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 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.

Hi - appreciate your help in advance! Building a simple habit tracking app. I got approval for FamilyControls distribution. After creating a new provisioning profile with those capabilities enabled, when I try and build in xcode (16.4) using that Profile I get an error stating: "Provisioning profile "CreateMoreFamilyControlsv2" doesn't include the com.apple.developer.deviceactivity and com.apple.developer.deviceactivity.reporting entitlements" I've confirmed bundle identifier matches, Team etc Similarly when i do automatic signing see 3rd screenshot. Not sure what to do at this point, I've heard deviceActivity is automatically applied when family controls is approved but still running into this issue.

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?

Hello, I’m running into an issue with the Family Controls (Distribution) entitlement not being included in my App Store Connect provisioning profiles. Here’s the situation: •Both my main app and its Screen Time extension have been approved for Family Controls (Distribution) In Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles → Identifiers, I can clearly see that the capability Family Controls (Distribution) is enabled for both App IDs. However, when I generate a new provisioning profile (either manually or via Xcode), the resulting .mobileprovision file’s Entitlements section does not include the Family Controls (Distribution) entitlement. As a result, building for distribution or archiving fails to recognize that entitlement, even though everything looks correct in the Developer Portal. But the missing entitlement persists. How can I successfully generate a distribution provisioning profile that includes Family Controls (Distribution)? Thanks in advance for any guidance — this seems like a subtle configuration issue, and I’d love to hear how to get over it. I can provide the Team ID and bundle ID upon request. STEPS TO REPRODUCE I’ve tried: •Regenerating both App IDs and provisioning profiles •Revoking and re-creating distribution certificates •Cleaning derived data and re-downloading profiles from Xcode Every time, creating a profile for App Store Connect will fail to include the capabilities the app has been approved for.

Hello! I recently submitted a request for the Family Controls (Distribution) entitlement for my app, and I’m trying to understand what kind of timeline to expect. I’ve seen posts suggesting anywhere from a few days to over a month for approval. Is there a typical review window for this entitlement? And is there anything I can do on my end to help the process move more smoothly? Thanks in advance!

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?

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!

I'm experiencing a contradictory validation issue with DeviceActivityReportExtension that creates an impossible situation: The Problem: Without NSExtensionPrincipalClass in Info.plist → App Store Connect rejects upload with: "Missing Info.plist values. No values for NSExtensionMainStoryboard or NSExtensionPrincipalClass found" With NSExtensionPrincipalClass → Local install fails with: "defines either an NSExtensionMainStoryboard or NSExtensionPrincipalClass key, which is not allowed for the extension point com.apple.deviceactivityui.report-extension" Setup: Extension point: com.apple.deviceactivityui.report-extension Using SwiftUI with @main attribute and DeviceActivityReportExtension protocol Xcode 16.2, iOS 17.6 deployment target Code structure: @main struct SpoolReport: DeviceActivityReportExtension { var body: some DeviceActivityReportScene { // Report scenes here } } The extension builds and runs perfectly without NSExtensionPrincipalClass, but cannot be uploaded to App Store Connect. Adding the key allows upload but breaks local installation. Is this a known issue? Is there a workaround or correct Info.plist configuration for DeviceActivityReportExtension? Thank you!

