Short answer
To turn off Screen Time on iPhone, go to Settings > Screen Time > Manage Screen Time and tap Turn Off App & Website Activity (on iOS 26, scroll down the Screen Time screen and tap Turn Off App & Website Activity). If you set a Screen Time passcode, you'll need to enter it. Apple says this turns off reporting, Downtime, App Limits and Always Allowed. To turn off only Downtime, turn off the schedule instead (Screen Time Schedule in iOS 27).
To turn off Screen Time on iPhone, go to Settings > Screen Time > Manage Screen Time and tap Turn Off App & Website Activity. On iOS 26, the same button is further down the main Screen Time screen. If you set a Screen Time passcode, iOS asks for it first.
You don’t have to switch everything off, though. You can turn off only Downtime (called Screen Time Schedule in iOS 27) or only your App Limits (now Time Allowances) and keep the rest. Below are the steps for each, for iOS 27 and iOS 26, checked against Apple’s iPhone User Guide and Apple Support on October 26, 2026.
How do you turn off Screen Time on iPhone?
On iOS 27:
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Screen Time, then tap Manage Screen Time.
- Tap Turn Off App & Website Activity.
On iOS 26:
- Open the Settings app and tap Screen Time.
- Scroll down and tap Turn Off App & Website Activity.
Apple’s iOS 26 guide calls this “the easiest way to turn off Screen Time.” In Apple’s guides, App & Website Activity is the switch for Screen Time as a whole. iOS 27 moved it one level deeper, under Manage Screen Time, along with Share Across Devices. Lock Screen Time Settings (where you create a passcode) moved under Passcode & Management. Every other move is on our list of iOS 27 Screen Time changes.
What happens when you turn off Screen Time?
Apple’s iOS 26 guide says: “Turning off App and Website Activity turns off reporting, Downtime, App Limits, and Always Allowed.” In practice:
- No more reports. Screen Time stops reporting your app use, so there’s no new data to review.
- No more limits. App Limits stop applying, so nothing pauses an app when its time runs out.
- No more schedules. Downtime no longer turns on at its scheduled times.
- Always Allowed turns off too.
Apple’s iOS 27 guide gives the same steps but doesn’t repeat that list. Neither guide says what happens to the usage history you already have, so we won’t guess. If you want to keep your report, look at it before you switch off.
Turning it back on works the same way in reverse: Turn On App & Website Activity. In iOS 27 you’ll also find that button inside Screen Time Schedule and Time Allowances.
How to turn off only Downtime (Screen Time Schedule)
If the problem is the evening lockout and not the rest of Screen Time, turn off just the schedule.
On iOS 27: go to Settings > Screen Time > Screen Time Schedule and turn off Schedule. To remove one part of your day and keep the others, tap that Time Window and tap Delete this Time Window.
On iOS 26: go to Settings > Screen Time > Downtime and turn off Scheduled. Apple says you can do this “at any time.”
Your limits and reports keep working. If you’re wondering what the Block at Downtime option does before you remove it, we cover it in what Block at Downtime does on iPhone.
How to turn off only App Limits (Time Allowances)
On iOS 27: go to Settings > Screen Time > Time Allowances, tap Manage Categories, select a category, then select Delete (your category name) Category. If you only want more time, you don’t have to delete anything: drag the slider for the daily total or for a single category.
On iOS 26: go to Settings > Screen Time > App Limits, swipe left on a limit, and tap Delete.
Turn it off, pause it or loosen it: which fits?
| Option | What you do | What keeps working | Good fit when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turn Screen Time off completely | Manage Screen Time > Turn Off App & Website Activity (iOS 26: further down the Screen Time screen) | Nothing: reports, limits, schedules and Always Allowed stop | You don’t want any tracking or limits at all |
| Turn off one schedule | Turn off Schedule (iOS 27) or Scheduled (iOS 26), or delete one Time Window | Reports and daily limits | Only the night or work block gets in the way |
| Loosen the limits | Move the Time Allowance slider, delete a category (iOS 27) or delete one App Limit (iOS 26) | Reports and schedules | The limits are too tight, not wrong |
| Keep Screen Time, add a gentler tool | Leave Screen Time on for reports and use an app blocker for a few apps | Everything in Screen Time, plus your blocker’s rules | The limits nag all day but you still want a pause for two or three apps |
How to turn off Screen Time without the passcode
You can’t. If a Screen Time passcode is set, Apple says it “must be entered before” you change the Screen Time settings, and turning Screen Time off is one of those changes.
