Hello, I have an Apple Developer Enterprise account, and Apple Support has already enabled MDM for my account. I successfully downloaded and installed my MDM Vendor Certificate (it shows up in Keychain as MDM Vendor: [My Company Name] with its private key). Here’s what I’ve done so far: Exported the Vendor Certificate + private key as a .p12, then converted to .pem and .key using OpenSSL. Generated an unsigned CSR with CN=com.apple.mgmt.External. using OpenSSL. Attempted to sign the CSR using: my Vendor certificate the Vendor private key Apple Worldwide Developer Relations (WWDR) intermediate certificate OpenSSL smime -sign command with DER output Problem: Every time I try to upload the vendor-signed CSR to the Apple Push Certificates Portal, I get an error (CSR rejected). Sometimes OpenSSL even fails with “unable to load certificates” depending on how the WWDR certificate is included. My Questions: What is the correct OpenSSL command and certificate chain Apple expects for signing the CSR? Do I need to include any additional intermediates besides WWDR? Is there an official Apple reference example for generating the vendor-signed CSR that the Push Certificates Portal will accept? Any guidance from the community (or someone who has successfully done this end-to-end) would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Sergio Sanchez

i am try to build an app that show beautiful result represent the user activity. but i found that if i write metal code in the View of some DeviceActivityReportScene, the metal code wasn't working. (the same metal code works in other taget) i can switch to canvas, but the perform is bad compare with metal. can use metal? or it is just not working?

Hello, I have noticed that the ShieldConfiguration is only requested when opening a target app, and never when the application token is moved to a different shield while the target app remains in foreground. This causes problems because many times the wrong ShieldConfiguration is displayed (recycled) instead of requesting a new ShieldConfiguration. This bug has been around since the introduction of the Screen Time API in 2020 and is has not been addressed. Bug reports: FB14237883 FB17902392 Please fix asap!! Not acceptable to have bugs not being addressed for more than 5 years. Most concerning: This is still reproducing on iOS 26 beta 7!! Thanks a lot for your help.

Do I need this permission to test out development on my local phone? I believe I do since I cannot get the monitor extension to embed AND sign, making it so i cannot test this feature. As in the class will not instantiate and trigger after specific time has happened

I'm working on an app for iOS that will help people get tasks done. Within the app, we use a ManagedSettingsStore to let the user setup distracting apps. When the user opens any of those apps while it is being shielded, our ShieldConfiguration target opens and displays a screen that we configure with the description of the task they are supposed to do. On the bottom of the view, there are two buttons, one to start the task, and another to dismiss and return to their home screen. I want to have the button that starts the task open up the main application and deeplink to the focus view with the task that they started. Currently, the only thing that we can tell the system to do is via a ShieldActionResponse which is an enum with 3 cases: none, close, or defer. None of these three allow us to open the main application. I have found no workarounds that allow us to do it either. I've tried creating a custom URL scheme and calling UIApplication.shared.open(url), but there is no shared application available within the action extension. I have tried using a NSExtensionContext to open a url, but that does not work either. I have even tried starting a live activity to show the user what task they are working on and have a live timer, but that does not work either. I know it is technically possible, because an app I downloaded does it perfectly. The app is called "Ascent: Screen Time Control". Is there some sort of extension I am missing, or entitlement I have not requested? Any help would be very appreciated.

