---
title: "What Is Screen Time on iPhone? Meaning and Settings"
description: "Screen Time is the iPhone feature that reports app use and lets you set Time Allowances, schedules and content restrictions, protected by a Screen Time passcode."
url: https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/glossary/screen-time
lang: en-gb
published: 2026-10-31
updated: 2026-10-31
author: "VaultForYou Editorial Team"
publisher: VaultForYou
---

# What is Screen Time?

Published 2026-10-31 - Updated 2026-10-31 - By VaultForYou Editorial Team - Checked against iOS 27 - 31 Oct 2026

## Quick answer

Screen Time is the iPhone feature in Settings that reports how long you use each app and lets you limit apps with Time Allowances (App Limits before iOS 27), a Screen Time Schedule, and Content & Privacy Restrictions, protected by a Screen Time passcode.

- **Where:** Settings -> Screen Time.
- **iOS 27 names:** Time Allowances, Screen Time Schedule.
- **iOS 26 names:** App Limits, Downtime.
- **Hidden apps:** Still appear in Screen Time reports.

Screen Time counts usage for every app, including hidden ones, so it is one of the places a hidden app's name still appears. With **Share Across Devices** on, reports combine your iPhone, iPad and Mac.

For blocking, iOS 27 replaced App Limits with **Time Allowances** and Downtime with **Screen Time Schedule**. Built-in features such as Camera and AirDrop are blocked under **Content & Privacy Restrictions -> Other Features**.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do hidden apps show up in Screen Time?

Yes. Apple lists Settings, Screen Time among the places where hidden app names can still appear. Hiding an app moves its icon; it does not stop iOS from counting how long you use it.

### What happened to App Limits and Downtime in iOS 27?

Apple renamed and reworked them. App Limits became Time Allowances, which you set per category, and Downtime became Screen Time Schedule. On iOS 26 and earlier, App Limits and Downtime work as before.

## Sources

- [Apple Support: Set up Screen Time for yourself on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/set-up-screen-time-for-yourself-iphbfa595995/ios)

## Guides that use this term

- [Block apps on iPhone](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/block-apps)

## Related terms

- [Content & Privacy Restrictions](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/glossary/content-privacy-restrictions)
- [Screen Time passcode](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/glossary/screen-time-passcode)
- [Time Allowances](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/glossary/time-allowances)

## Browse

- [All glossary terms](https://www.vaultforyou.app/en-gb/glossary)

---

Our guides are written and fact-checked by the VaultForYou team against Apple's own documentation. We make VaultForYou, a private vault app for iPhone. Download on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/vaultforyou/id0000000000