Why does my screen time look wrong on the home page?

The screen time shown on your Detox home screen is an estimate based on how Detox samples your usage. It is normal for it to look slightly different from iOS Screen Time in your iPhone Settings, and there are a few specific situations where the number can look surprisingly off. This article explains why and how to check.

This is the "why does it look wrong" troubleshooting page. It is not the same as the explainer for how tracking works in the first place. If you want to understand the feature rather than fix a number, see How does Screen Time tracking work?.

If you meant something else: how tracking works and where it lives in Settings → see How does Screen Time tracking work?. What the apps you track are and how to change them → see How do I block specific apps and websites?. Why a whole block is misbehaving (not just the number) → see Detox isn't blocking my apps. How do I fix it?.

How Detox tracks screen time

Detox measures your usage on the apps you track in small increments and accumulates them through the day. The home page shows a single aggregate number for the day across the apps Detox is tracking; there is no per-app breakdown today. The goal is a quick "how am I doing" signal, not a precise audit.

Which apps feed that number depends on how many App Groups you have:

• One group. Tracking is bundled with your Auto Block and follows your initial group, the same as before App Groups existed. The apps in that group are the apps that count.
• Two or more groups. A separate Screen Time section appears on your Settings tab. Tracking is no longer pinned to one group, and the home page number reflects the apps Detox is set to track there.

Small differences from your actual usage are normal. If you spot a large gap, see below.

The home page screen time is the daily-glance version of a broader feature. For weekly, monthly, and lifetime views built on the same tracking, see What can I do on the Progress page?.

Why Detox doesn't match iOS Screen Time

You can open iPhone Settings, go to Screen Time, and see your own per-app totals. Those numbers will not match Detox's, and that is expected:

• Different measurement methods. iOS measures actual foreground time directly. Detox uses iOS's developer API to track usage in small increments. The two approaches give close but not identical numbers.
• Different scope. iOS Screen Time tracks every app on your device. Detox only tracks the apps it is set to track. If a heavy-use app is not in the group Detox tracks, it is not counted by Detox.
• Different start dates. Detox only counts usage from the moment you set the app up. iOS has tracked Screen Time from much earlier.

Neither number is wrong; they are answering slightly different questions. Treat Detox's number as "how much I spent on the apps I am trying to manage," not as a replacement for iOS Screen Time.

When tracking starts

Detox starts counting your screen time the moment you install and set up the app. Any usage you had before that, even on apps you have since added, is not retroactively included. If you installed Detox today, your home page screen time for previous days will show as zero.

Common patterns

Detox's number is lower than iOS Screen Time says I used

Most often this is expected. The two measurement methods differ, and Detox only counts the apps it is tracking. If the gap is huge (say, Detox shows 30 minutes and iOS Settings shows 4 hours on the same app), the most likely cause is that the app is not actually in the group Detox tracks. Check which apps are tracked:

• With one group: open Detox → Settings → Monitored Apps, open the group, and review its apps in the picker.
• With two or more groups: open Detox → Settings → Screen Time to see which group feeds your tracking, then open that group under Monitored Apps to review its apps.

Some apps show as zero even though I used them

If they are not in the group Detox tracks, Detox cannot count them. Open Detox → Settings → Monitored Apps, open the group, add the apps through the picker, and the screen time will start counting from that point forward.

My number doesn't exactly match what I feel I used

Small differences are normal. Detox's tracking is accurate enough to give you a directional sense of your day, but the underlying measurement is not perfect and small inaccuracies can happen. If the gap is huge, look at the next sections (If screen time tracking is broken... and Time-traveling).

My screen time is zero right after I installed Detox

This is expected. Detox starts tracking the moment you install and finish setup, not before. Right after a fresh install your home page will show zero or very little screen time. Give it a day or two of normal use and the home page will fill in with real data.

If screen time tracking is broken, Auto Block probably is too

Both the home page screen time and Auto Block monitoring run on the same iOS framework (DeviceActivity). When one stops working, the other usually does too. The fix is the same: walk through the 5-step troubleshooting guide.

Open Detox → Settings → Problems with blocks? → Apps not blocked?. Step 1 (Reset your blocks) and Step 3 (Reconnect Screen Time) resolve most issues with both at once. The full walkthrough is in Detox isn't blocking my apps. How do I fix it?.

Time-traveling resets screen time tracking

If you set your device clock ahead of real time (manually or via a time-zone change), iOS's tracking framework stops reporting usage until real time catches up. The home page screen time can look frozen or zero until you fix it. For the fix, see Step 5 in Detox isn't blocking my apps. How do I fix it?.

If none of the above explains your case

If the screen time on your home page is clearly off in a way none of the above accounts for, open Detox → Settings → Problems with blocks? → Something else to start a chat. Tell us:

• What number Detox is showing vs. what you actually used
• Which app(s) are involved
• How many App Groups you have, and whether the apps in question are in the group Detox tracks
• Whether Auto Block is also misbehaving for the same apps

We will dig in from there.

Related

• How does Screen Time tracking work?
• What is Auto Block?
• What are App Groups?
• What can I do on the Progress page?
• How do I block specific apps and websites?
• Detox isn't blocking my apps. How do I fix it?

Updated on: 23/06/2026