We’re facing the same issue. Is there any known workaround? Feedback: FB21627607

I think there are always ways to go around limitations even if your app is able to enforce them. There are so many tutorials on TikTok etc on how children can trick apples screen time tech. their frameworks are fundamentally rotten that make it very easy to go around.

hello, unfortunately until today the “all apps except“ API is exceptionally broken and unusable. some time excepting an app works, but it’s very unreliable in behavior. we have reported this issue to Apple multiple times, but so far they have not acknowledged neither have they addressed this bug. here are my feedback numbers, feel free to cross reference them in your feedback reports: FB20694446 FB15190710

Hello, we have reported this concerning bug with the first beta of iOS 26 in June 2025. Apple has not yet addressed this bug, neither do they have acknowledged that anyone has taken a look at it. I believe this is yet another confirmation that Apple is not interested in maintaining the Screen Time framework – it’s now in a state where it’s barely usable to build stable apps. here are my feedback number for reference: FB18927456 FB18061981 feel free to cross reference those in your feedback reports!

Hello, we have reported this concerning bug with the first beta of iOS 26 in June 2025. Apple has not yet addressed this bug, neither do they have acknowledged that anyone has taken a look at it. I believe this is yet another confirmation that Apple is not interested in maintaining the Screen Time framework – it’s now in a state where it’s barely usable to build stable apps. here are my feedback number for reference: FB18927456 FB18061981 feel free to cross reference those in your feedback reports!

Hello, we have reported this concerning bug with the first beta of iOS 26 in June 2025. Apple has not yet addressed this bug, neither do they have acknowledged that anyone has taken a look at it. I believe this is yet another confirmation that Apple is not interested in maintaining the Screen Time framework – it’s now in a state where it’s barely usable to build stable apps. here are my feedback number for reference: FB18927456 FB18061981 feel free to cross reference those in your feedback reports!

Unfortunately this is still unresolved on the latest iOS 26.3 beta. fingers crossed for iOS 26.4

Not for us, unfortunately. The issue is present throughout iOS 26, 26.1 and 26.2. Multiple radars filed already, but no response / fix in sight. [quote='868578022, kgaidis, /thread/793747?answerId=868578022#868578022, /profile/kgaidis'] iOS 26.1 seems to maybe have fixed it [/quote]

I’m curious what you mean with that. im also sometimes under the impression that my device is cursed when it comes to screen time, because there are so so many bugs. But then again, it’s not just me: we get user reports every day with complaints about bugs related to the Screen Time API. [quote='868587022, kgaidis, /thread/809410?answerId=868587022#868587022, /profile/kgaidis'] odd side-effect due to my device state [/quote]

Hello, could you please check if there has been an update on our bug reports? They show unchanged on my side, but I am under the impression that something has been changed with iOS 26 / 26.1 / 26.2 beta. This is my radar from October 2024: FB15544362 [quote='822829022, Engineer, /thread/773290?answerId=822829022#822829022'] There's no supported way for you to customize the picker with the APIs currently available. [/quote]

You can’t unfortunately. More info on this thread: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/766644?page=1

Unfortunately, no. You can use private API (which many apps do), but that’s risking having your developer account terminated, so not really an option if you’re serious about your business. [quote='866869022, honzon, /thread/766644?answerId=866869022#866869022, /profile/honzon'] Have you found a solution yet? [/quote]

I’m having the same question. Would be great if Apple shared the workaround!

[quote='867384022, nemecek_f, /thread/793747?answerId=867384022#867384022, /profile/nemecek_f'] Did Apple respond to any of the feedbacks? Is there any change in iOS 26.1? [/quote] unfortunately nothing helpful: they just claim that they cannot reproduce the issue and it behaves correctly on their side. here’s my radar for reference: FB18061981

They even have an app on the store which implements the functionality as well to open the parent App directly from the ShieldActionDelegate: https://apps.apple.com/de/app/wellspent-replace-scrolling/id1643980844 [quote='840165022, ScottySy, /thread/766644?answerId=840165022#840165022, /profile/ScottySy'] This company is now selling this exact functionality as an SDK: https://www.wellspent.so [/quote]