How to Disable Screen Time on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Screen Time is Apple's built-in usage management tool, available across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. It lets users — or parents managing a family account — set app limits, schedule downtime, restrict content, and track daily usage. Disabling it is straightforward in most cases, but the steps and your level of access depend on how Screen Time was set up in the first place.

What Screen Time Actually Does

Before disabling it, it helps to understand what you're turning off. Screen Time logs app usage by category, enforces daily time limits, blocks certain websites or content ratings, and can prevent changes to specific settings. When used in Family Sharing, a parent or guardian controls the settings remotely, which changes the process entirely for the child's device.

Screen Time is not a third-party app — it's built into the operating system. Turning it off doesn't delete usage history immediately, though data will stop being collected once it's disabled.

How to Turn Off Screen Time on iPhone or iPad

If you set up Screen Time yourself on your own device and it is not managed by a Family Sharing organizer, the steps are:

1. Open Settings
2. Tap Screen Time
3. Scroll to the bottom and tap Turn Off Screen Time
4. Confirm when prompted

If a Screen Time passcode was set, you'll be asked to enter it before the option becomes available. This is a separate four-digit code from your device unlock passcode — they are not the same thing.

If You've Forgotten the Screen Time Passcode

This is where things get more complicated. Apple ties Screen Time passcode recovery to your Apple ID. On devices running iOS 13.4 or later, you can recover the passcode through your Apple ID credentials directly within the Screen Time settings. Tap Forgot Passcode? when prompted, then authenticate with your Apple ID.

On older iOS versions, passcode recovery options are more limited. A full device restore via iTunes or Finder may be required, which erases the device entirely — so this is a last resort, and backing up first is essential if possible.

How to Disable Screen Time on Mac

The process on macOS is similar but lives in a different location:

1. Open System Settings (macOS Ventura and later) or System Preferences (earlier versions)
2. Click Screen Time
3. Select Turn Off or toggle the feature off

If a passcode is protecting Screen Time on the Mac, the same passcode recovery via Apple ID applies. On macOS, Screen Time settings sync across devices when iCloud is enabled, so disabling it on one device doesn't necessarily turn it off everywhere.

The Family Sharing Variable 🔒

This is the most significant factor affecting what you can actually do. If the device belongs to a child account managed through Family Sharing, the child cannot disable Screen Time themselves — by design. The Family Sharing organizer (typically a parent) must make changes from their own device:

1. Open Settings → tap their name → Family Sharing
2. Select the child's name
3. Tap Screen Time
4. Adjust or disable as needed

A child attempting to turn off Screen Time on their own device will hit a passcode prompt they can't bypass without the organizer's credentials.

Factors That Affect Your Process

MDM (Mobile Device Management) profiles — used by schools and employers — add another layer. If Screen Time restrictions are pushed through an MDM profile, disabling Screen Time in settings won't fully remove those restrictions. The profile itself must be removed, which typically requires the administrator who issued it.

Does Disabling Screen Time Remove All Restrictions? ⚙️

Not always. Screen Time controls several distinct functions — usage tracking, app limits, content restrictions, and communication limits. Turning off Screen Time disables all of these simultaneously on a personal device. However, if restrictions were also set through an MDM profile, or if Content & Privacy Restrictions were configured separately, those may persist or need to be addressed independently.

It's also worth noting that disabling Screen Time on a parent's own device through Family Sharing does not affect their child's device — each device's Screen Time is managed individually.

What Stays the Same After Disabling

• Previously recorded usage history remains visible temporarily but stops updating
• App limits and downtime schedules are removed immediately
• Website restrictions and content filters tied to Screen Time are lifted
• Communication limits are no longer enforced

Whether fully disabling Screen Time is the right move — versus adjusting individual limits, changing the passcode, or modifying specific restrictions — depends on why it was set up in the first place and who has authority over the device. 🔑 The setup on your particular device, and your role in relation to it, is what determines which of these paths actually applies to you.