Public bug reported:
๐งฉ Description
On Ubuntu 26.04 with GNOME 50.1, parental control features configured
via GNOME Settings (screen time limits, bedtime schedule, and grayscale
wellbeing mode) are not enforced for standard users, despite being
correctly configured and visible in the UI.
The configuration appears correct in both GNOME Settings and
AccountsService, but runtime enforcement does not occur.
All enforcement mechanisms rely on the org.freedesktop.MalcontentTimer1
D-Bus service, which fails to start due to a timeout during activation.
๐ฅ๏ธ System Information
OS: Ubuntu 26.04
GNOME Shell: 50.1
gnome-control-center: 50.0-0ubuntu6.1
malcontent: 0.14.0-0ubuntu1.1
AccountsService: 23.13.9
Session type: Wayland (GDM login)
Users:
user1 (admin, unrestricted)
user2 (standard user with parental controls enabled)
๐ Steps to Reproduce
Create a second (non-admin) user account
Log in as admin (user1)
Enable Parental Controls for the second user:
Daily screen time limit
Bedtime schedule
Wellbeing grayscale mode
Log into the restricted user (user2)
Use system until limits should trigger
โ Actual Behavior
Screen time limits are not enforced
Bedtime schedule does not trigger restrictions
Grayscale mode is never activated
Usage reminders do not appear
Screen time usage is not recorded
GNOME Shell logs show repeated failures:
Failed to record usage:
GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.TimedOut:
Failed to activate service 'org.freedesktop.MalcontentTimer1':
timed out (service_start_timeout=25000ms)
โ
Expected Behavior
When parental controls are enabled for a user:
Screen time limits should be enforced
Bedtime schedule should trigger lock/restriction behavior
Grayscale wellbeing mode should activate automatically
Usage tracking should function correctly
Warnings/reminders should appear
๐ Key Observations
1. Settings are correctly stored
org.gnome.desktop.screen-time-limits:
daily-limit-enabled = false
daily-limit-seconds = 28800
grayscale = true
history-enabled = true
Changes are writable and correctly reflected via gsettings monitor.
2. AccountsService parental controls are correctly configured
com.endlessm.ParentalControls.SessionLimits:
DailyLimit = 3000
DailySchedule = (7200, 72000)
LimitType = 3
User account is correctly recognized:
LocalAccount = true
IsParent = false
Uid = 1001
3. GNOME Shell reports enforcement failures
gnome-shell: Failed to record usage
Repeated occurrences observed during session activity.
4. Critical failure: MalcontentTimer service activation timeout
Failed to activate service 'org.freedesktop.MalcontentTimer1':
timed out (service_start_timeout=25000ms)
This prevents all parental control enforcement functionality from
executing.
๐ง Analysis
The issue appears to be a failure in D-Bus activation of the Malcontent
timer service:
org.freedesktop.MalcontentTimer1 never starts
GNOME Shell attempts to use it for usage tracking and enforcement
Activation times out after 25 seconds
As a result, all dependent parental control features fail silently
๐ Impact
This issue completely disables parental control enforcement for non-
admin users:
Screen time limits ineffective
Bedtime restrictions ineffective
Wellbeing grayscale mode not applied
Usage tracking broken
Despite correct configuration in UI and AccountsService.
๐งช Likely Affected Components
malcontent (0.14.0-0ubuntu1.1)
org.freedesktop.MalcontentTimer1 D-Bus service
GNOME Shell 50 Wellbeing integration
Ubuntu 26.04 parental control integration layer
Endless OS Parental Controls integration (com.endlessm.ParentalControls.*)
๐ Additional Notes
GNOME Settings UI shows controls as managed by parental controls
gsettings values are correctly applied and observable
No systemd user unit failures were observed
Issue appears isolated to runtime service activation
๐งพ Conclusion
Parental control configuration is correctly applied, but enforcement
fails due to the org.freedesktop.MalcontentTimer1 service not starting
via D-Bus activation. This breaks all runtime enforcement features for
restricted users.
ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 26.04
Package: malcontent 0.14.0-0ubuntu1.1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 7.0.0-22.22-generic 7.0.0
Uname: Linux 7.0.0-22-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia_modeset nvidia
ApportVersion: 2.34.0-0ubuntu2
Architecture: amd64
CasperMD5CheckResult: pass
CurrentDesktop: ubuntu:GNOME
Date: Sun Jun 21 15:43:14 2026
InstallationDate: Installed on 2026-04-24 (59 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 26.04 "Resolute Raccoon" - Release amd64 (20260423.1)
ProcEnviron:
LANG=en_US.UTF-8
PATH=(custom, no user)
SHELL=/bin/bash
TERM=xterm-256color
XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
SourcePackage: malcontent
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
** Affects: malcontent (Ubuntu)
Importance: Undecided
Status: New
** Tags: amd64 apport-bug resolute wayland-session
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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2157751
Title:
Parental controls not enforced for non-admin users due to
MalcontentTimer1 D-Bus activation timeout (Ubuntu 26.04 / GNOME 50)
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