How To Set Up Parental Controls On iPhone

Using Screen Time For Family Sharing

Family Sharing is great for families with a number of devices. It not only allows parents to share music, books, photos, and apps subscriptions with children on separate devices, it lets parents keep track of where everyone is through location services and helps find iPhones and iPads when misplaced or lost.

Screen Time adds new functionality to Family Sharing by giving you the power to access usage reports and set parental controls for you childs device from your own iPhone or iPad. So theres no need to chase down each childs device to set up Screen Time settings. .

Turning Off The Passcode On Your Childs Device

After activating the Screen Time feature, youll get to closely monitor how much time the user spends on specific apps, websites, etc. Enter the Settings section. Look up Use Screen Time Passcode and select the option. Type and retype a password to protect your Screen Time settings. Children wont be able to remodify these settings once you have set a password.

Can You Limit Screen Time On An iPhone

Once your device has iOS 13.3 or higher, you can start managing who can contact your child via texts, phone calls, or FaceTime. You can also put a time limit on the iPhone to manage how much time your child spends on apps/websites, etc. Parents can even block or restrict certain apps, features, content, etc.

Have you been thinking, How do I control the Screen Time on my childs iPhone?Heres the definitive guide to getting started.

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Protect Your Child’s Privacy From Being Shared With Others

Keep your kid’s location private from websites and strangers.

Nowadays, digital privacy is a big thing for us all. Apple, has made it simple to protect how an iDevice handles your child’s privacy. Under the “privacy” section, you can prevent apps’ access to your child’s current location, the microphone or even whether they can share those things on social media.

Set Up Screen Time For A Family Member On iPhone

Screen Time lets you see how family members are using their devices, so you can structure the time they spend on them. You can set up Screen Time for a family member on their device or, if youve set up Family Sharing, you can set up Screen Time for a family member through Family Sharing on your device. See Set up parental controls with Family Sharing on iPhone and the Apple Support article Family Sharing and Apple ID for your child.

Note: As the organizer of a Family Sharing group, when you set up a child account, you can set up content restrictions, communication limits, and downtime. After the childs account is set up, you can change parental control settings at any time in Settings > Screen Time. See Set up a device for a child with Family Sharing on iPhone.

Family Sharing has a checklist that reminds the organizer to update the parental control settings as the child gets older.

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Enable Communication Safety Feature For Messages App

If you want to protect your child from being exposed to explicit/nude photos, you should enable the Communication Safety feature for the Messages app. When this feature is enabled, the messaging app keeps a track of the images that are sent/received. And if the app ever detects that the child receives or is attempting to send obscene photos, it automatically blurs the images to safeguard your child.

Additionally, the kids communication safety feature provides the needed guidance and age-appropriate resources to help your child make a safer choice. Moreover, it also enables them to contact a person they trust for advice.

In the wake of privacy concerns related to the communication safety feature, Apple has stressed that it doesnt have access to any of the photos in the Messages app. Furthermore, the tech giant has also stated that the entire photo scanning is done on-device to verify if a photo has nudity. To ensure the privacy of your child doesnt get compromised, the messaging app retains end-to-end encryption.

Note:

• Apples all-new Communication Safety feature requires iOS 15.2/iPadOS 15.2 or later and is currently available only in the U.S. The Cupertino giant is likely to expand it to other regions over time.

1. Head into the Settings app -> Screen Time. Under the Family section, tap your childs name.

2. Now, tap Communication Safety and then turn on the toggle next to Check for Sensitive Photos.

Privacy And Content Restrictions

This feature gives people the most control over what they can do on their iPhones. Make sure that the switch near the Privacy and Content Restrictions towards the top of the screen is in the on position.

After the switch is turned on, a variety of things can be restricted on the device. When iTunes and App Store Purchases is tapped, in-app purchases can be disallowed by accessing in-app Purchases and tapping Disallow. Children can spend a fortune on games and other forms of entertainment in the App store alone.

When the Content Restrictions button is tapped, explicit podcasts, songs, and books can be restricted, as well as movies and TV shows above certain ratings such as PG 13 or R.

Certain apps and location services, account changes, passcode changes, and more can also be disallowed.

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Set Up Ask To Buy On Your Childs iPhone

Within Family Sharing, you can enable Ask to Buy, which allows you to approve or disapprove purchase requests from your child. This feature is a default setting for kids under 13, but you can set it up for teenagers if you have Family Sharing. Just know that once youve disabled it when your child hits 18, you wont be able to turn it on again.

Prevent Access To Explicit Content

You can prevent your children from seeing explicit content and sites on their devices, along with choosing appropriate ratings for them to view. For doing this, follow these steps:

Step 1: On Settings, tap on Screen Time.

Step 2: Go to Content and Privacy Restriction, then click Content Restrictions on your childs iPhone.

Step 3: Select your desired Settings for each app under Allowed Store Content.

There are different types of content you can put restrictions on. For instance, you can place restrictions on music, news, podcasts, and audio to filter out explicit content. Likewise, you can restrict music videos, books, TV shows, Movies, and Apps with specific ratings.

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Creating A Passcode To Save Your Screen Time Settings

You can set a passcode to protect all your Screen Time decisions. Once you activate your passcode, your child will have to enter it before make any changes to Screen Time settings.

• Tap on Use Screen Time Passcode.
• Input the four-digit code you want to use. Dont forget it!
• To change or disable the passcode, tap Change Screen Time Passcode and select either Change Screen Time Passcode or Turn Off Screen Time Passcode, depending on your intent. You will have to enter your existing passcode before making any changes.

Miscellaneous Screen Time Limitations

You can set restrictions in specific ways via the Screen Time feature to protect your children. When you enter Settings, head to Screen Time and tap Content & Privacy Restrictions. In the “Allow Changes” menu, you can allow or disallow passcode, account, or cellular data changes.

