How to Set, Change, or Disable Screen Time Passcode on Mac
Do you use Screen Time on your kid’s Mac to keep a check on their device usage by limiting access to certain apps and other content? If so, using a Screen Time passcode is absolutely necessary to make sure that Screen Time settings aren’t messed around with or bypassed.
Apple’s Screen Time functionality that’s baked into iOS and macOS devices is a great way to keep track of device usage and offers a lot of parental control tools to restrict the content that children and other users are able to access. You wouldn’t want your personalized configuration to be changed by other users, which is why you’ll need to keep your Screen Time passcode updated every now and then. Wondering how to do this on a macOS machine? Let’s take a look at setting, changing, and disabling the Screen Time passcode on a Mac.
How to Set, Change, & Disable Screen Time Passcode on Mac
Setting a new Screen Time passcode or changing an existing passcode is a fairly simple and straightforward procedure on macOS. Just follow the steps below to get started.
- Head over to “System Preferences” on your Mac from the Dock.
- This will open a new window on your Mac. Here, choose “Screen Time” to proceed further.
- Next, click on “Options” located at the bottom of the left pane.
- Now, check the box for “Use Screen Time Passcode” feature to set up a new passcode.
- If you’re doing this from an administrator account, you’ll be suggested to convert the account to a standard user account and make a new user account with administrator privileges. However, you can still allow the user to have administrator privileges. Choose the option you prefer and click “Next”.
- Type in your preferred Screen Time passcode and re-enter it for confirmation.
- Now, you’ll be asked to enter your Apple ID login details that will be used for Screen Time passcode recovery. Once you’re filled in the information, click “Next”.
- You’ve successfully managed to set up a Screen Time passcode on your Mac. To change it, you can click on “Change Passcode” or if you want to disable the passcode, you can uncheck the box. Either way, you’ll have to enter your existing passcode to make any changes.
That’s pretty much all you need to do to set up, change, or disable the Screen Time passcode on macOS systems.
We recommend you to use a Screen Time passcode that’s hard to guess to make sure the user doesn’t fiddle around with your Screen Time settings and make unnecessary changes. This is particularly important for those with savvy persons using a computer where Screen Time is in use.
If at any point you forgot your Screen Time passcode and can’t change your settings, you can easily reset the passcode using the same Apple account that you used for passcode recovery. However, if you skipped this option while setting up Screen Time, you’re out of luck.
That being said, there are still last resort options for trying to recover a lost or forgotten Screen Time passcode. For example, you could try restoring to a previous iCloud or iTunes backup prior to the date when the passcode was set. Or you can just contact official Apple support through apple.com or visit an Apple Store for help. If you’re an advanced user, you can take advantage of third-party tools like pin finder.
Do you use an iPhone or iPad? If so, you’ll be interested in learning how to change the Screen Time passcode on an iOS device. It’s pretty similar and you can use your Apple account for passcode recovery just like macOS.
We hope you managed to learn how easy it is to set up, change or disable the Screen Time passcode on your Mac. What are your overall thoughts on Apple’s Screen Time functionality? Do share your valuable opinions and experience in the comments section down below.
