They are wondering how kids bypass Screen Time? It's pretty simple to learn how to hack Screen Time on an iPhone through internet tips and tutorials. However, some ways can be taken to prevent it, and here we've listed some methods to unpack what kids have done and escape from the loophole.

Question: Q: 'hack' Screen Time. My 10 year old daughter managed to work around screen time. She has a daily limit of 1 hour. But she found out that after this 1 hour. Screen recording can record all the activities you have done on the screen in a video, including the scene where you set the screen time password. So, kids can turn on the screen recorder to record the password you entered. Then, when the screen time is up, they can enter the password to hack screen time limit.

My daughter 10 yrs old figured out how to hack the screen time limit, she would go and change the time zone and / or a different day, time manually, that will reset her time limit. Any help how to lock the time settings?
On your kid’s iPhone, Screen Time - App Limits - enter your 4-digit Screen Time passcode. Select “Productivity” and then the Contacts app. Tap “Next” in the upper, right corner. On the next page, give the Contacts app a really low time, like 1-minute (the minimum allowable by Apple) so that the limit is reached quickly.

Many parents are worried about the increased use of electronic devices by their children. Wise parents are trying to limit the amount of time their children spend on various activities like playing games, social networking, and watching YouTube. The number of time kids spends on such activities may eat up every day. It can consume 2 to 8 hours daily or more.

Apple introduced the Screen Time feature into their iOS 12 and iOS 13 operating systems to ease parental fears of digital distractions. Today, Many parents use Screen Time on their iPhones and iPads. Screen Time gives parents an overview of what their children do, including the amount of time that they spend and if the intervention is required or not.

Also, there are features in the Screen Time app that parents can use to restrict iOS devices, block specific apps, games, and websites, or create content limitations for their children. But, you know what? Kids have found many ways to hack Screen Time limits on iOS devices.

Apple's software still contains loopholes, and this is why children can exploit vulnerabilities in parental control systems to spend more time playing games. In this guide, we have listed below the hacks that kids use and solutions to prevent these hacks if you are a parent.

Watching YouTube Videos Through iMessage

YouTube turned into a modern TV, where you can watch millions of videos. But, YouTube still has a long way to go for proper moderation and filter to remove disturbing videos. As a result, even for well-rated videos, your child can be approached by pedophiles.

That is why more parents are disabling or limiting the use of YouTube on iPads and iPhones. Therefore, you must pay attention to the videos that your children access online.

How Kids Hack It

While you can lock, disable or even uninstall the YouTube app and Safari Internet browsers, a workaround exists that uses iMessage. iMessage contains so-called applets, and when you install a YouTube app, it will also install a YouTube applet for iMessage. This applet allows you to watch YouTube videos directly from within the iMessage app. So your child can send a link of YouTube videos to themself or ask a friend to send them, and they can watch them inside iMessage by simply clicking on the link to open it with the iMessage YouTube Applet.

Solution

Uninstall your YouTube app from your iPhone or iPad completely. It will also remove the iMessage plugin that allows you to watch videos inside iMessage chat. Setting parental controls on YouTube is essential for providing a secure digital environment for your children. You might want to disable access to the YouTube website as well.

To disable YouTube:

Go to Screen Time.
Select Content and Privacy Restrictions and go to Content Restrictions options.
Go to Web Content, select Limit Adult Websites, and add youtube.com under the Never Allow list. It will completely block access to the YouTube.com website.

Kids can access YouTube through the iMessage app so, you might also want to remove the iMessage app from the device. You have to remove the iMessage app from the Always Allowed list.

To do that, go to Screen Time and select the Always Allowed option. Then, press the white minus sign on the red circle to remove iMessage from the list of Allowed Apps. Now, YouTube will be blocked on your iPhone, and your kids will be unable to access it even through iMessage.

Uninstalling and Reinstalling Apps

If parents restrict an app to a specific time limit, children can bypass this limit by uninstalling and then reinstalling the app. It is simple to reinstall an app that has not been purchased. The timer isn't reset when this happens; it simply doesn't carry over to the next game. Once kids do this, the time limits on specific apps will disappear.

How Kids Hack It

They open the App Store and click on the cloud icon at the right top, which gives them access to other iCloud accounts inside Family Access to uninstall an app. Then, by finding this app and clicking on the cloud icon, children can reinstall the same game from their parent's account. The time limit is no longer applicable to that app after reinstallation. As a result, kids can use this app or game for an unlimited amount of time.

Solution

Using the Downtime option in Screen Time, a parent can set time limits for games and apps. When the timer runs out, a system screen appears, blocking an app and indicating that the time is over. Disable the App Store altogether to prevent the installation of games and apps.

To do this:

Go to the Screen Time option and select Content & Privacy Restrictions.
Go to iTunes & App Store Purchases option and select Installing Apps.
Select the Don't Allow option.

It will immediately hide the App Store icon from this device, and there will be no way to install new apps because there will be no App Store icon.

Changing The Time Zone

Downtime is an effective tool for preventing children from using certain apps for an extended period. If the 'Block at Downtime' toggle is turned on, the child will request an extended period from their parents. However, just before Downtime begins, you can change the time zone on your phone to avoid it.

To keep the time zone consistent, select 'Don't Allow Changes' on the Location Services screen. If you've used the Screen Time DownTime scheduled time limitation feature, you'll know that it allows you to set the period's start and end when apps and games are unlocked. So, for example, you could enable any app to run from 6 pm to 8 pm on Friday.

How Kids Hack It

This hack appears to be pretty self-evident. First, kids go to the General option in settings, then to the Date and Time screen. Then they disable Automatic Update and manually change the current system date and time to the desired time, at which point all games are unlocked.

It will also allow children to switch the day to a weekend when they will have more freedom and extended periods. Also, If the Downtime is from 6 pm to 8 pm on Friday, they can switch it to Friday at 7 pm.

Solution

Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent kids from accessing the Settings screen. As a result, the only option is to prevent your child from using an iPad or iPhone

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