If you set the code yourself and forgot it, reset it with the Apple Account you used for Screen Time Passcode Recovery, then turn Screen Time off. The steps, and what to do if the reset option doesn’t appear, are in our Screen Time passcode guide. That guide also covers how to turn off only the passcode and keep your limits.
How to turn off Screen Time on a child’s iPhone
Only the Family Sharing organizer or a parent or guardian can, usually from their own device, and with the Screen Time passcode they set. Without that passcode, the child’s iPhone won’t accept the change, which is the point of the passcode.
On iOS 26, Apple’s steps are: on the parent’s iPhone, go to Settings > Screen Time, tap the child’s name, scroll down and tap Turn Off App & Website Activity. Turning off Downtime or App Limits for the child works the same way, after tapping the child’s name.
On iOS 27, Apple manages children’s settings from Settings > Family, then the child’s name, then Screen Time. Apple’s support article says the iOS 27 parental controls need every device in the Family Sharing group updated, and that families that can’t update all devices can keep using the previous version of Screen Time. The iOS 27 pages we checked don’t list separate steps for turning Screen Time off on a child’s account.
We don’t publish ways around a parent’s Screen Time settings. If you’re a teen and the limits feel wrong, talk to the parent who set them up.
Why won’t Screen Time turn off?
The causes Apple documents:
- It asks for a passcode you don’t have. Someone set a Screen Time passcode, maybe a parent, maybe you a while ago. See the passcode guide for the reset.
- It’s a child’s account in Family Sharing. The change has to be made by the organizer or a parent or guardian, as above.
- The account is under 18 in a region with extra rules. Apple’s support article says that “in some places, settings like Screen Time, Ask to Buy, and content restrictions for apps can’t be turned off” for children’s accounts.
- You’re following old steps. On iOS 27, the off button is under Manage Screen Time, not further down the main Screen Time screen.
Does turning it off on iPhone turn it off on iPad and Mac?
With Share Across Devices on, Apple says “any Screen Time limits or schedules you set apply to your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.” Turn Share Across Devices off and “each device has its own Screen Time settings.” The setting is under Settings > Screen Time > Manage Screen Time in iOS 27, and further down the Screen Time screen in iOS 26.
Apple’s guide doesn’t say whether turning off App & Website Activity on one device turns it off on the others. Check each device afterward.
Or keep Screen Time, but loosen it
If you’re turning Screen Time off because the limits nag all day and are easy to wave away with Ignore Limit, switching everything off swaps one problem for another. Two gentler options:
- Loosen instead of deleting. Keep the schedule for the hour that matters (say, 10 PM onward) and drop the daily caps you ignore anyway. Our guide on why you keep overriding app limits walks through which settings actually stick.
- Use a tool built for a pause. We make Calma, so weigh this with that in mind. Calma is built on Apple’s Screen Time framework, so it needs Screen Time access to block anything. It rests only the apps you pick (say, Instagram and TikTok) at the hours you choose, and opening one shows “[App] is resting.” with a single Back to calm button on scheduled blocks and daily limits. You can end a focus session early with a 3-second hold, or switch any routine off in the app. Calma is iPhone only, needs iOS 18 or later, blocks apps rather than websites, and blocking needs Calma Pro, with a 3-day free trial for eligible new subscribers.
Calma isn’t for you if you want no limits at all, or if you need parental controls for a child’s phone. For every free way to limit apps first, start with how to block apps on iPhone without deleting them, and see how app blockers use Screen Time access if you want to know what that permission does.
Sources
All checked on October 26, 2026.
- Apple Support, Set up Screen Time for yourself on iPhone (iOS 27: turning Screen Time, schedules and Time Allowances off; Share Across Devices) and Get started with Screen Time on iPhone (iOS 26: turning Screen Time, Downtime and App Limits off, what App & Website Activity turns off, child’s device, Share Across Devices).
- Apple Support, Set Screen Time Schedules and Time Allowances in Screen Time on iPhone (iOS 27: Delete this Time Window, Time Allowance sliders) and Set schedules with Screen Time on iPhone (iOS 26: turning off Scheduled).
- Apple Support, Create, change, or remove a Screen Time passcode on iPhone (iOS 27) and Create, manage, and keep track of a Screen Time passcode on iPhone (iOS 26), for when the passcode must be entered (iOS 27 page checked again November 2, 2026).
- Apple Support, Change your Screen Time passcode on an iPhone or iPad (published October 27, 2026), for resetting a forgotten passcode.
- Apple Support, Use Screen Time to manage your child’s iPhone or iPad (published September 22, 2026), for iOS 27 parental controls and regions where Screen Time can’t be turned off.
- App Store, App Blocker & Detox: Calma (iOS requirement, trial).