ANSWERED: What are xFi Active Time Details and how does it work

Active Time Limit

An Active Time Limit provides the ability to set time limits for people on your home network to help your family promote healthy internet usage habits. Once enabled, the Xfinity primary user will receive a text message, email and/or push notification (depending on your xFi notification preferences) when a person’s devices are close to reaching their active time limit on your home network.

To set up an Active Time Limit:

1. From a person's Settings page, select Active Time Limit.

2. Check the box next to Weekdays and/or Weekends.

3. Adjust the bar to set the active time limit.

   • This will be the daily limit for the person starting at 12 a.m. (midnight) each day.

4. If you would like the device to automatically pause once the time limit is reached, be sure to enable this setting for the active time limit.

Activities such as streaming music or videos, surfing, shopping, gaming and downloading books, pictures and videos, count towards active time. Applications that you may not be actively using but are running in the background (for example, an app downloading an update) may count towards active time. Access using cellular data, a public Xfinity WiFi hotspot, or other available WiFi networks won't count toward active time.

For more information on what counts towards active time, see our xFi Frequently Asked Questions.

To receive Active Time Limit notifications, be sure you have Network Activity notifications turned on in xFi. Learn about notification preferences.

Active Time Details 

Active Time Details offers a detailed view of how much time you and your kids are spending on supported applications and their associated sites when connected to your home network. Once enabled for a person, network traffic from their devices will be analyzed. Time spent on supported applications or websites will be reported out by Application and by Category. Active Time Details is not enabled by default; it's an optional feature that can only be enabled at the People level.

Active Time Details cannot be enabled for the xFi default Household and Guest groups.

To turn Active Time Details on:

1. From a person’s Settings page, select Active Time Details.
2. Agree to the user consent by checking the box.
3. Select Turn On.
   
   

Once enabled, data may not be viewable immediately. Activity is measured in five-minute increments and refreshed in xFi every 15 minutes.

Active Time Details can only be tracked on devices connected to your home WiFi network that are running one of the supported platforms: Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, Chrome OS, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One or PlayStation 4. Activity cannot be tracked on Smart TVs or on Amazon platforms (Kindle, Kindle Fire, etc.)

Applications that do not require an internet connection will not be tracked. Customers can find more information on supported applications in the active time details FAQs page in xFi.

Note: Active Time Details is available to all Xfinity Internet subscribers who rent an xFi Advanced Gateway (XB6 or greater).

Supported Applications

For the Active Time Details supported applications list, Comcast has engaged a third-party vendor who maintains a database that maps websites and applications to a category classification. Content mapping is updated regularly by the vendor to help make sure a comprehensive list is maintained. You can view the full list of supported applications below.

Note: Activity for some apps will be reported under the Company rather than the application name. This is most common with gaming applications.

Examples of this include but are not limited to:

• Blizzard: Hearthstone, Overwatch League, World of Warcraft, etc.
• Droidhen: DH Texas Poker, Defender games, Miracle City games, etc.
• Rovio: Angry Birds games, Sugar Blast!, etc.
• Zynga: Words with Friends games, Puzzlescapes, Willy Wonka Slots, Game of Thrones Slots Casino, etc.
  
  

LIST OF SUPPORTED APPS

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Active Time Details?
Active Time Details offers a detailed view of how much time you and your kids are spending on supported applications, or their associated websites, when connected to your home network. It is an optional feature (disabled by default) and can only be enabled at the person/people level. Once you enable it for a person, time spent online will be tracked and categorized.

Why is Comcast now tracking my internet traffic?
Comcast takes customer privacy seriously. It is important to understand that we do not track your online activity. Active Time Details in xFi is an optional feature and is not enabled by default. This means that network traffic will not be tracked and made viewable to you until you enable this feature in xFi. Additionally, this information is not used for any other purposes.

Is the Active Time Details feature available to all customers with an xFi Gateway?
Active Time Details is available to Xfinity Internet subscribers who rent a compatible xFi Advanced Gateway (XB6 and higher).

How do I enable Active Time Details in xFi?
Active Time Details can be enabled through the Xfinity app. To enable, select a person and then select the gear icon in the upper-right corner of the page. From the Settings page, select Active Time Details and choose Turn On.

