Parents Guide to iPhone Parental Controls (and Other Apple Devices)

Why Parents Should Review Apple’s Parental Controls

• This SmartSocial guide helps parents learn what parental controls Apple offers and how they work, how to set up Family Sharing and Screen Time, how to turn off AirDrop, and more digital safety tips for your family
• Apple devices include powerful safety tools, but parents need to know where to find and how to use them
• Screen Time gives parents a clearer picture of how their child is using their device, including time spent on apps and websites, device pickups, and overall daily and weekly usage
• Parents can set boundaries that fit their child and family, including app limits, Downtime schedules, website restrictions, purchase approvals, and communication controls
• Apple continues to add child-safety features, including tools that can help filter web access, manage contacts, and provide warnings around sensitive content
• Parental controls have limitations, so families should combine device settings with regular conversations, clear expectations, and helping kids learn to manage technology responsibly

What is Family Sharing?

• Family Sharing is a built-in Apple feature that links up to six family members’ Apple Accounts together under one administrative group
• Serves as the technical engine that powers all Apple parental controls, allowing parents to manage Screen Time, review web requests, and approve app downloads directly from their own personal device
• Is now required for kids under 13 to create an official "Child Account," which automatically applies age-appropriate safeguards and prevents children from leaving the family group or altering birth dates without approval (Source: Apple.com)
• Family Sharing allows families to share a single subscription for services like iCloud+, Apple Music, and Apple TV+, as well as share eligible App Store purchases without sharing passwords
• Parents can configure Screen Time limits through Family Sharing from their own Apple device
• Family Sharing is easily accessed through the Settings screen with a list of all included family members and a Family Checklist to help parents take advantage of all sharing features and parental controls

Download Our Apple Parental Controls Quickstart Guide

Does it feel overwhelming to set up parental controls on your iPhone or other Apple device?

‍Download our Apple Parental Controls Quickstart Guide here and we'll walk you through the process.‍

How to Set Up Parental Controls (parent video)

Click here to view the SmartSocial Family Media Agreement resource.

What is Apple Screen Time?

• Screen Time is Apple’s answer to parental controls as a free, integrated feature on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS designed to track device usage, set healthy digital boundaries, and enforce safety rules for the whole family
• Offers a real-time activity dashboard that provides parents with detailed daily and weekly reports on total device usage, individual app activity, website visits, and how many times a device is picked up each day
• Enables parents to set overall daily screen time caps as well as category-specific rules, and set a Downtime schedule that blocks access to certain apps during designated hours such as school time, family dinners, or bedtime.
• Screen Time serves as the central switchboard for blocking explicit content, restricting web browsing, managing App Store purchases, and disabling changes to critical security settings
• When connected via Family Sharing, parents can adjust all Screen Time settings, review activity, and approve or deny extra time requests directly from their own Apple device
• The feature can be configured on the device or remotely across devices with the same Apple ID
• Screen Time can be found in the Settings app or via Family Sharing
• Screen Time tracks use on the device, but can’t track multiple users on the same device

Key Features & What the Update Can Do

• Ask to Browse Web Filtering: Automatically blocks unapproved sites on accounts under 13 and sends real-time approval requests to the parent's Messages app when a child wants to visit a new link
• Contact Requests: Kids must request permission before adding new contacts to their device, preventing unwanted communication
• Custom Schedules & Time Allowances: Allows parents to set overall screen limits alongside granular limits for specific categories (e.g., 30 minutes for games within a 2-hour daily allowance)
• Instant Device Pause: Features a "Pause Device" button in Screen Time settings, letting parents freeze a child's screen instantly for dinner or bedtime
• Expanded Communication Safety: Automatically scans for and blurs extreme content, including nudity, gore, and violence, in incoming images, videos, and FaceTime streams
• Simplified Starter Presets: Offers recommended app sets during child account setup based on guidance from child development experts like the AAP (Source: Apple.com)

Pros and Cons of Apple Screen Time

Pros

• 100% Free: Built directly into Apple OS updates with no monthly subscriptions
• Flexible Daily Rules: Schedules can vary by day (e.g., looser limits on weekends vs. school nights)
• Seamless Apple Sync: Approvals for websites, apps, and contacts pop up directly on the parent's iPhone or Watch

Cons

• Requires OS Uniformity: Every device in your Family Sharing group must be updated to the latest OS version for the new Screen Time rules to sync reliably
• Ecosystem Locked: Completely useless for managing non-Apple devices like Android phones, PCs, or Chromebooks (Digital Wellbeing)
• No In-App Content Moderation: Screen Time can block or limit an app entirely, but it cannot moderate comments, streams, or feeds inside popular apps like TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, or Discord
• Common Workarounds: Tech-savvy kids can bypass limits by altering system time zones, using browser tricks, or re-downloading deleted apps
• Fragmented Location Sharing: Location management remains in the separate Find My app rather than integrated directly into Screen Time dashboards

The new Ask to Browse feature sends the same kind of text whenever your kid tries to visit a new website in Safari: You get a link so that you can give the site the once-over before deciding whether to approve the request. - New York Times

Why should parents & educators care?

