How to Set Screen Time Limits for Mac

Did you buy a new Mac for your kid, maybe for school use, or just as a gift? If so, you might want to limit how long the Mac can be used on a daily basis and keep a check on their usage. Fortunately, this is pretty easy to do with Screen Time on the Mac.

Screen Time is a handy functionality developed by Apple for its iOS and macOS devices that allows users to keep track of their device usage and offers plenty of parental control tools to restrict the content that children and other guest users are able to access. With a feature like this, you can have complete control over the duration someone can actively use a Mac.

Interested in setting this up on a Mac? Read on to learn how you can set Screen Time limits on a macOS system.

How to Set Screen Time Limits for Mac

Setting up Screen Time on a macOS machine is a pretty straightforward procedure and remains identical across various Mac models. However, your Mac needs to be running macOS Catalina or later to take advantage of this functionality. Simply follow the steps below to get started.

1. Head over to “System Preferences” on your Mac from the Dock.
   
   
2. This will open a new window on your Mac. Here, choose “Screen Time” to proceed further.
   
   
3. You’ll be taken to the “App Usage” section in Screen Time. Click on the “Downtime” feature located in the left pane.
   
   
4. Here, click on “Turn On” at the top-right corner of the window to turn Downtime on. If you use a Screen Time passcode, you’ll be prompted to type in the 4-digit passcode before you’re allowed to change the settings.
   
   
5. When Downtime is turned on, it’s scheduled for the 10 PM to 7 AM time every day by default. However, you can change this timing according to your preference. Make sure to check “Block At Downtime” to completely prevent usage during downtime. You won’t find this option if you don’t use a passcode for Screen Time.
   
   
6. If you want to adjust Downtime for specific days, like weekends and such, click on “Custom”. Now, you’ll find the option to choose different timings for different days of the week and even disable downtime altogether for certain days.
   
   

There you go. Now you’ve learned how to limit a Mac’s daily usage using Screen Time.

As mentioned earlier, you can only block your Mac at Downtime if you’re using a Screen Time password.

When you’re configuring Downtime on your kid’s Mac, make sure you set up a Screen Time passcode as well, and keep updating it regularly to avoid unauthorized access to your parental settings.

That being said, Downtime is just one of the many tools that Screen Time has to offer. In addition to this, users can view the list of websites visited on the Mac and even setting up Screen Time on iOS devices as well. You can set up features like downtime, app limits, and communication limits in a fairly similar way.

We hope you were able to set Screen Time limits on your children’s Macs without any issues. What are your overall thoughts on Apple’s Screen Time functionality? What kind of improvements would you like Apple to make? Do share your valuable opinions and experience in the comments section down below.