Hello, I'm currently experiencing an issue with the DeviceActivityMonitor extension in my code, specifically with the eventDidReachThreshold callback. I'm hoping to get some insights into why this problem occurs and how to resolve it. Problem: Issue 1: The eventDidReachThreshold callback is not triggering as expected. It appears that the callback is not being invoked when the threshold is reached. Issue 2: After a few seconds, the eventDidReachThreshold callback starts to trigger multiple times. This unexpected behavior is causing problems in my code, as it results in incorrect actions being taken. iOS version: iOS16.7.2 and iOS17.1 Xcode version: 15.0.1 Swift version: 5.9 Here is my code to start the monitoring: func startMonitoring() { var startTime : DateComponents = DateComponents(hour: 0, minute: 0) let endTime : DateComponents = DateComponents(hour: 23, minute: 59) /// Creates the schedule for the activity, specifying the start and end times, and setting it to repeat. let schedule = DeviceActivitySchedule(intervalStart: startTime, intervalEnd: endTime, repeats: true, warningTime: nil) /// Defines the event that should trigger the encouragement. let event = DeviceActivityEvent(applications: socialActivitySelection.applicationTokens, categories: socialActivitySelection.categoryTokens, webDomains: socialActivitySelection.webDomainTokens, threshold: DateComponents(minute: 2)) let events: [DeviceActivityEvent.Name: DeviceActivityEvent] = [.socialScreenTimeEvent : event] do { activityCenter.stopMonitoring([.socialScreenTime]) /// Tries to start monitoring the activity using the specified schedule and events. try activityCenter.startMonitoring(.socialScreenTime, during: schedule, events: events) } catch { /// Prints an error message if the activity could not be started. print("Could not start monitoring: \(error)") } } If there are any known workarounds or potential solutions, please share them. Thank you for your help in resolving this problem.

Certain entitlements require special permission from Apple like DriverKit or Screentime API/Family controls. Those entitlements are tied to the bundle IDs of the app. If those entitlements have been granted for an app from developer A (personal account) and we transfer that app to developer B (organization account), including the bundle IDs, will those bundle IDs keep the entitlement? Or will we need to re-request from the developer account B? Any insights or experiences regarding this process would be greatly appreciated.

Hi there, My app uses all the Screen Time API's with individual FamilyControls authorization. I've been using the API's for over 2 years (since they came out). In iOS 18 Beta (maybe started in Beta 3?), I've been experiencing random issues. I tracked it down to where it seems like DeviceActivityMonitor extension is more likely to deadlock in iOS 18. To reproduce: when DeviceActivityMonitorExtension.intervalDidEnd gets called, IF you call DeviceActivityCenter.startMonitoring for that SAME DeviceActivityName from the DeviceActivityMonitorExtension , the startMonitoring call deadlocks (if I pause debugger, it does not advance past DeviceActivityCenter.startMonitoring). The bug is reported in FB14664238. It also contains a sample project where you can reproduce this. I also note in the comment section that this is not the only way to encounter this problem. My application code (which is a lot more complicated) seems to deadlock on calling DeviceActivityCenter.activities. As a result, there seems to be an "overall trend" where, due to some changes, DeviceActivityMonitor extension is more likely to deadlock. The steps are not reproducible on iOS 17.6. This is built using Xcode 17.4. Thank you! 🙏

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.

When we request auth from the AuthorizationCenter, it seems that we're only really able to allow users to control the apps on the parent's phone. Is there a way to allow us to let parents manage apps on the kid's device directly through our parent app? For context, we have 2 different apps, one for the parent and one for the child. The child is able to purchase screen time and the parent can redeem them (activate those minutes) from their end.

Hello Apple development team, I have developed an App for screen time management, which mainly uses ScreenTimeAPI. Users can set certain Apps to be disabled during a certain period of time. After the App is released, users often report that the settings do not take effect as expected. I have seen many developers on the forum reporting that the DeviceActivityMonitor extension sometimes does not trigger callbacks. Based on this background, I have the following questions: Is it a known problem that the DeviceActivityMonitor extension sometimes does not trigger callbacks? If so, are there any means to avoid or reduce the probability of occurrence? In addition to being killed by the system when the running memory exceeds (I just called some ScreenTimeAPI and accessed UserDefaults in the extension, which should not exceed the running memory), under what other circumstances will the DeviceActivityMonitor extension be killed by the system? Will it automatically recover after being killed? Will some callbacks be called when killing? Does ManagedSettingsStore have a life cycle? How do you avoid conflicts when configuring the underlying operating mechanism of multiple stores? This is a random problem. I have never encountered it during development and debugging, but users often report it. thanks

