Hi Apple Developer Support,
I’m developing an iOS app that uses FamilyControls, ManagedSettings, and DeviceActivity.
My app requests Screen Time authorization with:
try await AuthorizationCenter.shared.requestAuthorization(for: .individual)
Issue: On my development-installed build, AuthorizationCenter.shared.authorizationStatus becomes .approvedWithDataAccess, and the app can display usage data.
However, after installing the App Store / App Store Connect distribution build, the same device and same flow returns .approved instead of .approvedWithDataAccess. As a result, the app only treats the authorization as management access, not usage-data access.
App details:
- App name: App时记
- Main bundle ID: com.qteqpid.appstop
- Device Activity Monitor extension: com.qteqpid.appstop.AppStopMonitorExtension
- Device Activity Report extension: com.qteqpid.appstop.AppStopReportExtension
- Version/build tested: 2.0 (4)
- Team ID: 5N6B48T57B
What I verified: I exported an App Store Connect IPA from Xcode Organizer on September 3, 2026 and inspected the actual signed entitlements with codesign.
The main app and both Screen Time extensions all include:
com.apple.developer.family-controls = true com.apple.developer.family-controls.app-and-website-usage = true com.apple.security.application-groups = group.com.qteqpid.appstop get-task-allow = false
The DistributionSummary.plist also shows Apple Distribution signing and App Store provisioning profiles for the main app and both extensions.
Question: Given that the App Store Connect distribution IPA appears to contain the app-and-website-usage entitlement on the main app and both extensions, what conditions would cause AuthorizationCenter.shared.authorizationStatus to return .approved instead of .approvedWithDataAccess for an .individual authorization?
Is there an additional distribution-side approval, App ID setting, provisioning support setting, device state, or Screen Time privacy limitation that can prevent .approvedWithDataAccess even when the signed entitlements are present?
I would appreciate guidance on how to verify why data access is not granted in the App Store/TestFlight environment.
Thank you.
are you testing in the EU on the store ? approvedWithDataAccess is accessible only in the eu, and the associated functions that needs this permission, it works on dev devices everywhere. it's clearly indicated in the documentation : https://developer.apple.com/documentation/familycontrols/authorizationstatus/approvedwithdataaccess
