How to View Screen Time Category Usage on iOS 12

Apple’s iOS 12 introduced Screen Time, a feature designed to help users monitor and manage their device habits. While the main dashboard provides a general snapshot of your daily or weekly device activity, iOS also sorts this data into distinct categories such as Social Networking, Entertainment, Productivity, and Reading. Accessing this category-specific usage data allows you to pinpoint precisely where your time is being spent and set targeted downtime or app limits.

Accessing the Category View

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Scroll down and tap Screen Time.
3. Tap the main usage chart or your device name located at the very top of the Screen Time menu to enter the detailed breakdown screen.
4. Select whether you want to review data for Today or the Last 7 Days using the tabs at the top.
5. Below the main graph, locate the Most Used section.
6. Tap the Categories tab (located next to the "Apps & Websites" toggle).

Inspecting Category Details

Once you switch to the Categories view, your total screen time will be reorganized:

• Top Categories: The list will rank categories from most used to least used, displaying the total time spent in each during the selected timeframe.
• App Breakdown by Category: Tap on any individual category (such as Social Networking or Games) to view a granular list of all apps contributing to that total, along with each app's individual usage time.
• Setting Limits: From this detailed category view, you can tap Add Limit at the bottom of the screen to quickly apply a daily time allowance for the entire category or specific apps within it.