What is "Share Across Devices"? Should I turn it off?
Every iPhone, iPad, and Mac/MacBook has a setting called Share Across Devices that Apple uses for its own Screen Time service – but which unfortunately messes things up for third-party services like Screenable. It needs to be turned off for Screenable to work properly.
How do I turn it off?
- On each kid's device that has Screenable, open the device's Settings app.
- Tap Screen Time.
- If you enter a setup flow, then Screen Time has not been set up so you're good to go – skip the rest of these instructions.
- Scroll to the bottom and turn OFF Share Across Devices.
- You will have to enter your Apple Screen Time PIN, if you've set one up.
- Repeat on each kid device that you want to use with Screenable.
Why should I turn it off? What happens if I don't?
The short story is that leaving this setting on causes problems for families using Screenable, like cutting short kids' daily limits or not reporting correct time usage.
That's because it means Apple stops telling us where the usage information is coming from – and might even send us usage information from family devices that don't have Screenable installed – which is kinda crazy. Furthermore, even if it didn't have those problems, it's a very unreliable feature from Apple that they probably shouldn't have shipped, and it deteriorates the quality of the Screenable service to a degree that we can't stand behind.
Are there any situations where it's ok to leave on?
No – it should always be turned off, even if your kid only has one Apple device so arguably wouldn't be affected. The reason is that any device that's added in the future (including any iPhone, iPad, or Mac/MacBook) will suddenly start throwing things off, and chances are that you won't remember that it could be because of this setting. :) So it's best to do it now.
Are there downsides to turning it off?
For most people, no. But if you're using Apple Screen Time for charts & reports, then yes, you will no longer be able to view your kids' screen usage from your own device, but instead will need to get their device and check it manually from there (just go to Settings > Screen Time). Please note that this is not a setup that we recommend anyway.
How exactly does "Share Across Devices" work behind the scenes?
This is a fundamental feature that controls how Apple accrues and reports screen time. It determines whether any given device shares its screen-time usage data to other devices by sending it through iCloud. When the feature is turned off, all usage data stays local on the device unless third parties (like Screenable) aggregate it on behalf of parents. When it is on, however, that usage data is periodically synced to iCloud for other devices (on that same iCloud account) to utilize – though the syncing is notoriously delayed and unpredictable.
Unfortunately, Apple designed the setting to apply to third parties (like Screenable) as well, disempowering them from doing their own aggregation and presenting it appropriately to their own parent userbases. We are hopeful they will reverse this decision in future releases of the Screen Time API, but we're not holding our breath. :)