Hello everyone, I'm hoping to find a solution for a critical issue that is blocking my app's submission to the App Store. My app uses the Screen Time API and therefore has a main app and a DeviceActivityMonitor extension. The main app has been successfully granted the Family Controls (Distribution) entitlement. However, the DeviceActivityMonitor extension is stuck with only the Family Controls (Development) entitlement. This mismatch causes my build to fail during the archive/distribution process with the error: "Provisioning profile failed qualification. Profile doesn't support Family Controls (Development)." This is a hard blocker, as the extension is a mandatory part of the API. I have already filled out the entitlement request form and also contacted Developer Support (Case #102666581576), who confirmed they could not assist and directed me here. My question is: What is the correct procedure to escalate or resolve the issue of a required extension not receiving the distribution-level Family Controls entitlement after the main app has already been approved? Has anyone else encountered this specific "Development" vs. "Distribution" mismatch and found a definitive way to resolve it? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi Apple Developer Community, I'm experiencing an issue with Family Controls entitlements for my iOS app that I'd like to discuss and see if others have encountered similar problems. Background: My app (BrightStart) uses Family Controls to help users build healthy morning routines by temporarily blocking distracting apps until they complete a sunlight exposure session. The core functionality relies on automatic time-based blocking (e.g., block social media apps from 6-8am daily). The Problem: I have Family Controls working perfectly in development builds, but I'm blocked from distributing via TestFlight due to entitlement issues with my Device Activity Monitor extension. Technical Details: Main app bundle ID: app.brightstart.app ✅ Has both "Family Controls (Development)" and "Family Controls (Distribution)" options available Extension bundle ID: app.brightstart.app.BrightStartMonitorExtension ❌ Only shows "Family Controls (Development)" - no Distribution option Error when archiving for TestFlight: ❌ Provisioning profile failed qualification Profile doesn't support Family Controls (Development). Family Controls (Development) feature is for development only. Please use Family Controls (Distribution) for distribution. Impact: Cannot upload to TestFlight for beta testing Native FamilyActivityPicker falls back to mock UI in distributed builds Automatic scheduled app blocking (via DeviceActivityMonitor) doesn't function in production Questions for the community: Has anyone successfully gotten "Family Controls (Distribution)" enabled for a Device Activity Monitor extension? Is this a known limitation, or should I expect this option to be available? Are there alternative approaches for time-based automatic app blocking that work in distribution builds? Should I contact Apple Support directly about enabling this entitlement for the extension? Btw, Cursor wrote this summary above, so it could be just hallucinating the issue? Would really appreciate anyone's thoughts here.

Hi All, Like many others I'm a little confused with gaining access to the family controls capability. Our app is ready to push to testflight, and we sent the request to apple last week. However only learning today that we need to request for the shield extension as well. I wanted to ask what the expected timeline is for being approved? I've seen posts here saying less than a week, and some people having to wait longer than 6 weeks. Any advise or guidance on getting approved smoothly & swiftly would be highly appreciated

Hello, I am trying to display basic screen time data on my main screen. On the initial load of the screen, the DeviceActivityReport renders correctly and visible, but after being in the background and coming back to the app, the whole view is just blank. I don't think I'm doing anything special. Is this a known bug? @main struct MyActivityReportExtension: DeviceActivityReportExtension { var body: some DeviceActivityReportScene { // Create a report for each DeviceActivityReport.Context that your app supports. TotalActivityReport { totalActivity in TotalActivityView(totalActivity: totalActivity) } // Add more reports here... } } extension DeviceActivityReport.Context { // If your app initializes a DeviceActivityReport with this context, then the system will use // your extension's corresponding DeviceActivityReportScene to render the contents of the // report. static let totalActivity = Self("Total Activity") } struct TotalActivityReport: DeviceActivityReportScene { // Define which context your scene will represent. let context: DeviceActivityReport.Context = .totalActivity // Define the custom configuration and the resulting view for this report. let content: (String) -> TotalActivityView func makeConfiguration(representing data: DeviceActivityResults<DeviceActivityData>) async -> String { // Reformat the data into a configuration that can be used to create // the report's view. let formatter = DateComponentsFormatter() formatter.allowedUnits = [.day, .hour, .minute] formatter.unitsStyle = .abbreviated formatter.zeroFormattingBehavior = .dropAll let totalActivityDuration = await data.flatMap { $0.activitySegments }.reduce(0, { $0 + $1.totalActivityDuration }) return formatter.string(from: totalActivityDuration) ?? "No activity data" } } struct TotalActivityView: View { let totalActivity: String var body: some View { VStack(alignment: .center, spacing: 4) { Text("Screen Time") .font(.system(size: 14, weight: .regular)) .foregroundColor(.secondary) .frame(maxWidth: .infinity, // stretch to the full cell width alignment: .center) Text(totalActivity) .font(.system(size: 18, weight: .medium)) .foregroundColor(.primary) } } } And I am using it in my main view: private var analyticsSection: some View { HStack(spacing: 24) { // Some View DeviceActivityReport(DeviceActivityReport.Context(rawValue: "Total Activity"), filter: DeviceActivityFilter( segment: .weekly( during: Calendar.current.dateInterval( of: .weekOfYear, for: .now )! ), users: .all, devices: .init([.iPhone, .iPad]), )) .frame(maxWidth: .infinity) // another view } .frame(maxWidth: .infinity, maxHeight: showAnalytics ? 58 : 0) .padding(.horizontal, showAnalytics ? 24 : 0) .opacity(showAnalytics ? 1.0 : 0.0) .clipped() }

