Support

Answers for the things that actually go wrong.

Getting started

• Open Screen Limiter and allow Screen Time access when iOS asks. Without that permission nothing can be blocked.
• Tap +, choose the apps, categories or websites to limit, then pick an allowance, a window and a strictness level.
• Save. The group starts running immediately, and the first window begins at the next boundary.

“Screen Time access” won't turn on

This is the one failure that looks like a bug and usually isn't. iOS owns this switch, and it sometimes stops offering it to an app. Try these in order:

1. The proper switch

• Open the Settings app.
• Tap Screen Time, then scroll to the bottom.
• Under Apps With Screen Time Access, tap Screen Limiter and turn it on.

Note that this is not Settings → Screen Limiter. That page only lists Siri and Search, which is why the switch appears to be missing.

2. If “Apps With Screen Time Access” isn't there at all

When that whole section is missing, iOS has wedged the permission and no setting will bring it back. Reinstalling is the only reset Apple provides:

• Delete Screen Limiter from the Home Screen.
• Reinstall it from the App Store.
• Open it and allow Screen Time when asked.

You will need to recreate your groups. This is a limitation of the Screen Time framework, not something the app can work around.

A limit isn't blocking anything

• Is the group switched on? Each group has its own switch on the Limits screen.
• Are limits paused? The button under the group list pauses everything at once.
• Is today an active day? A group only runs on the days it has selected.
• Has the allowance already reset? The ring next to each group counts down to the next window — if it just reset, the app is unblocked until you spend the new minutes.

If a group holds an app that has been removed from the phone, or your app selection became invalid, Screen Limiter clears that group's shield rather than leaving a block you can't lift. Re-pick the apps to start it again.

Getting more time

Tap Ask for more time on the shield, then hold the button. Easy fixes it instantly, Normal allows five stops a day with a 3-second hold, and Hard allows one stop a day with an 8-second hold. After the last stop, the group stays blocked until the window resets.

I forgot my passcode

If you set a security question in Parent Mode, answer it to reset. If you didn't, there is no recovery: the passcode is stored only as a hash, so it cannot be read back. Deleting and reinstalling the app removes it — along with every limit, which is the point of the lock.

Pausing and removing limits

• Pause everything — the button under the group list. Pausing for a while writes a note into the pause sheet first, if “Written reason before pausing” is on.
• Delete one group — open the group and choose Delete group.
• Remove everything — delete the app. There is no data anywhere else.

Reporting a bug

Email hello@screenlimiter.com. Useful things to include: your iPhone model, your iOS version (Settings → General → About), the group's allowance, window and strictness level, and what happened instead. Screenshots help. There is no in-app analytics, so your report is the only way a problem becomes visible.