How do I set screen time limits for myself?

To set screen time limits for yourself, use the tools already on your phone, with no child account or family setup. On an iPhone with iOS 27, open Settings > Screen Time, set Time Allowances for categories such as Social Media, then add a Screen Time Schedule with a window that leaves those categories out at night. On iOS 26, the same jobs are done by App Limits and Downtime. On Android, open Settings > Digital Wellbeing and set App timers and Bedtime mode. Then lock the settings with a Screen Time passcode, ideally one someone else types, because a limit you can switch off in one tap is a suggestion.

Key takeaways

• Decide first whether your problem is how much you use your phone or when: a daily budget (Time Allowances, App Limits, App timers) suits the first, a schedule tied to the clock suits the second.
• On iOS 27, set Time Allowances under Settings > Screen Time, then build a Screen Time Schedule whose night window leaves out the categories you scroll.
• On iOS 26, set App Limits, schedule Downtime and turn on Block at Downtime, which needs a Screen Time passcode.
• Lock your own settings with a Screen Time passcode, and ask someone you trust to type it, so changing a limit means asking a person.
• If your limits lose mostly at night, Bedline pauses only the apps you choose, by the clock, from your bedtime until your wake-up; pausing apps needs a Premium plan.

Can you set Screen Time limits on yourself, not just on a child?

Screen Time limits work on your own iPhone, not only on a child's. Apple has a guide called Set up Screen Time for yourself on iPhone, and its iOS 27 version describes Time Allowances to "balance time across entertainment, games, and social media apps" and schedules "to manage when those apps are available".

Most pages on this question are written for parents. For yourself, you skip "tap your child's name" and change the settings on your own device, with no Family Sharing.

The difference that matters is who holds the keys. A parent's limits are locked by a passcode the child does not know. Your own limits are locked by nothing unless you add a passcode, and even then you know it. A passcode someone else holds is what closes that gap.

Should you limit how much you use your phone, or when?

A limit on how much you use your phone is a budget; a limit on when is a schedule. Picking the right one before you open Settings saves most of the frustration people have with self-set limits.

Kind of limit	iOS 27	iOS 26	Android	Good at	Weak at
Daily budget	Time Allowances	App Limits	App timers	Capping a whole day's use of a category or app	Does not know the time: a full allowance is still there at 23:30
Clock schedule	Screen Time Schedule	Downtime	Bedtime mode, Focus mode schedule	Protecting a fixed stretch, such as the night or dinner	Does nothing about how much you use the phone outside it
Exceptions	Always Allowed	Always Allowed	No list; timers are set per app	Keeping calls, maps or a health app usable	Every app on the list is a way around the limit

If you lose an hour to video every afternoon, a budget is the tool. If the day is fine and the trouble starts in bed, a schedule fits better, because a budget you barely touched all day still has its whole amount left at night. Downtime vs App Limits compares the two in more detail.

How do you set Screen Time limits for yourself on iOS 27?

On iOS 27 you set limits for yourself with Time Allowances and a Screen Time Schedule. These steps follow Apple's iOS 27 guide to Schedules and Time Allowances:

1. Open Settings, tap Screen Time, then Time Allowances. If asked, tap Turn On App & Website Activity.
2. Tap Manage Categories, tap the add button and choose a category, for example Social Media.
3. Back under Time Allowances, tap the category and drag the slider to the time you want per day. Set the daily total with the slider at the top.
4. Go back to Screen Time, tap Screen Time Schedule and turn on Schedule.
5. Tap Add Schedule, choose the days and confirm. Tap the time window to name it (for example "Night"), set its start and stop time, and select only the categories you want available in it.
6. Under Time Allowances, turn on Match Screen Time Schedule if you want the allowances to apply during your schedule's windows.
7. Tap Always Allowed and check the list. Apple suggests family members or the Health app for emergencies; keep feed apps off it.

Apple says you can use a category's apps "until they reach either the category's allowance or the daily total", and that an allowance also covers a website the app declares. Apple says Schedules and Time Allowances need iOS 27 or later on all your Apple devices. For more on what changed, see the iOS 27 Screen Time Schedule post.

How do you set Screen Time limits for yourself on iOS 26?

On iOS 26 you set limits for yourself with App Limits and Downtime. These steps follow Apple's iOS 26 guide:

1. Open Settings, tap Screen Time, tap App & Website Activity and turn it on if it is off.
2. Tap App Limits, then Add Limit, and select one or more categories. Tap a category's name to pick single apps inside it.
3. Tap Next, set the time allowed, and tap Customize Days if weekends should differ.
4. Tap Downtime, then Scheduled, choose Every Day or Customize Days, and set the start and end times.
5. Set a Screen Time passcode (see "How do you make limits you set for yourself actually hold?" below), then turn on Block at Downtime.
6. Tap Always Allowed and remove anything you do not need at night.

