Screen Time's “Ignore Limit”: how to take it away, and why it is there

“How do I get rid of the Ignore button?” is one of the most-asked Screen Time questions, and the frustration behind it is fair: a limit you can dismiss with a tap is a reminder dressed up as a rule. Here is what Apple actually documents, and what it does not.

Why the button is there

Screen Time was designed to be something you set for yourself as well as for a child, and a limit you could never exceed would lock you out of an app in exactly the moment you needed it — a boarding pass in a travel app, a message you had to answer. So by default, Apple makes the limit advisory. That is a reasonable design for most people and useless for anyone who has already tapped Ignore forty times.

What removes it: a passcode

1. Open Settings → Screen Time.
2. Turn on a Screen Time passcode.
3. Have someone else type it — and do not watch.

With a passcode set, reaching a limit no longer offers a simple ignore. Apple's documentation describes the flow on a child's device: tap Ask for More Time, then Enter Screen Time Passcode, then approve or deny. Where a parent approves from their own device, the choices are approve for 15 minutes, for an hour, all day, or don't approve.

For scheduled time rather than daily limits, the same rule applies in Apple's words: if you set a Screen Time passcode, you can choose whether apps are completely blocked or just dimmed. That setting is Block at Downtime — renamed as part of Screen Time Schedule on iOS 27.

The minute that survives

Even with a passcode, Apple's own guidance for young people says that when you hit your allowance you can tap One More Minute or send a request for more time. That minute is enough to finish a message, and not enough to scroll — which is presumably the point. Treat it as part of the design rather than a loophole.

Why setting the passcode yourself does not work

A passcode you know is an Ignore button with four extra taps. And if you set it and then forget it, Apple lets you reset it with the Apple Account used to set it up — so choosing a code you “will not remember” does not hold either. The passcode only changes anything when someone else holds it.

If you do not want to hand a passcode to anyone

The alternative to trusting a person is trusting distance. With Spark, a session is ended early by walking to a physical key and holding your phone against it — there is no Ignore button, and nobody has to be asked. On iPhone it still works through Apple's Screen Time permission, so for the strongest version you combine the two: someone else's passcode underneath, and a key for the everyday exit.