With the Apple parental controls, you can also stop your child from tampering with loud noise restrictions, driving focus, TV providers, or background app activities.

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Prevent Downloads Using Ask To Buy

How To Prevent Purchases And Downloads On Your Childs Device

There are two ways to prevent your child from purchasing and installing apps or making unauthorized in-app purchases. The first is controlled through the screen time settings. It either allows or stops your child from installing apps, deleting apps or making in-app purchases.

The second option allows your child to request permission for installing or purchasing an app, which requires you to have Apples family sharing feature set up. If you have set up the family sharing feature and your payment method is shared with your family, you can enable the ask to buy feature to keep on top of purchases and downloads.

With this feature, a request to download or purchase is sent to the family organizer . The organizer can then remotely approve or decline the request on their own device. To use the ask to buy feature, you need at least one child under 18 years old in your family sharing group.

Well go over the steps for setting up both options below.

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Turn Communication Safety For Messages On Or Off On A Family Members Device

When communication safety is turned on in Screen Time, nudity in photos can be detected in the Messages app before the photos are sent or received by your child, and resources are provided to help your child handle the situation . This feature does not give Apple access to the photos. See the Apple Support article About communication safety in Messages.

Create A Family Sharing Group

You only need to set up Family Sharing on one device. Then its available on all your devices that are signed in with the same Apple ID.

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Set Up Screen Time For Kids On iPhone And iPad

Screen Time for a childs iPhone allows you to set up additional parental controls. So, be sure to set up and customize Screen Time for your kid.

1. On your childs iOS/iPadOS device, navigate to the Settings app -> Screen Time > Turn on Screen Time.

2. Now, tap Continue and then choose This is My Childs iPhone/iPad.

3. On the downtime screen, you can set a schedule for time away from the screen. Based on your needs, you can allow access to essential apps along with calls and messages on your iPhone. Note that your child will require your permission to have more screen time. Customize the start and end time and then hit Set Downtime.

4. Next up, set daily time limits for app categories such as games, social, entertainment, creativity, and more. After a time limit has been reached, it will require your permission to allow more time. Tap Show All Categories to reveal all the categories and then choose the desired categories. After that, tap Time Amount and set the time limit. Then, tap Set App Limit.

5. Now, customize content and privacy settings as per your liking. For example, you can block shady websites, restrict explicit content in App Store, iTunes, and Apple Music. Even better, Screen Time also allows you to make it mandatory to require your permission to make changes to the privacy settings. Hit Continue to proceed.

Create A Child Account For Enhanced Parental Control On Ios/ipados

To get started, create a child account so that you can manage Screen Time for your child with the desired flexibility.

1. Open Settings app on your device -> Apple ID banner -> Family Sharing.

2. Now, tap Screen Time and then tap Create a Child Account. After that, follow the instructions to create an account for your child.

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Restrictions Are All About Protection

Enabling Restrictions on your child’s iOS device is fast and straightforward. These restrictions aren’t about ruining your child’s experience on their new gift, but rather about protecting them so they can enjoy their new iPad to its fullest. Now you just need to get them to fall asleep by their bedtime!

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Screen Time Puts Parents In Control

Screen Time gives parents critical information to assess their childs screen usage as well as the power to make changes to keep their child safe. Its even more effective when you ensure that your child is interacting with an engaging, educational, kid-appropriate app like Jellies. Learn about what kinds of kids content, kids videos in particular, are best for your child in What Kids Videos Are Right for My Child. You can also learn more about how to navigate technology as a parent by reading other resources on the Jellies blog.

Please feel free to reach out to us on and with any questions about Jellies or setting up Screen Time. .

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Restrict Installed Apps And Features

You can also restrict access to specific apps and features. You don’t need to delete them instead, this allows you to hide features and apps from the home screen. To do this, press Settings, followed by Screen Time. Tap on Content & Privacy Restrictions and enter your four-digit passcode.

If you want to prevent your children from accessing the App Store, tap on “Allowed Apps” and then turn off the switch next to “App Store.” Suppose you want to activate parental controls on the iPhone for text messages. Select Messages from the list, if available. You can choose to disable any or all apps and features on the Allowed Apps list, including messaging apps.

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Set Up Communication Limits To Prevent Your Child From Communicating With Strangers

To prevent your child from communicating with unknown people, you should set communication limits on your iPhone. This restriction will apply to Phone, FaceTime, Messages, and iCloud Contacts.

1. Launch Settings app on your iOS device -> Screen Time. Under the Family section, tap your childs name and choose Communication Limits.

2. Now, tap During Screen Time and enter your Screen Time passcode.

3. Up next, you have three options to choose from:

• Contacts Only: Choose it to allow one-to-one and group communication with people in your contacts.
• Contacts & Groups with at least one contact: Select to allow one-to-one conversations only with people who are in your contacts and group conversations, including at least one person in your contacts.
• Everyone: It lets you allow communication with everyone, including unknown numbers.

To prevent your child from communicating with unknown numbers, choose Contacts Only or Contacts & Groups with at least one contact. Once you have selected the desired option, tap the back button at the top left corner of the screen.

Note:

• Its worth pointing out that changes to communication limits dont apply to childs device until their software is compatible.
• The communication limits also require iCloud Contacts to be enabled on the device .

4. Tap During Downtime and then enter your Screen Time passcode. After that, you can allow communication with only specific contacts or contacts & groups with at least one contact. Then, tap the back button.

Restrict Siri Web Search

You can restrict these Siri features:

• Web Search Content: Prevent Siri from searching the web when you ask a question
• Explicit Language: Prevent Siri from displaying explicit language

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