityModelManager.getLimitAppById(id) let name = ManagedSettingsStore.Name(id.uuidString) let store = ManagedSettingsStore(named: name) store.shield.applications = appTokens return } When the child monitoring is finished, I resume the application: static func enableApps(_ id : UUID){ let name = ManagedSettingsStore.Name(id.uuidString) let store = ManagedSettingsStore(named: name) store.shield.applications = [] } The above is my code logic. When using DeviceActivityMonitorExtension, I found the following problems: intervalDidStart may be called multiple times, resulting in several sub-monitors being started. After a period of time, the monitoring is turned off. The static methods enableApps and disableApps are sometimes not called

I want to monitor again from the bellow function of DeviceActivityMonitorExtension. I have the function of startMonitoring like this. override func eventDidReachThreshold(_ event: DeviceActivityEvent.Name, activity: DeviceActivityName) { super.eventDidReachThreshold(event, activity: activity) startMonitoring() } public func startMonitoring() { let startTime = DateComponents(hour: 0, minute: 0, second: 0) let endTime = DateComponents(hour: 23, minute: 59, second: 59)//DateComponents(hour: 11, minute: 0, second: 0)// let schedule = DeviceActivitySchedule( intervalStart: startTime,//DateComponents(hour: 0, minute: 0, second: 0), intervalEnd: endTime, repeats: true //warningTime: DateComponents(minute:1) ) let selection: FamilyActivitySelection = savedSelection() ?? FamilyActivitySelection() let center = DeviceActivityCenter() let selections = self.savedSelection() ?? FamilyActivitySelection() let applications = selections.applicationTokens let categories = selections.categoryTokens let webCategories = selections.webDomainTokens let store = ManagedSettingsStore() store.shield.applicationCategories = ShieldSettings.ActivityCategoryPolicy.specific(categories, except: Set()) store.shield.applications = applications store.shield.webDomains = webCategories let scheduleHard = DeviceActivitySchedule( intervalStart: startTime,//DateComponents(hour: 0, minute: 0, second: 0), intervalEnd: endTime, repeats: true //warningTime: DateComponents(minute:1) ) let event = DeviceActivityEvent( applications: selection.applicationTokens, categories: selection.categoryTokens, webDomains: selection.webDomainTokens, threshold: DateComponents(minute: 0)//timeLimitToUseApp i.e for 15 mins ) do { try center.startMonitoring( .weekend, during: scheduleHard, events: [ .weekend: event, ] ) print("ScreenTime Monitoring Started") } catch let error { print(error.localizedDescription) } } Please provide us with a solution about starting monitoring from DeviceActivityMonitoringExtension's eventDidReachThreshold function or if there is any other way.

The DeviceActivityReport view does not render immediately when added to the view hierarchy. Instead, it requires repeated navigation to the screen hosting the DeviceActivityReport view for it to appear. Furthermore, there is no programmatic way to determine whether the view is being rendered for the user, leading to an inconsistent and often poor user experience. I've created a sample project that demonstrates the issue.

Hello everyone, I’m currently developing an app that uses the Family Controls API, specifically the Screen Time API. However, my current entitlement is limited to development mode, which prevents me from publishing my app on TestFlight. I have already contacted Apple Developer Support for production access but wanted to reach out to the community as well and I was referenced to FamilyControls API documentation and I couldn't find anything related to my case. Has anyone successfully upgraded their entitlement from development-only to production? Any insights on the process, tips for communicating with Developer Support, or guidance on ensuring full compliance with the Family Controls guidelines would be extremely helpful.

We developing an app, It's a Parental control app required to block large number of apps. In child mobile installed more than 200 apps parent has to block and disable these apps but parent cant able to block more than 50 apps. Is there any option is there to block all the 200 apps from child mobile.

I am a macOS software developer using Xcode and Objective-C. I have a wallpaper app on the App Store, and recently, a few users have asked if the app can be excluded from the ‘Screen Time’ statistics. Is there a way to allow users to choose whether or not the app should appear in the ‘Screen Time’ tracking? I have already set LSUIElement to YES in the info.plist, but the app is still being tracked in ‘Screen Time.

I am able to block apps using FamilyControl and Shield. Unblocking is also simple—just assign nil to store.shield.applications. However, I want to unblock them even when the app is not open. Use case: Let's say the app allows users to create a session where a particular app is blocked for a specific duration. Once the session starts, the app should remain blocked, and as soon as the session time ends, it should automatically be unblocked. Please help me with this. Thank you!

Hi there, I am planning an app that requires use of the Family Controls Entitlement to access data on the user's screen time. I understand that this has to be requested from Apple before it can be used in production. I have found the following form to request approval, but it requires an App and bundle ID, which suggests that approval can only be requested after the app has been developed. https://developer.apple.com/contact/request/family-controls-distribution I'd like to avoid the situation where I spend a lot of time on developing the app, only to find out that the Family Controls Entitlement will not be granted for my use case. Is there any way that I can request provisional pre-approval for my app? Perhaps based on an app description and some mockups? Or, at least some idea of whether my particular use case is likely to be approved? Thanks.

I have noticed that when I select the app token of the youtube app to be blocked via a ManagedSettingsStore, the youtube website is blocked as well (which is a good and intended behavior IMO). But how do I know in the ShieldConfigurationDataSource’s override func configuration(shielding webDomain: WebDomain, in category: ActivityCategory) -> ShieldConfiguration to which ManagedSettingsStore the WebDomain’s token is related? We use different ManagedSettingsStores for different block purposes, which differentiate in their ShieldConfiguration. Thanks a lot and have a great day!

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