Screen Time API

Parental controls, app limiting, and digital-wellbeing features on Apple platforms. One workflow, three frameworks that share a single entitlement (Family Controls) and a single opaque-token model: FamilyControls authorizes and selects, ManagedSettings restricts/shields, DeviceActivity schedules and monitors. The deep API references live in references/ (four files). This file is the decision and discipline layer: read it first, open the references for specifics.

Dials

Set these explicitly at the start; they change what "correct" means.

1. CAPABILITY — monitor-usage (DeviceActivity schedules + thresholds, observe only) · shield-restrict (ManagedSettings shields/restrictions, block immediately) · both (default for limiters: monitor until a threshold, then shield from the extension).
2. SELECTION — app-tokens (ApplicationToken — block named apps the user picked) · category-tokens (ActivityCategoryToken — block whole App Store categories, incl. .all() / .all(except:)) · mixed (apps + categories + WebDomainToken). Driven entirely by what the user picks in FamilyActivityPicker.
3. PERSISTENCE — app-group (default and effectively required once an extension exists: encode FamilyActivitySelection/token sets with PropertyListEncoder, store in UserDefaults(suiteName:) shared with the DeviceActivityMonitor/shield extensions) · standard (only valid for an app with zero extensions — rare).

When to use

Building or reviewing any Screen Time feature: requesting Family Controls authorization, presenting the app picker, applying shields/restrictions, scheduling usage monitoring, or writing the DeviceActivityMonitor extension. Use this whether the app is a personal digital-wellness tool (.individual) or a parental-control app (.child). For displaying usage numbers, see the DeviceActivityReport note in references/overview.md — that data is only readable inside a report extension.

Core rules