To set screen time limits on iPhone, open Settings and tap Screen Time. On iOS 27, use Time Allowances to cap daily use and a Screen Time Schedule to choose when apps are available. On iOS 26 or earlier, use App Limits and Downtime. Then add a Screen Time passcode so the limits are harder to change.
Apple reorganized these tools in iOS 27, so this guide covers both versions. A quick way to tell which steps to follow: if your Screen Time screen shows Time Allowances, use the iOS 27 steps. If it shows App Limits and Downtime, use the iOS 26 steps. If Screen Time has never been switched on, you'll be asked to turn on App & Website Activity first.
In iOS 27, Time Allowances decide how long you can use apps each day, and Schedules decide when during the day you can use them. Apple notes that both need iOS 27 or later on all your Apple devices, including every device in a Family Sharing group if you set them up there.
Open the Settings app and tap Screen Time.
Tap Time Allowances.
Drag the slider, or tap the Minus and Plus buttons, to set your total daily time.
Under Time Allowances, tap a category such as Social Media, Games or Entertainment and set its own amount.
To add another category, tap Manage Categories, tap the Add button, then choose a category.
Apps in a category can be used until they reach either that category's allowance or your daily total. If an app declares an associated website, its allowance covers that website too, which closes the "I'll just use the browser" loophole for those apps.
In Settings, tap Screen Time, tap Screen Time Schedule, then turn on Schedule.
Tap Add Schedule, tap the days you want it to cover, then tap Done.
Tap a time window to rename it, change its start and stop times, and select which Time Allowance categories are available during it.
If you want your allowances to follow the schedule, go to Time Allowances and turn on Match Screen Time Schedule.
A simple setup is one schedule for weekdays and one for weekends, with windows for work, dinner and the evening. For example, you might make Games available only in the evening window.
Open Settings and tap Screen Time. Tap App & Website Activity and turn it on if it's off.
Tap App Limits, then tap Add Limit.
Select one or more categories, such as Games or Social Networking. To limit single apps, tap a category name and pick the apps inside it.
Tap Next, then set the amount of time allowed. Tap Customize Days if you want different limits on different days.
Tap Done to save the limit.
If you choose several categories or apps in one limit, they share that one amount of time.
In Settings, tap Screen Time, then tap Downtime.
Tap Turn On Downtime Until Tomorrow for an instant break, or tap Scheduled to plan it in advance.
Choose Every Day or Customize Days, then set the start and end times, such as 9:30pm to 7am.
During downtime, only calls, messages and the apps you choose to allow are available. Apple sends a reminder five minutes before scheduled downtime begins.
Here's the catch: by default, Screen Time limits can be ignored once they're reached. If you've set a Screen Time passcode, go to Settings, Screen Time, Downtime and turn on Block at Downtime. Restricted apps then can't be opened during downtime and appear dimmed with an hourglass icon. With it off, you just see a reminder and can keep going.
Some things should never be locked, like calls from family or the Health app.
iOS 27: go to Settings, Screen Time, Always Allowed, then tap Add People or Add Apps. These stay available regardless of your schedules or allowances.
iOS 26: go to Settings, Screen Time, Always Allowed. Tap Contacts to choose specific people, then add the apps you want available during downtime and after limits are reached.
Communication Limits decide who can reach you, and who you can reach, by phone, FaceTime and Messages. They use your contacts in iCloud, so turn that on first: Settings, [your name], iCloud, See All next to Saved to iCloud, then Contacts.
Go to Settings, tap Screen Time, then tap Communication Limits.
Tap During Screen Time and choose Contacts Only, Contacts & Groups with at Least One Contact, or Everyone.
On iOS 27, tap When Device Paused or Unavailable and choose Always Allowed or Everyone.
If someone blocked by these settings calls or messages you, it won't go through. If you try to contact them, their name or number shows in red in your recent calls or messages until you change the limit.
A Screen Time passcode has to be entered before your Screen Time settings can be changed. It's also what lets Block at Downtime work on iOS 26.
Open Settings and tap Screen Time.
On iOS 27, tap Manage Screen Time, then Lock Screen Time Settings. On earlier versions, look for Lock Screen Time Settings on the Screen Time screen.
Enter a four-digit passcode, then enter it again to confirm.
After you set it, you can also turn on Screen Time Passcode Recovery, which lets you reset the code with your Apple Account if you forget it. If the limits are for your own self-control, try asking someone you trust to type the code so you don't know it.
On iOS 26, open Screen Time on your own iPhone, tap your child's name, then set Downtime, App Limits and Always Allowed the same way. On iOS 27, Apple points parents to its Apple Devices for Kids and Families guide for setting up schedules, allowances and other parental controls.
Start from your real numbers. On iOS 27, tap Time Allowances, then Manage Categories and a category to see your average daily use. Set a limit a little below it.
Begin with one category. Pick the one that eats the most time and leave the rest alone for a week.
Treat weekdays and weekends differently. Use separate schedules on iOS 27, or Customize Days on iOS 26.
Review after a week. A limit you override every day is probably set too low. Adjust it rather than giving up.
Weighing Screen Time against a dedicated app blocker? Our guide on how to block apps on iPhone compares the two.
Apple's iOS 26 guide explains that, by default, Screen Time limits can be ignored once they're reached. Set a Screen Time passcode, and on iOS 26 turn on Block at Downtime so restricted apps can't be opened during downtime.
Yes. On iOS 27, create a separate schedule for each set of days. On iOS 26, tap Customize Days when you set an App Limit or a Downtime schedule.
On iOS 27, if an app declares an associated website, that app's Time Allowance applies to the website as well.
If you set up Screen Time Passcode Recovery, you can reset the passcode with your Apple Account.
Screen Time is free and works well for a fixed daily cap. If you'd rather have a limit you can stretch on purpose, Time Debt lets you choose apps, categories and websites with Apple's picker, set separate weekday and weekend limits, and borrow 5, 10, 15 or a custom number of minutes within a cap, repaid automatically from tomorrow with no interest. Selected apps are shielded when your allowance runs out, there's no account, and your rules and history stay on your device.
Get Time Debt free on the App Store
Apple Support: Set Screen Time Schedules and Time Allowances on iPhone (iOS 27)
Apple Support: Set schedules with Screen Time on iPhone (iOS 26)
Apple Support: Choose who you can communicate with at certain times with Screen Time
Apple Support: Create, change, or remove a Screen Time passcode on iPhone