Screen Time is a feature that Apple added to iOS 12, which allows you to keep track of how much time you spend on each app you use, how many times you wake up your iOS device, and how many notifications you receive. This data can help you cut down on your device usage, and you can use Screen Time to set limits for your kids.
Screen Time was also added to macOS Catalina, with the same features. However, it doesn’t seem to work correctly. Rather than showing which apps are frontmost when you work, it shows how long apps are open:
We love this app because it goes further than just helping parents monitor screen time. Zift offers parental controls like instant reporting of online searches, updates on newly installed apps.
I keep a number of apps open all the time: Mail, Messages, Fantastical, Omni Focus, Music, and a few others. So counting them as actual “screen time” makes no sense.
Screen Time has both Free and paid features. The Free features are free forever. Get started today and also receive a 7 day trial of Screen Time Premium. Screen Time is unique in that it was first created, and continues to be run by parents who use it every day. Check Screen Time on Mac. As with iOS devices, the Screen Time feature is also native to Mac computers, and you can check app usage or limits, notifications received,. NOW, for better utility”App Off Timer” for android will time each app you choose and force it off the screen for a set time limit!!! I’ve tried 17 apps and this was the only to do that! Probs bc it takes more wakelocks and triggers but the benefit OMG is Great! Screen Time on macOS Catalina is a pane in System Preferences. Go to that whenever you like, or when prompted by weekly notifications, and you will see an overall total of the time you spent on.
In the above example, all these apps were open all day – obviously, the Finder is always “open” – so the data is essentially useless. Is this a bug or a feature? I would think that Screen Time should only record that time when apps are frontmost.
Screen Time also records “Pickups.” While this makes sense for an iOS device – how many times you picked up your iPhone and woke it up – it really makes little sense on the Mac. A pickup on the Mac is the number of times you woke the device from sleep, or restarted it.
And the apps listed in the lower pane are supposed to be the first app that you used when you awakened the Mac, but seem to be just the frontmost apps when the Mac is awakened. So if I put my Mac to sleep with Safari frontmost, when I wake it up, it will be counted as a pickup. On iOS this makes sense, because when you wake up your iOS device, you are on the home screen, so you have to actively choose which app you are going to use. Also, it doesn’t seem to be reliably updating on the Mac; right now, I’ve put my Mac to sleep a couple of times yet when I awaken it, it doesn’t add to the number of pickups. And it’s not counting the System Preferences app, which I’ve used several times after waking up my Mac to view Screen Time.
Finally, it records notifications, as does iOS. While iOS notifications can be a disturbance, since they appear on the device when it’s not in use, this isn’t the case on the Mac. If the Mac is asleep, notifications won’t display; they will, however, if your screen is dimmed, or if a screen saver is active. In any case, is there any value to counting these notifications, especially here where I have Music set to notify me of track changes?
While Screen Time is a useful feature, notably for setting limits for kids, its information isn’t very reliable. Say you have a child who has a game open in a window, or hidden, but isn’t playing; in the meantime, they’re working on their homework. All the time the app is running counts as usage time. There’s really no way to get any reliable information about which apps are really used.
And, for example, I might want to track my time using certain apps to bill clients, but with Screen Time, I’d have to remember to quit the apps when I switch to another app, and that is somewhat futile, because I certainly won’t remember.
It’s worth pointing out that Many Tricks’ Time Sink does this quite efficiently: by app, but also by window, so you can easily record exactly what you’re doing, especially if you are billing clients by the time you spent working for them.
Use Screen Time to see how much time you and your kids spend on apps, websites, and more. You can then make informed decisions about how you use your devices, and set limits if you'd like to.
Turn on Screen Time
Follow these steps in macOS Catalina or later:
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Screen Time.
- Click Options in the lower-left corner.
- Click Turn On.
- To be able to see usage information for every other device signed in to iCloud with your Apple ID, select “Share across devices” on each Mac. And on each iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings > Screen Time and turn on the same setting.
If you're using Family Sharing to manage a child account, you can turn on Screen Time directly from each of your child's devices. Or follow these steps to do it from your Mac:*
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Family Sharing.
- Click Screen Time in the sidebar, then select your child's name from the list on the right.
- Click the Open Screen Time button to return to Screen Time preferences.
- Choose your child's name from the menu in the upper-left corner.
- Click Options in the lower-left corner.
- Click Turn On.
Before deciding whether to select “Use a Screen Time Passcode,” learn about Screen Time passcodes.
Use a Screen Time passcode
Set a passcode so that only you can change Screen Time settings and allow more time when app limits expire. If you're a parent, use this feature to set up enforceable content, communication, and privacy limits for your child.
If you're using Family Sharing to manage a child account, follow these steps:*
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Screen Time.
- Choose your child's name from the menu in the upper-left corner.
- Click Options in the lower-left corner.
- Select “Use Screen Time Passcode,” then enter a passcode when prompted.
- If you're using the latest macOS, you're offered the option to enter your Apple ID to enable Screen Time passcode recovery, in case you forget your Screen Time passcode.
If you're not using Family Sharing to manage a child account, follow these steps:
- Make sure that you're on the same Mac used by the child, and are logged in to the standard account used by the child. If you're not sure what to do, just continue with the steps below: Screen Time will help you.
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Screen Time.