Apple's guide warns that "by default, Screen Time limits can be ignored once reached". With Block at Downtime on, restricted apps "can't be opened during downtime—they appear dimmed with an hourglass icon"; with it off, you only see a reminder and can carry on.

How do you set screen time limits for yourself on Android?

On Android you set limits for yourself in Digital Wellbeing. Google's Digital Wellbeing help page gives these steps; menu names can differ by phone maker:

1. Open Settings, tap Digital Wellbeing, then App timers.
2. Next to an app, tap Set timer, choose the daily time and tap OK.
3. For the night, tap Bedtime mode, then Bedtime routine, and choose Use a schedule with your start and end times and days.
4. To pause chosen apps at set times, open Focus mode, choose the apps and set a schedule.

Google says that when an app timer runs out, "the app closes and its icon dims", and that timers reset at midnight. The page also says that to use the app again before midnight you delete its timer, which is a short path when the timer is your own.

How do you make limits you set for yourself actually hold?

Limits you set for yourself hold when changing them takes more than a tap. On iPhone, that means a Screen Time passcode.

On iOS 27, Apple's passcode guide gives the path: Settings > Screen Time > Passcode & Management > Lock Screen Time Settings, then a four-digit passcode entered twice. It is a passcode "you must enter before changing Screen Time settings you selected for yourself". On iOS 26, the passcode is also what unlocks Block at Downtime.

A passcode you remember is still yours to type. These habits make it work better:

• Let someone else type it. A partner or friend enters the code while you look away, so going past a limit means asking them.
• Set up Passcode Recovery anyway. Apple's passcode article recommends not skipping it, and warns that without the Apple Account used to set it up, the passcode cannot be removed or reset.
• Turn on Share Across Devices. On iOS 27, Apple's setup guide puts it under Screen Time > Manage Screen Time; with it on, your limits and schedules apply to your iPhone, iPad and Mac.
• Test the limit while you are awake. Make a ten-minute window or a five-minute allowance and open a blocked app before you rely on it.

If you keep tapping past a limit you already set, how to stop ignoring your Screen Time limit goes further.

Which way of limiting yourself should you pick?

The way to limit yourself depends on when your phone use goes wrong and how much effort you want to spend keeping the rules up.

• Too much use spread through the day: Time Allowances on iOS 27, App Limits on iOS 26, App timers on Android, with a passcode someone else holds.
• The evening or night is the problem, iPhone on iOS 27 everywhere: a Screen Time Schedule night window that leaves out Social Media and Entertainment.
• The night is the problem, iOS 26: Downtime with Block at Downtime, and an Always Allowed list you keep short.
• The night is the problem and you want to name the apps: Bedline, the app this blog belongs to.

Bedline uses Apple's Screen Time to pause the apps, categories and websites you choose, from when your Bedline starts until your wake-up, with different weekend hours if you like. The rest of the phone stays as it is, so there is no allow-list to maintain. It runs on iOS 18 or later.

If you need a paused app, you hold a button to confirm an emergency unlock that lasts 30 to 120 minutes, as you choose, and then the apps pause again on their own. Bedline covers the night only; for a daytime budget, use Apple's own tools. Pausing apps needs a Premium plan, and whoever set Bedline up can switch it off.

FAQ

Can I put Screen Time on myself without Family Sharing?

You can set Screen Time on your own iPhone without Family Sharing. Apple's guide to setting up Screen Time for yourself starts in Settings > Screen Time on your own device. Family Sharing is what you use to manage a child's device from yours.

How do I make Screen Time limits stricter for myself?

Screen Time limits get stricter when changing them needs a passcode you do not hold. Set a Screen Time passcode, let someone you trust type it, and on iOS 26 turn on Block at Downtime. Also keep Always Allowed short, since every app on it stays open whatever your limits say.

What happens when I reach my own Screen Time limit?

On iOS 26, Apple's guide says limits "can be ignored once reached" by default, and Block at Downtime stops restricted apps opening during downtime. Apple's iOS 27 guide does not describe what a reached Time Allowance shows, so test one with a short allowance. On Android, Google's Digital Wellbeing page says the app closes and its icon dims.

Can I set a Screen Time passcode for myself?

You can set a Screen Time passcode on your own iPhone. On iOS 27, Apple's guide puts it under Settings > Screen Time > Passcode & Management > Lock Screen Time Settings. You enter four digits twice, and can change or remove the code later in Settings.

How much screen time should an adult limit themselves to?

Apple's and Google's guides do not set a daily target for adults. A more useful start is your own weekly report under Settings > Screen Time, which shows your most used apps and how often you pick up the phone. Limit the apps and hours that report shows are costing you, rather than a round number.