topic Re: Spotify ignores IOS App Limit in iOS (iPhone, iPad)

Spotify ignores IOS App Limit

kesimesi — Fri, 15 May 2026 07:53:25 GMT

Plan
Premium Family

Country
Austria

Device
Son´s Device: Iphone SE 2022
My (parent) Device: Iphone 15 pro

Operating System
IOS 26.5 on both devices

Link to related Post on Apple Support Community
https://communities.apple.com/de/thread/256297872?answerId=261952758622&sortBy=rank#261952758622

My Question or Issue

Since May 15, 2026, Spotify has been ignoring the App Limit setting on my son's iPhone.

My son's iPhone is running iOS 26.5.
A time limit of 20 minutes is set for Spotify.
"Block at end of limit" is turned on.
Spotify is not listed under "Always Allowed".
The time used is tracked correctly for Spotify—the actual usage time shows several hours.

It makes no difference whether Spotify runs in the foreground or background.
For all other apps, the App Limit works perfectly, and the hourglass icon appears next to the app icon as soon as a limit is reached.
Only Spotify behaves differently. No hourglass icon is displayed for it at all.

Here is what I have already tried:
Completely disabling and re-enabling Screen Time.
Uninstalling and reinstalling Spotify.

Is this an issue with the Spotify app itself? I noticed that the new version 9.1.46.1934 uses a new app icon, which no longer matches the one shown in the App Limit management settings.

I would appreciate any helpful tips or advice!
Best regards,
Alex

Re: Spotify ignores IOS App Limit

OscarDC — Fri, 15 May 2026 17:18:55 GMT

Hey @kesimesi,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community and welcome.

Just to clarify, the new app icon is just cosmetical for the 20 year anniversary and should not affect its proper behavior with the functionality of your device.

So to start investigating this issue, we understand you’ve already tried some troubleshooting steps including reinstalling, but to be sure that it was the proper process, would you mind confirming if you followed the steps for a clean reinstall mentioned in this article? This is often an overlooked step, but it can be helpful in getting rid of any remaining files that might be causing issues.

Also, would you mind checking on a different device (using the same account) to see if it actually applies the limit or show the hourglass? If you don't have another one available, you can borrow one from a friend or family member just to test it out.

Hope this helps. We'll be on the lookout.

Re: Spotify ignores IOS App Limit

kesimesi — Fri, 15 May 2026 19:31:40 GMT

Hello OscarDC

thank you for your reply and advice.

Today my Iphone updated the spotify ios app to the same version as on my son´s Iphone.

Both devices run version 9.1.46.1934 now.

Since the update on my iPhone the App-Limit configuration is synced between the two devices without any problem again.

i am happy that it works again, but in the end i think the Spotify IOS App update to the new version on my son´s Iphone broke the intended App-Limit behaviour. perhaps something to take into account for spotify´s QA team

Re: Spotify ignores IOS App Limit

OscarDC — Fri, 15 May 2026 20:03:58 GMT

Hey @kesimesi,

Thank you for keeping in contact.

We're glad to know that the issue was resolved with the latest update. We'd appreciate your insights regarding this behavior and thank you as well for sharing your resolution. If by any chance it happens again in the future, let us know to investigate it further.

If anything else comes up, the Community will be here for you.