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Apple Screen Time

Public API

Built-in Controls·support.apple.com/en-us/108806

Apple's built-in parental controls for iPhone, iPad, and Mac with app limits, downtime scheduling, content restrictions, communication limits, and Family Sharing integration.

15 full + 0 partial capabilities

2 platforms

Free— Included free with all Apple devices running iOS 12+, iPadOS 13+, and macOS Catalina+.

About Apple Screen Time

Apple Screen Time is the native parental control system built into iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Through Family Sharing, parents can remotely manage their children's devices with granular controls: daily app category limits, scheduled downtime, explicit content restrictions based on age ratings, communication limits (restricting who kids can call, text, and FaceTime), and Ask to Buy for App Store and iTunes purchases. Screen Time provides detailed weekly usage reports broken down by app and category. For enterprise and education environments, these controls are fully configurable via Mobile Device Management (MDM) profiles, making Apple Screen Time one of the few built-in solutions with a robust programmatic API.

Device Support

iOSmacOS

Pricing

Free

Included free with all Apple devices running iOS 12+, iPadOS 13+, and macOS Catalina+.

API Integration

Public API

Fully configurable via Apple MDM (Mobile Device Management) profiles. Restrictions payloads, app lock, web content filter, and Screen Time configuration profiles are documented in Apple's Device Management framework.

Age Range

Ages 0–17

Connect via Phosra

How Phosra Connects to Apple Screen Time

Apple Screen Time's public API lets Phosra push rules directly. Connect once, sync automatically.

Apple Screen Time

Connect Source

Link Apple Screen Time to a child profile and enable automatic rule syncing across all supported capabilities.

POST /v1/sources

bash

curl -X POST https://api.phosra.com/v1/sources \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
      "child_id": "ch_emma_01",
      "source": "apple-screen-time",
      "credentials": {
          "api_key": "apple-screen-time_ak_...",
          "account_id": "apple-screen-time_acct_01"
      },
      "auto_sync": true
  }'

Apple Screen Time

Sync All Rules

Push all active Phosra rules to Apple Screen Time in a single sync operation.

POST /v1/sources/src_apple_screen_time_01/sync

bash

curl -X POST https://api.phosra.com/v1/sources/src_apple_screen_time_01/sync \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "sync_mode": "full"
  }'

App Category Limits

Daily Screen Time Limit

time_daily_limit

Caps total daily screen time across all connected platforms.

POST /v1/sources/src_apple_screen_time_01/rules

bash

curl -X POST https://api.phosra.com/v1/sources/src_apple_screen_time_01/rules \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
      "category": "time_daily_limit",
      "value": "enabled"
  }'

Per-App Time Limits

Per-App Time Limit

time_per_app_limit

Sets individual time limits for each app or game.

POST /v1/sources/src_apple_screen_time_01/rules

bash

curl -X POST https://api.phosra.com/v1/sources/src_apple_screen_time_01/rules \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
      "category": "time_per_app_limit",
      "value": "enabled"
  }'

Scheduled Downtime

Scheduled Access Windows

time_scheduled_hours

Restricts device or app access to approved time windows.

POST /v1/sources/src_apple_screen_time_01/rules

bash

curl -X POST https://api.phosra.com/v1/sources/src_apple_screen_time_01/rules \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
      "category": "time_scheduled_hours",
      "value": "enabled"
  }'

Downtime Mode

Device Downtime

time_downtime

Enforces device-wide downtime during specified periods.

POST /v1/sources/src_apple_screen_time_01/rules

bash

curl -X POST https://api.phosra.com/v1/sources/src_apple_screen_time_01/rules \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
      "category": "time_downtime",
      "value": "enabled"
  }'

Age-Based Content Restrictions

Content Rating Filter

content_rating

Enforces age-appropriate content ratings across apps and media.

POST /v1/sources/src_apple_screen_time_01/rules

bash

curl -X POST https://api.phosra.com/v1/sources/src_apple_screen_time_01/rules \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
      "category": "content_rating",
      "value": "enabled"
  }'

Capability Matrix

How Apple Screen Time maps to Phosra's 15 rule categories.

App Category LimitsFull

Per-App Time LimitsFull

Scheduled DowntimeFull

Downtime ModeFull

Age-Based Content RestrictionsFull

Web Content FilteringFull

Explicit Content BlockFull

Ask to BuyFull

In-App Purchase RestrictionFull

Communication LimitsFull

Weekly Usage ReportsFull

Find My / Location SharingFull

Child Apple ID ManagementFull

Downtime Notification SilenceFull

Privacy ControlsFull

applenativemdmfamily sharingask to buycommunication limits

Use Apple Screen Time with Phosra

Connect Apple Screen Time through Phosra's API and enforce rules across every platform your child uses.

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