I’m attempting to run Apple’s ScreenTime API while my app is in the background When debugging on a device my background restrictions functionality works, but on TestFlight it does not. This is the error message when analyzing the device in XCodes Console BackgroundTaskSuspended. Background entitlement: NO When the proper entitlements are added this error doesn't allow for the build to be uploaded to TestFlight. Provisioning profile "iOS Team Provisioning Profile: com.xxx.xxx" doesn't include the UIBackgroundModes entitlement. I have the proper entries in the “Signing and Capabilities” of the project, but my functionality will not run in the background when the app is not launched. I just need a function to run that calls Apple's ScreenTime API while my app is in the background. Other apps have achieved the functionality I’m looking for so I know it’s possible, but this is the roadblock I’m running into.

I already waited 4 weeks to get family control entitlement for my bundle ID : com.company.my-cool-app While trying to distribute the app, Its forcing me to have provisioning profile for com.company.my-cool-app.ReportExtension and when I create the provisioning profile it says : doesn't include the com.apple.developer.family-controls entitlement.

Hey there! So, I'm trying to see what I'm able to do with the Device Activity Report Extension, and I have a few questions about the following quote: To protect the user’s privacy, your extension runs in a sandbox. This sandbox prevents your extension from making network requests or moving sensitive content outside the extension’s address space. In particular, what constitutes the address space for this extension? Can I save data to a UserDefaults object that only the extension can access? (Apps like Opal allow the user to label apps as "distracting" and "non-distracting", and I'm wondering how they do that!) From what I've read, I believe it cannot write to a shared app group or model (and I just want to confirm this) It also seems that there's nothing preventing it from reading data from the main app, so I'm just wondering if it's able to read data from an app group or model with no problem. Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone, I'm facing a critical build issue related to Family Controls entitlements and would appreciate any insights or help from the community or Apple engineers. My Goal: I am trying to build and run my app on a physical device to test my DeviceActivityMonitor and ShieldConfigurationExtension. I have already been approved for the Family Controls (Development) entitlement. The Problem: When I try to build, Xcode fails with the following errors, preventing me from testing: For my DeviceActivityMonitor target: Provisioning profile "..." doesn't include the com.apple.developer.deviceactivity entitlement. For my SOSAppShieldExtension target: Provisioning profile "..." doesn't include the com.apple.developer.screen-time-api entitlement. The Core Evidence: This seems to be a server-side issue with how the provisioning profiles are generated. I have used the security cms -D -i command to inspect the downloaded .mobileprovision files. The inspection reveals that the profiles do contain the parent com.apple.developer.family-controls entitlement. However, they are missing the required child entitlements: The profile for my monitor extension is missing com.apple.developer.deviceactivity. The profile for my shield extension is missing com.apple.developer.screen-time-api. Troubleshooting Steps I've Already Taken: I believe I have exhausted all possible client-side fixes. Here is what I have tried over the past few days: Confirmed Approval: I am fully approved for the Family Controls (Development) entitlement. Enabled Capabilities: The "Family Controls" capability is checked and enabled for all three relevant App IDs (main app, monitor extension, shield extension) on the developer portal. Profile Regeneration: I have deleted and regenerated all provisioning profiles for all targets multiple times. Forcing a Server Refresh: I have toggled the "Family Controls" capability off, saved, and then toggled it back on and saved again for each App ID. Creating New Identifiers: I created a brand new, clean App ID for the DeviceActivityMonitor extension (com.sosapp.ios.devicemonitor) and created a new profile for it, but the error persists. Xcode Configuration: I am using manual signing in Xcode and have double-checked that each target is pointing to the correct, newly downloaded provisioning profile. I have also cleaned the build folder and deleted Derived Data multiple times. My Question: Given that my account is approved and the capability is enabled, but the generated profiles are provably missing the necessary child entitlements, this points directly to a bug in the profile generation service on Apple's backend. Has anyone else experienced this specific issue where the parent entitlement is present but the required child entitlements are missing? Is there a known workaround, or can an Apple engineer please investigate the profile generation for my Team ID? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I'm new to the Screen Time API and trying to block custom websites, but I can't get WebDomain tokens to work. When I create a WebDomain like WebDomain(domain: "reddit.com"), the token property is always nil. I have proper authorization and the app works fine for blocking apps, but website blocking just won't work. I'm confused because I see apps like JOMO that let users type in any website domain and successfully block it using Screen Time API. They have the same 49 domain limit and only ask for Screen Time permission, so they must be using the same API I am. But somehow their WebDomain tokens work and mine don't. I've tried creating the tokens right after getting authorization and during the FamilyActivityPicker session, but still get nil. Am I missing some setup step or API call that makes WebDomain tokens valid? Any help would be really appreciated since I'm stuck on this.

