Apple boss Tim Cook thinks children should have limited screen time imposed upon them, admitting that he strictly monitors his own smartphone use.

“Kids are born digital, they’re digital kids now,” Cook said in a GQ profile published today.

“And it is, I think, really important to set some hard rails around it.”

“We don’t want people using our phones too much. We’re not incentivised for that. We don’t want that. We provide tools so people don’t do that.”

While it’s true that Apple doesn’t profit from people spending excessive time on their iPhones, the company generated over A$303 billion in iPhone sales alone last year.

Cook can hardly argue he isn’t implicit, however he did point to ‘Screen Time’ which tracks iPhone usage, and allows parental limits to be set. Cook said he monitors his own screen time “pretty religiously.”

“We try to get people tools in order to help them put the phone down,” Cook said.

“Because my philosophy is, if you’re looking at the phone more than you’re looking in somebody’s eyes, you’re doing the wrong thing.”