Apple is introducing new software and features every day. In iOS 12, Apple introduced a screen time report feature that appears in the form of a greyed bar. Have you been wondering the meaning of the grayed bar? This article will acquaint you with everything you need to know about it. The screen time report is a way to inform you about your usage of the iOS device. It offers data on the websites you have visited in the past, the apps you have opened, and the device use statistics, among others.
No app has been made to display screen time solely. However, you can always access it in the device settings. Just navigate to the device settings app and select the Screen Time option. The screen time option gives statistics relating to how you use your time on the device.
Screen Time Grey Bars
As shown in the picture below, the screen time provides you a detailed report on how you have been using your iOS device. The data presented below is an example of device usage info shown on Screen Time about a specific day
Apps Usage
The chart shows apps that have been categorized depending on usage within 24 hours. It indicates the apps that you have used the most down to the ones that are least used. This may include Messages, Games, Social Network, and Reading and Reference, among others. By just observing the color of the bars, you can always tell what it means. This helps you make sense of each of the bars.
Unclear Grey Bars
In other instances, there are some unclear grey areas on the bars.
These grey bars are application’s features that do not have a relationship with any of the screen time categories. If you need to know what they mean, just select the show categories option to see their meaning
Features and Apps Categories
In the case of the pictures shown above, the grey bars imply Games, Education, Productivity, and Entertainment. Once you tap on any of these options, you will get more information relating to the usage of specific websites and apps that you have been using. However, this information refers only to the items in the category that you tapped.
Screen Time Categories
Screen Time is divided into nine categories. These categories include Health and Fitness, Reading and Referencing, Education, Productivity, Creativity, Entertainment, Games, and Social Networking. On the bar graph, the information displayed only relates to three categories that you have used the most. The rest of the data is displayed in grey shade
Conclusion
Have you been wondering the meaning of grey bars on your screen time report? This is nothing you should worry about. It shows the usage of your iOS device. Usage relates to websites you have visited and specific categories of apps that you have opened within a particular time frame among other forms of useful information. The three categories that you have used the most will be shown in grey color on the bar graph. This way, you can be able to track your time as you use your phone more efficiently.
Thanks brian
Does it report when I’m not using an app or when my phone is locked, but the screen is on?
I find the answer in this article to be absolute rubbish. As an example, looking at screen time for my iPhone today, I see solid grey bars from 12am until 6:30 am when I woke up. I am pretty sure I was not using my phone while I was sleeping (or was I????).
That’s exactly what happened to me! I know I’m not on my phone from that time so I’m confused to why it says that. It’ll say it’s 60 minutes for each of those hours too…
My child deleted the app so it wouldn’t show game. Instead, it shows up in gray
I’m using a new iPhone 13. The last two days my usage shows solid gray bars for 7+ hours, from midnight (continuously) until I begin using the phone after 7 AM, by a site that I haven’t visited in a year, mygrandrv.com. I visited the site yesterday then closed it. Once again it shows up in my usage for 7 hours from midnight on, when the phone is not in use. Can you explain?
Same here. On the gray display when I am not using device; IPhone 13max. Other articles indicate usage manipulation/ usage because of family sharing, etc, which I did not set up.
Also, according to Apple support, apple.connect, a developer program, was set up using my Apple ID
Really bad issues
I just asked my son what he was doing on his phone for an hour which was fully grey. He says he was on FaceTime then (this seems plausible as is when he’d normally call his girlfriend) and FaceTime doesn’t come up as one of the categories listed below (though I don’t really understand why as in terms of time he used it more than some of the ones that were listed).