- Set up Downtime, App Limits, Communication Limits, and Content & Privacy with all of the limits that you want for your child.
- Click Options in the lower-left corner.
- Select “Use Screen Time Passcode,” then enter a passcode when prompted.
- If you're using the latest macOS, iOS, or iPadOS, you're offered the option to enter your Apple ID to enable Screen Time passcode recovery, in case you forget your Screen Time passcode.
If you're setting a passcode while logged in to your administrator account, an alert explains that you should do this from a standard account. If you haven't set up a standard account for your child, you can either do that and log into their account, or choose from these options:
- Allow this user to administer this computer. If you choose this option, the passcode affects the current user, even though they're also an administrator of this Mac. This isn't recommended, because administrators have macOS privileges that could allow them to work around passcode restrictions.
- Don't allow this user to administer this computer. If you choose this option, you're prompted to enter your account password in order to modify your configuration. You're then guided through the steps to create a new administrator account—for use by the parent. The administrator account you're currently logged in to is converted to a standard account—for use by the child.
Learn what to do if you forgot your Screen Time passcode.
Track usage
Use the App Usage, Notifications, and Pickups features in the Screen Time sidebar to see how much time you spent using apps and websites.
Each feature offers several views:
- To see usage for only one of your devices, choose a device from the menu at the bottom of the window.
- To switch between days, click within the weekly chart, or use the arrow buttons above the chart. To see total usage by week, including how much more or less time you spent compared to last week, choose This Week from the date menu at the top of the window.
- To see usage for a child account, choose the child's name from the menu in the upper-left corner.
App Usage
See how much time you spent using each app. Click Categories to view usage by categories such as social networking, productivity, or entertainment. To see an app's category, click the information icon that appears when your pointer is over an app in the list. Or click the app limit icon to quickly create a new app limit for that app or category.
Notifications
See how many notifications you received from each app. Remember, you can use the devices menu at the bottom of the window to separate the notifications received on your Mac from the notifications received on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
Pickups
See how many times you picked up your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, and which app you checked first after picking up the device.
Limit usage
Use the Downtime, App Limits, Communication Limits, Always Allowed, and Content & Privacy features in the Screen Time sidebar to schedule downtime and set limits on apps and websites. Limits apply to this Mac and all of your other devices that are using Screen Time and have “Share across devices” turned on.
To set limits for a child account, choose the child's name from the menu in the upper-left corner, then set up each feature.* Or do it from each of your child's devices.
Downtime
Schedule periods during which you can use only the apps that you've allowed. A downtime notification appears 5 minutes before downtime starts. After downtime starts, the app shows a message saying that you've reached your limit on the app.
- Click OK to close the app and honor the limit you've set. Or click Ignore Limit, then choose One More Minute, Remind Me in 15 Minutes, or Ignore Limit For Today.
- If you've set a Screen Time passcode, Downtime includes an additional setting: Block At Downtime. When this setting selected and you click Ask For More Time when downtime starts, entering the passcode allows you to approve the app for 15 minutes, an hour, or all day. Child accounts can click One More Minute once, or click Ask For More Time to send their request to the parent account for approval.
App Limits
Set the amount of time you want to be able use apps. You can set limits on specific apps, or entire categories of apps.
An app-limit notification appears 5 minutes before a limit is reached (expires). After the limit is reached, the app shows a window saying that you've reached your limit.
Manage Screen Time On Mac
- Click OK to close the app and honor the limit you've set. Or click Ignore Limit, then choose One More Minute, Remind Me in 15 Minutes, or Ignore Limit For Today.
- If you've set a Screen Time passcode, App Limits includes an additional setting: “Block at end of limit.” When this setting is selected and you click Ask For More Time when a limit is reached, entering the passcode allows you to approve the app for 15 minutes, an hour, or all day. Child accounts can click One More Minute once, or click Ask For More Time to send their request to the parent account for approval.
Screen Time App For Macbook Air
Communication Limits
Control who your children can communicate with throughout the day and during downtime. These limits apply to Phone, FaceTime, Messages, and iCloud contacts. Communication to known emergency numbers identified by your wireless carrier is always allowed. To use this feature, you must have Contacts turned on in iCloud preferences.
Always Allowed
Allow use of certain apps even during downtime or when an app limit has been set for “All Apps & Categories.” Phone, Messages, FaceTime, and Maps are always allowed by default, but you can change that here.
Content & Privacy
Restrict content, purchases, and downloads, or configure privacy settings. If you attempt to use one of the restricted items, you see a message explaining why you can't do it. For example, if you visit a blocked website, the message says that the website was blocked by a content filter. If you're using a Screen Time passcode, the message includes the option to click Add Website. You can then enter the passcode to allow the website. Child accounts can send a request for approval to the parent account.
Approve Screen Time requests
The Screen Time sidebar shows Requests when you have unanswered requests from a child account. From here you can manage all requests from your child. Approve the request for 15 minutes, an hour, or a day. Or click Don't Approve.
Requests for approval also arrive as notifications, and you can approve directly from the notification:
Learn more
- With Ask to Buy, you can give kids the freedom to make their own choices while still controlling their spending.
* If you used your iPhone to set up an Apple Watch for a family member, you need a device using iOS 14 or iPadOS 14 to set up or adjust Screen Time for that watch.