Persistent Kids Finding Loopholes in Apple's Screen Time Limits

Apple is currently engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with persistent kids looking to circumvent Screen Time restrictions, but the company has been receiving some criticism for not moving quickly enough to lock down some of the loopholes, reports The Washington Post.

apple screen time screen icons
A few of the loopholes and ways for parents to shut them down are documented on the site Protect Young Eyes, while these and others are frequently shared by kids through various social channels.

“These are not rocket science, backdoor, dark web sort of hacks,” says Chris McKenna, founder of the Internet safety group Protect Young Eyes. “It blows me away that Apple hasn’t thought through the fact that a persistent middle school boy or girl can bang around and find them.”

Although Apple has been making tweaks and improvements to Screen Time since its launch, some of the loopholes kids have been using to work around Screen Time limits have gone unpatched. And while Apple declined to address specific issues related to Screen Time, the company noted that it's committed to improving the feature.

Apple spokeswoman Michele Wyman, in an emailed statement, said the company is “committed to providing our users with powerful tools to manage their iOS devices and are always working to make them even better.” Wyman did not comment on specific bugs and workarounds in Screen Time or the speed with which Apple addresses them.

Apple rolled out Screen Time last year as part of iOS 12, and brought it to the Mac just last week with the release of macOS Catalina.

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Top Rated Comments

Cartoonkid Avatar
75 months ago
I know I'll get bashed by parents of young children for saying this, but what happened to actually monitoring what kids are doing instead of expecting Apple to put a time limit on the electronic babysitter?
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mrongey Avatar
75 months ago
Kids would be more effective than many QA engineers if it weren't for pesky labor laws. ?
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unity451 Avatar
75 months ago
It's not rocket surgery... If your kid is abusing the freedom... take the device away!
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
willmtaylor Avatar
75 months ago

Kids will be kids.
If only parents would...parent.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ctrlshft Avatar
75 months ago
Kids who are clever enough to circumvent these restrictions shouldn't have them enforced.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mutepointer Avatar
75 months ago
Where there is a will, there’s away. ?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)