I'm trying to build an app with a DeviceActivityMonitor extension that executes some code after 15 minutes. I can confirm that the extension is set up correctly and that intervalDidStart is executed, but for some reason the intervalDidEnd method never gets called. What I'm doing in both is just registering a local notification. class DeviceActivityMonitorExtension: DeviceActivityMonitor { let store = ManagedSettingsStore() override func intervalDidStart(for activity: DeviceActivityName) { createPushNotification( title: "Session activated!", body: "" ) super.intervalDidStart(for: activity) } override func intervalDidEnd(for activity: DeviceActivityName) { createPushNotification( title: "Session ended", body: "" ) super.intervalDidEnd(for: activity) } private func createPushNotification(title: String, body: String) { let content = UNMutableNotificationContent() content.title = title content.body = body // Configure the recurring date. var dateComponents = Calendar.current.dateComponents([.era, .year, .month, .day, .hour, .minute, .second], from: Date().addingTimeInterval(1.0)) dateComponents.calendar = Calendar.current dateComponents.timeZone = TimeZone.current // Create the trigger as a repeating event. let trigger = UNCalendarNotificationTrigger(dateMatching: dateComponents, repeats: false) let uuidString = UUID().uuidString let request = UNNotificationRequest(identifier: uuidString, content: content, trigger: trigger) // Schedule the request with the system. let notificationCenter = UNUserNotificationCenter.current() notificationCenter.add(request) } } And this is the method that is starting the monitoring session: @objc public static func startSession() -> String? { // Calculate start and end times let center = DeviceActivityCenter() let minutes = 15 let startDate = Date().addingTimeInterval(1) guard let endDate = Calendar.current.date(byAdding: .minute, value: minutes, to: startDate) else { return "Failed to create end date?" } // Create date components and explicitly set the calendar and timeZone let startComponents = Calendar.current.dateComponents([.era, .year, .month, .day, .hour, .minute, .second], from: startDate) let endComponents = Calendar.current.dateComponents([.era, .year, .month, .day, .hour, .minute, .second], from: endDate) // Create schedule let schedule = DeviceActivitySchedule( intervalStart: startComponents, intervalEnd: endComponents, repeats: false ) print("Now", Date()) print("Start", startDate, startComponents) print("End", endDate, endComponents) print(schedule.nextInterval) do { // Use a consistent activity name for our simple implementation let activity = DeviceActivityName("SimpleSession") try center.startMonitoring(activity, during: schedule) return nil } catch { return "Failed to start monitoring: \(error)" } } I can confirm my dates & date components make sense with the 4 print statements. Here is the output: Now 2025-02-12 04:21:32 +0000 Start 2025-02-12 04:21:33 +0000 era: 1 year: 2025 month: 2 day: 11 hour: 20 minute: 21 second: 33 isLeapMonth: false End 2025-02-12 04:36:33 +0000 era: 1 year: 2025 month: 2 day: 11 hour: 20 minute: 36 second: 33 isLeapMonth: false Optional(2025-02-12 04:21:33 +0000 to 2025-02-12 04:36:33 +0000) I get the Session activated! notification but never get the Session ended notification. Half an hour later, I've tried debugging the DeviceActivityCenter by printing out the activities property and can see that it is still there. When I try to print out the nextInterval property on the schedule object i get from calling center.schedule(for:), it returns nil. I'm running this on an iPhone 8 testing device with developer mode enabled. It has iOS 16.7.10. I'm totally lost as to how to get this to work.

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 am developing a parental control app using Apple’s Screen Time API and FamilyControls Framework. My goal is to allow parents to remotely block apps on their child’s device from their own phone. Does anyone have any idea how I can achieve that?

I am developing a parental control app using Apple’s Screen Time API and FamilyControls Framework. My goal is to allow parents to remotely block apps on their child’s device from their own phone. Anyone have any idea how can i do that?