Spotify adding to Screen Time report from CarPlay Use

[seahecks]

Plan

Premium

Country

United States

Device

iPhone 12 Mini

Operating System

iOS 14.3, Spotify 8.5.94

My Question or Issue

I've noticed since the most recent Spotify update that my iOS Screen Time report is increasing when I am using the Spotify app in Apple CarPlay. I was unsure at first if I was accidentally leaving my screen on when I plugged in my phone for CarPlay, but I just ran a test confirming that the screen was off while driving for 15 min and observed the increased screen on time in the report.

I have only seen this in the most recent update, which makes me think this is a new bug. It would seem silly to rack up hours of Screen Time reporting from listening to podcasts during a commute.

[Ivan]

Hey @seahecks, 

Thanks for searching for the answer you need here!

If you see an unexpected app usage we suggest checking your Screen Time settings to see which devices the screen time originates from. You can also check out this help article on how to set up Screen Time to keep track of your current usage. 

In case you see unrecognized app usage on your screen time, we'd recommend updating the Apple ID password since it's possible a device with the same Apple ID or on Family sharing to show usage on another device using the same Apple ID.

Let us know how you get on! We'll be here in case you need any further help with this. 

[seahecks]

I don't think that is the problem in this case, as I have the "Share across devices" option disabled for screen time and this was not happening previously. I'm also the only one using my devices and my Apple ID isn't linked to anything else.

I specifically checked to make sure that my iPhone screen was locked when attached to my car and observed that the Screen Time number increased while driving and listening to a podcast.

[Novy]

Hi @seahecks, 

Thanks for getting back to us. 

Just to confirm, is this only happening when you use CarPlay? 

Also, do you notice anything new after a clean reinstall of the app? This usually helps clearing any files that might be causing issues. 

Keep us posted.

[seahecks]

I've updated both the app (8.5.96.967) and iOS (14.4) version since last week and still encounter the issue. I have also connected my phone to both a Bluetooth speaker and a Sonos device and have not seen the issue. So far it only seems to be with CarPlay.

I will reinstall the app and test later today and update you with the results.

[seahecks · Accepted solution]

Okay so after some further testing, I verified that it did accumulate Screen Time when using CarPlay, but only when the Spotify app was in-focus on the car display -- it didn't increase when it was shown on the CarPlay "homescreen". I also observed that Apple Maps exhibits the same behavior, so I think this may be a CarPlay/Screen Time bug rather than a Spotify bug. I usually keep Spotify in focus on the display while driving, so that's the app I noticed increasing it's Screen Time counter.

I think I'll need to open a support ticket with Apple instead. Thanks for the help!