ScreenTime isn't a separate product. It's Apple's own built-in controls, already on every iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It's free, and it's a reasonable starting point if you're not ready for a full filter. We'll set it up with you, or you can use the guide below. Just know what it can and can't do before you rely on it.
Used on: iPhone / iPad / Mac.
This is the most important thing to understand. ScreenTime restricts and limits, it's a lock. It does not do content filtering the way a real filter does. There's no category-based filtering, no image filtering, no YouTube cleanup.
If you need genuine content and image filtering, a dedicated filter is the right tool. Think of ScreenTime as better-than-nothing, or a stopgap until you set up something fuller.
ScreenTime is only as strong as who holds the passcode. This is the whole game.
If you set it up on your own device with your own passcode and your own recovery email, you can undo all of it in seconds, and so can anyone who watches you type the code. The recovery email is the key: whoever controls it can reset the passcode and strip every restriction. That's the most common way ScreenTime locks get bypassed.
That's why we don't recommend holding your own code. If you set it for yourself, treat it as a reminder, not a real lock, because you can simply remove what you set. For it to actually hold, someone else needs to hold the passcode and the recovery email:
You're welcome to follow the steps below yourself. But the steps were never the hard part, having an independent keyholder is.
If you'd like to do it yourself, here's the basic flow on a current iPhone or iPad. We strongly recommend having someone else set the passcode and recovery email, see above.
Text us, or have a spouse or trusted friend hold the passcode for you. The lock is only as strong as who keeps the code.