Apple has admitted to a flaw in its parental controls feature, Screen Time, on the iPhone and iPad. The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is already working to fix the screen time bug, which will be resolved soon.
Screen Time settings allow parents to remotely manage their child’s device, enabling them to limit usage at specific times, restrict app usage, and block unwanted content. However, some parents have expressed frustration as the Screen Time settings occasionally fail to sync across all devices within a Family Sharing group or reset completely.
This means that children may be using their devices for activities like playing video games and using social media more than their parents deem appropriate.
The Wall Street Journal initially reported the screen time bug.
According to the report, despite Apple already addressing an issue with Screen Time settings failing to persist with iOS 16.5 (released in May), some parents have continued to experience the same problem on devices updated to iOS 16.6 and the iOS 17 beta. It is currently unknown when Apple will introduce enhancements to Screen Time.
An Apple spokesperson stated to The Wall Street Journal, “We are aware that some users may be experiencing an issue where Screen Time settings are unexpectedly reset. We take these reports very seriously and we have been, and will continue, making updates to improve the situation.”
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With the introduction of Screen Time as part of iOS 12 in 2018, parents now have an integrated solution for controls that were previously only available through third-party apps.
In case Screen Time does not work or users decide to wait for an update from Apple, the good news is that Apple is aware of the problem. This issue concerns many parents who are concerned about their children becoming addicted to their mobile devices.
Furthermore, this problem with screen time is not new. It first appeared in October of last year, as reported by a parent with the username Drmorin, who posted a message on the Apple Community website in December.
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