MAY 2019 MACWORLD 55Screen Time. As ex-Apple VP and chief
iPod architect Tony Fadell opined on
Twitter (go.macworld.com/tfdl), “Apple
should be building true APIs for Screen
Time so the “privacy” concerns are taken
into account instead of limiting users App
Store choices.” He goes on to say that the
API should cover “usage data & controls,”
and that Apple should also offer a set of
developer tools “to notify users and
parents when a new account is created or
logins occur.”
With WWDC (go.macworld.com/jn37)
around the corner, it’s possible that such
an API may be on the way. If not,
developers have limited options. In its
response to the New York Times report,
Apple spotlighted two screen
management apps, Balance Screen Time
by Moment Health (go.
macworld.com/momt) and
Smart Family by Verizon
(go.macworld.com/smfm),
as examples of apps that
replicate Screen Times’s
features without resorting
to MDM.
Both have their
limitations, however.
Obviously Smart Family is
only for Verizon
customers, but it also
requires a $10 monthly
fee. And Balance Screen
Time (which also requires an $8 monthly
subscription) is more for monitoring than
controlling, as it warns, “Using Moment
Family as a parent gives you certain
powers, but your children have power too.”
As such, Apple’s Screen Time isn’t perfect
either (go.macworld.com/flnk), as it
requires a dedicated iOS device and has
some inconsistencies that allow video
watching in a PIP window on an iPad.
If MDM-based apps create the privacy
and security issues that Apple describes, a
solution like the API Fadell describes
would be a win-win for Apple users and
developers. It would let developers create
secure apps that build on Screen Time
while offering more features and tools for
users. Choice is as important as privacy,
and Apple could give us both. ■Screen Time makes it easy for parents to shut down their kids’
devices, but it’s not without its limitations.