How to Disable Screen Time on a Mac or iOS Device

Last Updated: July 25, 2020

This wikiHow teaches you how to disable Screen Time on a Mac for yourself or a child you manage as well as how to turn off Screen Time notifications on an iPhone. If you want to set up and manage Screen Time, you can read How to Set Up Screen Time on iPhone or iPad and How to Set Up Screen Time and Configure It for Your Family.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:
Turning off Screen Time Notifications on iPhone

1
Open Settings
. You'll find this grey gear icon on one of your Home screens or in the Utilities folder.^{[1]
X
Research source}
2
Tap Notifications. This is usually in the third grouping of menu options.

Advertisement
3
Tap Screen Time. This will open the app's notification settings.
4
Tap the toggle next to "Allow Notifications" to turn it off
. Screen Time will still keep track of all your activity, but it won't send you notifications.
- To turn Screen Time completely off, tap Turn Off Screen Time. However, turning off screen time will also affect any other digital health settings you've set up, such as downtime settings, app limits, and content and privacy restrictions.^{[2]
  X
  Research source}
Advertisement

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:
Disabling Screen Time on Mac

1
Open System Preferences. Click the Apple logo in the top left corner of your screen to launch the app.
- If you're managing a child that isn't set up with Family Share, you'll need to follow this process under their Mac user account.
2
Click Screen Time. You'll see next to an icon of an hourglass in a purple circle.
3
Choose yourself (only if you're using Family Sharing). If you're not using Family Sharing, you can skip this step.
- If you're managing a child, you can select their profile from Family Sharing, enter your Apple ID and password, then continue.
4
Click Options. You'll see this in the lower left corner of the sidebar.^{[3]
X
Research source}
5
Click Turn Off. You'll see this in the upper right corner.^{[4]
X
Research source}

Advertisement