While you can see the status of screen time & filtering in the Screen Time > Devices section of a child's profile, this article discusses how to test whether specific filtering rules are being applied to your child's device.
For example, let's say that 5 minutes ago you blocked Snapchat during School Time, and you're not sure if it's yet started blocking the platform on your child's device. You can test whether it's working a couple of different ways:
METHOD A
STEP 1: Grab hold of your child's device.
STEP 2: Open a web browser on the child's device (e.g. Safari, Chrome).
STEP 3: Tap on the address bar and type in screentime.report. Tap on Enter or Go (whichever applicable). Doing so will load a page that looks like this:
STEP 4: Scroll down on the page and select the platform you're looking to test. To keep the same example, I'm selecting Snapchat:
STEP 5: Check the results!
- If the page doesn't load or says something like "Could not connect," then that means that platform is being blocked. This is an example of what it may look like when something is blocked on Chrome:
- If the page loads and says the following, then that means the platform is not being blocked.
- If you expect the platform to be blocked and it's not, then double-check your scheduling rules, that you've assigned the device to the correct child's profile, and then tap Retry the test. Please note that it may take a few minutes for changes to take effect. If still no luck, try Method B below.
METHOD B
STEP 1: Grab hold of your child's device.
STEP 2: Open the app or site that you would like to test.
STEP 3: If it's an app, attempt to refresh the feed, send a message, or do an action within the app that requires internet connection. If it's a site, refresh it within the web browser.
STEP 4: Check the results!
- If the site or app doesn't load or says something like "Could not connect," then that means that platform is being blocked. This is an example of what it may look like when something is blocked on Chrome:
- If you expect the platform to be blocked, then double-check your scheduling rules, that you've assigned the device to the correct child's profile, and then try the test again. Please note that it may take a few minutes for changes to take effect. If still no luck, check our other troubleshooting solutions.
- If you expect the platform to be allowed, then check the Recently Blocked Activity section under that child's rules. From there, you'll be able to quickly allow the app/site(s). Please note that it may take a few minutes for changes to take effect. If still no luck, check our other troubleshooting solutions.
Have additional questions?
Check out our Screen Time Troubleshooting Guide. We're also happy to help. Don't hesitate to reach out to us!