Note: To turn it on, you’ll need to accept the user consent that appears onscreen. Active Time Details can't be enabled for the default Household and Guest groups.

What devices will I see activity for?
Network traffic can only be reported on devices running one of the following supported platforms: Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, Chrome OS (e.g., phones, tablets and computers), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Active Time Details cannot be tracked on Smart TVs or on Amazon platforms (Kindle, Kindle Fire, etc.).

Which apps are currently supported?
Comcast has engaged a third-party vendor who maintains the list of applications for Active Time Details. They, in partnership with Comcast, review the most popular apps and those used by kids that require internet connectivity to determine which ones to support. You can see the supported applications list here. Any online activity that does not occur on a supported application will be captured as “other browsing” and roll up into the “Other” category.

Devices must be connected to your home network and use the internet for activity to be captured. Applications that do not require internet connectivity cannot be properly identified for Active Time Details.

What are the different categories supported for Active Time Details?
Comcast has engaged a third-party vendor who maintains a database that maps websites and applications to a category classification. Content mapping is updated regularly by the vendor to help ensure a comprehensive list is maintained.

Categories include: Adult, Education, Gaming, Kids, Social, Entertainment, Shopping, News & Media, Search & Utilities and Other.

How accurate is the application usage tracking?
Usage statistics are accurate up to a five-minute granularity, and the data is updated every 15 minutes. Usage is rounded up, so if a person spends three minutes out of five on a given platform, five minutes of usage will be logged.

Why do I see apps I don’t recognize?
Activity for some apps will be reported under the company name rather than the application name. This is most common with gaming applications. For example, the company Epic Games has a number of gaming applications available for download in the app stores, including Fortnite. Time spent playing Fortnite on the mobile app, along with time spent playing on any other app released by the company Epic Games, will show as “Epic Games” in Active Time Details.

It is possible to see activity from an application you have not recently used due to background app activity (e.g., app updates, etc.).

It is also possible to see activity from an app that you do not have. Many applications and websites include embedded content that is sourced from other platforms. Depending on how those platforms are integrated, this embedded content can use enough data to be included in Active Time Details. Some examples of embedded content include social media posts that get shared across platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) and in-app advertisements.

This app activity will typically show in five-minute increments.

Why doesn't the sum of my detailed active time add up to the total daily time?
Activity can occur on multiple devices at the same time or across multiple applications on the same device at the same time. When activity occurs concurrently, total time spent is calculated as the sum of time from the point when activity started to when it ended. For example, if you stream music on a computer from 1:00-2:00 p.m. and you also play a game on a mobile device from 1:30-2:00 p.m. that same day, total daily time spent will be one hour. Separately, you will see the amount of time spent for each activity classified as one hour of Entertainment and 30 minutes of Gaming.

Will my activity be tracked if I use a private browser tab?
Yes, Active Time Details is still able to monitor activity on websites of supported applications (e.g., www.facebook.com) even when accessing using a private browser.

Will my activity be tracked if I use a VPN?
No, activity cannot be tracked and reported for devices using a VPN to access the internet.

Once I turn Active Time Details off, can I still view the data?
No, once Active Time Details is turned off, the Application and Category data will no longer be accessible. Details will not be captured while Active Time Details is turned off. When you turn Active Time Details back on, you can view activity that was captured prior to turning it off if it was within the last seven days.

How is my data used and secured?
We’re serious about privacy. We’ve designed this reporting feature to let you manage screen time for yourself and your kids. The data being reported is not being used for any other purposes and we don’t share your data with third parties. Data collected for purposes of Active Time Details in xFi is only stored for a period of 10 days. Any tracking data older than 10 days gets permanently deleted.

We adhere to the standards of our Web Services Privacy Policy and the Web Services Terms of Service.

Why can’t I see Active Time Details in a person's settings?
First, check your gateway make and model in xFi under the Network tab to make sure it’s one of the compatible gateways.

If you have a compatible gateway but still don’t see Active Time Details, try restarting your gateway to make sure you have the latest firmware.

​Additional Resources​

​https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/xfinity-xfi-manage-profiles​

​https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/xfinity-xfi-faqs​

​https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/xfi-activity-reporting-supported-applications​

​https://corporate.comcast.com/stories/xfi-rolls-out-new-active-time-alert-feature​