First introduced in iOS 12 last year, “Screen Time” has made its way to the Mac with the new macOS Catalina update. As part of Apple’s support for digital health, Screen Time helps you keep track of how you spend time on your Mac and other connected devices like iPhone and iPad. With comprehensive reports, it provides better insight into your app usage, how often you pick up your device, and the number of alerts you receive; this can go a long way in getting rid of Mac addiction or reducing unnecessary usage. What’s more, you can set up Screen Time for a kid on your Mac, so you can keep track of the movies your little champ watches, the websites he visits, and even the games he plays. However, in this complete guide, we will show you how you can enable Screen Time to set parental controls on Mac in macOS Catalina to support your digital health or reign over your smart kid.
Use Screen Time to Set Parental Controls on Mac in macOS Catalina
With the release of macOS Catalina, Apple replaced “Parental Controls” in System Preferences as these features are included in Screen Time settings. So don’t be confused if you don’t see the old Parental Controls icon in System Preferences. Therefore, we will first start by enabling Screen Time in macOS Catalina and then we will see how you can use it to set up parental control on your Mac.
Enable Screen Time and Set Parental Controls in macOS Catalina
1. Open System Preferences On your Mac, by clicking the Apple menu in the upper-left corner of the screen and selecting System Preferences.
2. Now, Screen Time icon.
3. Next, you’ll see information about what this feature does. click Go on to continue.
Note: If you have Family Sharing enabled on your Mac, click the drop-down menu in the sidebar and select the profile. If you are not using Family Sharing on your device, the drop-down menu will not appear in the sidebar.
4. Next, select Options in the lower left corner of the screen and then Click Hungry in the upper right corner.
5. You can now customize the Screen Time settings on your macOS device based on your preference.
- Share between devices: Enable this option if you want Screen Time to provide a comprehensive report of time spent on all your devices synced with the same Apple ID.
- Use Screen Time Passcode: Select this option to prevent anyone from making changes to the Screen Time settings without your permission. It will also ensure that your children need your consent for the grace period when the limits expire.
- Include Website Data: Enable this option to get details about specific websites your child has visited. (this option only appears when using Family Sharing.)
6. Next, configure all of the following options according to your needs:
- Downtime: It lets you set a daily schedule for when you don’t want to use your Mac. During this time, only the apps and phone calls you have allowed will be available. You will receive a reminder five minutes before the downtime begins. It will also apply to all synced devices. To set the downtime, select it in the sidebar and then Hungry. After that, set the program to your liking.
- Application Limits: Use it to set time limits for certain app categories like social media, games, music, and more. Note that app limits will apply to all connected devices and will automatically reset at midnight every day. Again, you will receive a warning five minutes before the limit expires.
To set app limits, simply click on it. plus button and then choose one specific application category games, social networks, entertainment, etc. as. Next, click Completed to finish.
- Always Allowed: As the name suggests, allowed apps can only be used during Downtime. To allow any app, you just have to click Always Allowed in the sidebar and then check the box to the left of the respective apps.
- Content and Privacy: It allows you to restrict obscene content, downloads, purchases and privacy settings. To edit content and privacy settings, select . Content and Privacy in the sidebar and then Hungry in the upper right. After that, content, stores, apps, etc. Select the specific category like, and then configure everything as you like.
Monitoring Screen Time Usage on Mac
Once you’ve got everything set up, monitoring Screen Time usage on macOS Catalina becomes pretty straightforward. you can use App Usage, Notifications and Purchases features available in the sidebar to check related information.
- To learn how to use only one of your devices, simply select a device from the menu at the bottom of the window.
- To switch between days, simply click on the weekly chart. You can also use the arrow buttons above the chart to switch between days.
- To check total usage by week, select This Week from the date menu at the top of the window.
- To view the usage of a child account, select a child’s name from the menu in the upper left corner.
Restricting Content on Apple Music and Apple TV
That’s it for the parental controls part. As you can see, you can use Screen Time to pretty precisely control your child’s device usage. But what if you want to restrict not only the time but also the type of content your child can access? In this section, we’ll show you how you can restrict explicit content based on rating on Apple Music and Apple TV.
Set Content Restrictions in the Music App on Mac
1. Start Music application on your Mac. Next, click music menu in the upper left corner of the screen and Select Preferences.
2. Next, click on limitations tab. After that, you may need to click on it. lock key in the bottom left corner of the screen and then enter your username and password.
3. Next, select the items you want to prevent anyone from accessing without your permission.
Deactivate: In this section you have the option to restrict access to many things such as Music Profiles, Apple Music, iTunes Store and Shared Libraries. To do this, simply tick the box of each option.
Ratings: macOS automatically selects the rating based on your country or region. However, you have the option to make changes according to your needs. Simply click the drop-down menu next to the “Ratings” section and select your preferred country or region.
Restrict: In this section you can block access to obscene content. You can block movies as well as TV shows with certain ratings. Just tick the box for obscene content. Then use the drop-down menu to select a specific rating for movies and TV shows. Note that restrictions apply to playback, sharing, iTunes purchases, and the iTunes Store.
After customizing everything to your needs, be sure to click the Lock button to prevent anyone from making changes without your permission. After that, click on OK to finish.
Enable Content Restrictions in the Apple TV App in macOS Catalina
one. apple tv application on your Mac. then click on TV menu > Preferences > Restrictions tab. Later on, Click the Lock button in the lower left corner of the screen and then enter your username and password.
Next up, go ahead and customize the content restrictions.
Disabled: Check the respective boxes to disable purchasing/subscribing and shared libraries.
Ratings: The rating has already been selected based on your country or region. But you can change it.
Restrict: It allows you to restrict movies and TV shows with a certain rating. Click the drop-down menu and select the specific rating.
When you have made the desired changes, be sure to click the Lock button again to prevent unauthorized access. hit after that OK to confirm the changes
SEE ALSO: How to Sync iPhone and iPad to Mac on macOS Catalina without iTunes
Easily Set Up Parental Control on Mac
Come in! This is how you can take advantage of Screen Time to set up parental control on Mac and prevent your child from overusing their macOS device. With its many customization options, macOS lets you tweak settings to better suit your needs. We also talked about how you can set content restrictions so that you have full control over the content your child can access. Have questions about this new macOS feature? Hit it up in the comments below.
