how to remove the message “Changes are restricted by a profile” displayed in the settings of your Mac?

Do you have an iPhone and/or iPad, as well as a Mac? If you have restrictions in place in the Screen Time module to prevent certain settings from being changed, be aware that these may affect all other devices connected to the same iCloud account.

We paid the price on our Mac which, very suddenly, blocked the possibility of modifying the settings associated with the iCloud account used on our Mac. On the page of System Settings > Apple ID, all options were grayed out, making any modification impossible. Furthermore, a strange message “ Account changes are restricted by a profile » was also displayed.

After some research online, it turns out that this blockage is directly linked to the implementation of restrictions in the Screen Time module of iOS or macOS. It is also not unique to the Apple ID section of macOS System Settings and can appear in other menus. On Reddit, a macOS user reports, for example, having seen the message displayed in the Bluetooth settings of his Mac, with a grayed out button preventing any action on this setting.

Bluetooth is grayed out: “this setting has been configured by a profile”
byu/antoniom96 inmacbook

The problem, which at first glance seems insoluble and incomprehensible, is believed to be due to a change in the behavior of the Screen Time module. It now appears that when you configure a restriction from an iPhone (or iPad), it is automatically reflected on all devices connected to the same iCloud account. In this case, a restriction to prevent Screen Time passcode changes or account changes was in place on the iPhone.

That said, if your Mac is blocked in this way, the procedure to follow to get out of this mess will not take you more than a handful of seconds. To remove this message and regain access to grayed out settings on your machine, open the System Settings from macOS, then in the menu Screen timeunder the heading Restrictionsenter Content and Privacy.

Then go to the Preference Restrictions section.

In the window that appears, activate the option Allow account changes.

Your problem should, in principle, be resolved and the message telling you that changes are restricted by a profile should disappear from your machine.