Many of us have a bad habit of spending a little too much time on our phones. Setting up screen time restrictions on your device is a great way to prevent endless scrolling, monitor kids’ phone usage, and be more aware of how many hours you spend staring at a small screen. Apple’s Screen Time feature helps iPhone users manage how long they use their devices. Learn how this feature works, why parents might find it useful, and how you can set up, change, and reset the Screen Time passcode.
Contents:
- What is a Screen Time passcode, and how does it work?
- How to set up a Screen Time passcode
- How to change a Screen Time passcode
- How to reset a forgotten Screen Time passcode
- Parental controls: Changing the Screen Time passcode on a child’s phone
- Why you should store your Screen Time passcodes (and other passwords) in NordPass
What is a Screen Time passcode, and how does it work?
Screen Time is a digital well-being feature that allows users to set a time limit on specific apps and monitor how much time they spend using the phone or tablet. It provides information about the most-used apps and visited websites and helps protect vision health by detecting the distance between the user’s face and the screen.
Parents can use Screen Time to set up phone usage restrictions and limit access to some apps their kids use. The feature locks apps, checks for sensitive images and videos, and schedules downtime to take a break from the screen. Users can allowlist certain apps and contacts to remain available even during downtime or if the usage limit has been exceeded.
To monitor children’s device activity and prevent Screen Time settings from being overridden, parents can set up a four-digit passcode. This lets them remotely manage parental controls and adjust Screen Time settings. The Screen Time passcode needs to be set up separately from the lock screen passcode. We strongly recommend using different codes for both to keep your device safer in case one of the codes is leaked.
How to set up a Screen Time passcode
To set up the passcode and start using Screen Time, you need to:
Go to your device settings and tap “Screen Time.”
Select “Lock Screen Time settings.”
Enter the four-digit passcode you want to use.
Reenter the code to confirm the lock.
Optionally, you can enter your Apple Account’s (formerly Apple ID) email address or a phone number as a recovery option.
Tip: We strongly recommend adding a recovery method in case you lose or forget your Screen Time passcode. If you’ve forgotten your Apple Account password, you can follow our reset guide.
How to turn off a Screen Time passcode
If you decide to turn off the Screen Time passcode, you can follow these steps:
Go to your device settings and tap “Screen Time.”
Choose “Change Screen Time passcode.”
Select “Turn off Screen Time passcode.”
Enter your Screen Time passcode to verify the change.
How to change a Screen Time passcode
If you have already set up a passcode but want to update it, you can do so in the device settings:
Open “Screen Time.”
Tap “Change Screen Time passcode.” You can choose to change or turn off the passcode. Select the first option.
Enter the old Screen Time passcode.
Then, enter the new four-digit passcode.
Reenter the new code to verify the change.
You can optionally add recovery options for your new code.
How to reset a forgotten Screen Time passcode
Unlike the lock screen code, which users need daily, they might lose or forget the Screen Time passcode if they don’t frequently adjust the settings. If you added a recovery option while setting up the Screen Time passcode but forgot the combination, you can reset it using your Apple Account credentials:
Open “Screen Time” and select “Change Screen Time passcode.” Confirm that you want to change the passcode.
Once prompted to enter the current Screen Time passcode, select “Forgot password?”
Enter the Apple Account credentials you used as your recovery method.
Enter your new Screen Time passcode.
Tip: To avoid forgetting your Screen Time passcode in the future, we recommend storing it as a secure note in your NordPass vault. That way, it will be protected by end-to-end encryption and easily accessible when you need it.
Parental controls: Changing the Screen Time passcode on a child’s phone
If you’re using Family Sharing and have added your child’s Apple Account as part of the group, you can manage their Screen Time using parental controls. These controls can only be managed through the parents’ Apple Account and only if the child is under 18 years old. After setting up the Screen Time passcode for the first time, you will be asked if the device belongs to a child, and be able to add their date of birth to enable parental controls.
In the iPhone settings, select “Screen Time.”
Under “Family,” select your child’s account.
You can now manage the child’s screen time, adjust parental controls, and view their screen usage summary.
Once set up, you can see what apps and websites your child visits most often. You can also set screen use limits and lock certain apps. You can switch on additional monitoring features to detect and block sensitive content, manage which contacts your child can communicate with, and block specific websites from being accessed.
To change the Screen Time passcode, you can follow the instructions detailed above. The same Screen Time passcode applies to all devices within the Family Sharing group. However, if you don’t use Family Sharing, you first need to create an Apple Account for your child and set up the Screen Time passcode on their device yourself. Ensure only you know the code and avoid using the same combination as the lock screen code.
Why you should store your Screen Time passcodes (and other passwords) in NordPass
Screen Time is a useful feature for both digital safety and well-being. However, it’s usually a one-and-done deal — once you’ve set up the limits and schedules you need, you’re unlikely to adjust them for months or even years.
Unsurprisingly, by the time you need to revisit the settings, you might not even remember them anymore. If you keep entering the wrong Screen Time passcode and reach 10 failed attempts, you run the risk of getting locked out of the settings altogether.
With NordPass, you don’t have to worry about a forgotten Screen Time passcode or losing access to the usage controls. All you need to do is create a secure note labeled “Screen Time passcode,” and you can easily find it the next time you need to access the settings. If you want to pass on the code to another parent or guardian, you can securely share this item with them using NordPass’ built-in sharing.
The NordPass password manager automatically looks for credentials stored in your vault when you want to log in to a website or app on your iPhone, letting you autosave new passwords and autofill existing ones with a click. Thanks to instant synchronization, you can easily access your sensitive data even when you upgrade your device, ensuring you can keep your Screen Time passcode consistent throughout. With additional features like Password Health and Email Masking, NordPass helps keep you and your kids safer online.