Screen time limitation is NOT working for spotify under iOS/Apple

[wojtekp]

Hello,

I am using the newest iOS 18 on my iPhone as well as my children. We are also conencted as a family so that I could properly set up parental control on my childrens' devices. Unfortunately, there is a problem with Spotify application as the screen time limitaion is not working. To obey the time limitation it is enough to start playing the music and let it play in background or in locked mode. No matter how you set up the time limitation with this simple trick you can listen to Spotify without any restrictions. Why Spotify application does not follow the iOS parental control system? Is there any other way for this app on iOS to have it under control in terms of time usage?

[Ivelina]

Hey @wojtekp,

Thanks for posting this thread in the Community!

To get a better understanding of the situation, it'd be great if you could send us as many details as possible, as well as any troubleshooting steps that you may have tried. It really helps with the investigation.

Does this behavior happen when Spotify's open on the devices or only if it's playing in background/when device is locked or in all of these situations? Does it happen with other apps as well?

As far as I understand, you've already set the screen time limitation of Spotify on both children's iPhones, but there's issues on both of them. If you've not done this already, I recommend making sure that there aren't any newer current iOS updates, as well as that the latest Spotify version is installed on both phones. In addition to this, clearing the cache within Spotify can also help as when it's corrupted, it can cause performance issues. 

It's worth mentioning that with screen time limitation, a notification appears on each device 5 minutes before the limit is reached when using a certain app. With this said, could you let us know if the children are not accidentally clicking "Ignore limit"? 

Appreciate your cooperation and we'll be on the lookout for your response. 

[Matthoughton]

We have this issue,as can be seen on the screenshot. Spotify completely ignores the screen time restrictions.

[ThePodfather]

@Matthoughton @wojtekp Can you clarify if this behavior happen when Spotify's open on the devices or only if it's playing in background/when device is locked or in all/any of these situations? I think this possibly is Screen time ignoring the background play in the app. 

[username_ses]

We have the same problem and it is unrelated to the background play. We observe it on both the latest iPad Air (iPad OS 18.3.2) and an iPod touch (iOS 15.8.3). Downtime is ignored, as is maximum screen time. We tested both options in combination and individually. However, the counter is correct, similar to the screenshot above but the apps keeps working afterwards. Also, we opted in/out of the possibility to ask for an extension. Makes no difference. All other apps respect downtime and screen time. The child's Apple ID is used for login.

[zh31427]

So no solution? Insane...