What you will achieve
Use Screen Time on Mac to monitor usage, set limits, and restrict content for child accounts.
Screen Time on Mac mirrors iOS limits: app timers, content filtering, and downtime schedules. It helps families and distraction-prone adults — not enterprise DLP. Managed child accounts integrate with Family Sharing for remote parent overrides from iPhone.
1) Enable Screen Time
- System Settings → Screen Time.
- Turn on for your account or a child’s managed account.
- Optionally share across devices with same Apple ID.
2) App and category limits
Set daily limits for apps or categories (Social, Games). When time expires, macOS blocks or warns per your Downtime settings.
3) Downtime and App Limits
- Downtime — schedule offline hours; allow always-permitted apps (Phone, Maps).
- Communication Limits — control Contacts in Messages/FaceTime for child accounts.
4) Content & Privacy
Restrict adult web, Game Center, and password changes on managed accounts. Requires Family Sharing organiser for children.
5) Parental passcode
Set a Screen Time passcode so limits cannot be bypassed without it. Different from login password.
6) Focus modes integration
Screen Time Downtime overlaps Focus schedules — align them so work Mac is not blocked during on-call evenings. Configure allowed apps in Focus details separately from Screen Time always-allowed list.
7) Mac-specific limits
Categories include Games and Social across Mac and iOS if “Share across devices” on — disabling category on Mac may block iPhone too. Use per-app limits for Slack instead of entire Social category if needed.
8) Managed child accounts
Create child account under Family Sharing — Screen Time limits sync from parent iPhone. Child cannot change system date to bypass if “Require administrator password” set for date & time changes.
Verify
Usage reports populate after 24 hours; test limit triggers on a non-critical app; child account cannot override without passcode.
Additional troubleshooting notes
If steps above do not resolve the issue on the first attempt, reboot once, confirm System Settings → General → Software Update is current, and retry with a second administrator account to rule out profile or keychain corruption in your daily user. Document exact error text from Console.app with timestamp — vague “it still fails” without logs wastes support time. On Apple Silicon, re-test after full shutdown (not just restart) because firmware and Thunderbolt controllers reset only on cold boot. Intel Macs should repeat test in Safe Mode to bypass third-party login items. Before erase or keychain reset, verify Time Machine or clone backup completed — batch 3 guides assume Monterey/Ventura/Sonoma/Sequoia paths in System Settings; search Spotlight for renamed panes if your macOS version labels differ slightly.