Hi all, I’m working on a Screen Time app using Managed Settings and ShieldConfiguration, and I’ve run into an issue where screen time is still being counted while the shield is shown — even when the user never interacts with the underlying app content. This happens both when I use the default shield and when I configure a custom ShieldConfiguration with a ShieldAction. As long as the shield is visible, the time appears to count toward the app’s usage. For example, if I leave the shield up for 20 minutes, Screen Time logs it as 20 minutes of app usage — even if no content is accessed behind the shield. Is this expected behavior? Is there a way to prevent Screen Time from counting time while the shield is shown? Any insights or workarounds would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Connor

Hello community, I'm new here, so please excuse my blunt question. I'm trying to understand how everything works and the logic behind it. I have an idea for an app which requires the FamilyControl entitlement. Now I am not sure if the idea even works, so I wanted to test it on my own device. Am I correct, that I cannot even test an App with such entitlements without paying for the ADP? Not even on my own device? I completely understand I need to be a member in the ADP if I want to distribute my app, but I'm not there, yet, and I just want to do a proof-of-concept. I thought I can't be the first one with that question, but couldn't find a past topic on this, so I'm posting it. Regards, Niklas

So when we select an app that needs to have a shield configured for family controls (managed settings), when selecting an individual application (say like Instagram), it works well but when I select a whole category (say like Social) it doesn't work well. here's the exact code for how I choose which application needs to be shielded: class ShieldConfigurationExtension: ShieldConfigurationDataSource { override func configuration(shielding application: Application) -> ShieldConfiguration { return ShieldConfiguration( backgroundBlurStyle: .systemChromeMaterial, backgroundColor: UIColor(red: 220.0/255, green: 20.0/255, blue: 60.0/255, alpha: 1.00), icon: iconImage, title: ShieldConfiguration.Label(text: "You CAN'T give up now!", color: .white), subtitle: ShieldConfiguration.Label(text: "Just a little bit more you got this", color: .white), primaryButtonLabel: ShieldConfiguration.Label(text: "GRINDSET", color: .white), primaryButtonBackgroundColor: .black, secondaryButtonLabel: ShieldConfiguration.Label(text: "Move Fast", color: .black) ) } Now this works well for application selection alone, but there isn't any for category selection as such. And the same is shown in its execution that a category goes back to default shielding. What API should I use for category shielding?

Hello, my app is frequently loosing / forgetting the Screen Time Permission that had been granted previously on iOS 26. I have experienced it myself, sysdiagnose is in this radar: FB18997699 But also also my App Store users who have updated to iOS 26 already have reported this bug. It would be great if Apple could ensure that this bug is addressed before iOS 26 is released to the public.

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

I am trying to create an app that allows users to opt in and apply a shield to all of their apps during a specified amount of time each day, but they can always turn the shield off from our app or directly ignore the shield for 1 minute from a shield button. It is important that the user doesn't choose what apps to apply a shield to through the activity picker, as some users might not apply it to all apps. Currently I am doing everything I described in my app and shield all apps and webdomain categories with this: store.shield.applicationCategories = .all() store.shield.webDomainCategories = .all() But the, store.shield.applicationCategories = .all(), seems to block everything except for some system apps like Messages, Phone, FaceTime, Maps, Clock, Settings, Safari, Find My, Clock, Compass, Health, etc. It does block some system apps like Weather, Photos, Camera, Measure, App Store, etc. I know I can fully block applications from it's bundle identifier but I do not want to remove apps from the home screen. I only want to apply a shield to all of them. I have read every apple documentation possible about this and can't see a way to do it, currently how I am doing it seems to be the best way but it is still not enough. Even blocking a specific category token taken from the activity picker won't apply to some system level applications under it unless you get all the application tokens and apply the shield by applications and not category. I am really looking for help to see if there is something I can do to achieve my app's goal.