• Studies show that too much screen time can impact a child’s cognitive development
• Tracking how much time your family spends on their devices (and how they spend that time) is a great way to start regulating screen time, building positive habits, and starting conversations based on the usage data
• The best way to ensure your family's safety online, on devices, and on social media is to have regular and open discussions about digital safety

Children who spent more than two hours a day on screen-time activities scored lower on language and thinking tests, and some children with more than seven hours a day of screen time experienced thinning of the brain’s cortex, the area of the brain related to critical thinking and reasoning. - NewYork-Presbyterian Health Matters

What can parents do?

• Make sure that all family devices have been updated to the latest iOS to ensure access to the most updated parental controls and that Family Sharing is set up
• Configure Screen Time settings based on what is appropriate for your student and their age
• Don’t rely solely on Apple Screen Time to keep your children safe; create a Family Media Agreement with your family to establish ground rules (view the SmartSocial VIP resource “Social Media Dialogue Guide and Agreement Templates”
• Have regular discussions about digital safety with your family, teach your student how they can self-regulate their screen time, and empower them to use technology in a positive way

Family Sharing

• Tap on the “Settings” app on the parent’s device
• Tap on the parent’s name
• Scroll down and tap on “Family Sharing”
• Tap on the icon in the top right corner to invite family members with an existing Apple ID or to create a new child account
• Follow the instructions to set up your family
• OR if you already have Family Sharing set up, you can access Family Sharing directly from the Settings menu
• When setting up a new child account, parents will have the option to “Turn on Screen Time” and set parental controls and restrictions from Family Sharing
• There will be a slide bar to select the age of the child which will auto-populate with default settings that you can later customize if you wish

Apple Screen Time

• Make sure that all devices are updated with the latest iOS software and that Family Sharing is set up
• From the Settings menu tap Screen Time then select the family member you want to manage from the “Family” section
• Follow the prompts to set Screen Time limits

How to Limit Downloads

• Parents can require their child to get permission for any download or purchase from the App Store, iTunes Store, or Apple Books
• From the “Settings” app, tap “ScreenTime,” tap “Content & Privacy Restrictions” 
• Tap “iTunes & App Store Purchases" (or App Installations & Purchases)
• Choose a setting and set it to “Don't Allow”
• Consider setting "Require Password" to "Always Require"

What information is included in the Screen Time reports?

Users can select today or the past 7 days and review:

• How much time the device has been in use
• What apps send the most notifications
• The most used apps (and how long the app was used)
• How many times the device has been picked up and what app is used first

How to Set a Screen Time Passcode

If you’re using Family Sharing to manage your child’s Screen Time

• From the Screen Time menu, tap "Manage Screen Time," then "Lock Screen Time Settings" and follow the prompts to create and confirm a 4-digit code 
• Enter your Apple ID and password to be used if the passcode is forgotten

Important Settings

Downtime setting

• Downtime allows parents to create a schedule for device and app usage
• Only the apps and phone contacts the parent has chosen will be available during Downtime
• A reminder notification will appear 5 minutes before Downtime is scheduled to start
• The apps that are blocked during the specified time period will turn gray and have an hourglass icon next to the app name
• From the Screen Time menu, tap "Downtime" 
• Slide “Scheduled” to on (green) to set up a regular schedule for device access
• Slide "Block at Downtime" to green
  
  • To gain more access, the child will have to request more time. If this is not on then the child can ignore the downtime

App Limits

• Users can set daily limits for certain app categories
• Limits refresh every day at midnight 
• Once the app limit has been reached, the app’s icon will turn gray and have an hourglass icon next to the app name
• From the Screen Time menu, tap “App Limits”, tap “Add Limit”
• All of the apps on the device will be listed in categories (tap “Other” for a complete list)
• Select the apps that need limits and tap “Next” in the top right
• Set the desired amount of time and “Customize Day”s and tap “Add” to save
• To make limits specific to individual apps, repeat “Add Limit” and select one app at a time
• Slide “Block at End of Limit”. To gain more access, the child will have to request more time from their parent

Always Allowed

• Parents can select specific contacts or apps to be available during Downtime that aren’t affected by App Limits
• From the Screen Time menu, tap “Always Allowed” 
• Under “Contacts” select “Specific Contacts” or "Contacts Only"
• Under Allowed Apps, press the minus or plus circles to add or remove apps from the list of apps available during Downtime

Screen Distance

• Turn on "Screen Distance" to help reduce eye strain and injury for children  
• If on, it will alert the user to hold the device at a safe distance

Communications Limits

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• Parents can control who their child is allowed to have contact with via phone, FaceTime, text messages, and iCloud contacts
• From the Screen Time menu, tap “Communication Limits”
• Tap “During Screen Time” to limit who is allowed to communicate during allowed Screen time
  
• Tap "During Downtime" to limit who is allowed to communicate during the set Downtime
  
• Turn on “Manage Child’s Contacts” for the parent to also be able to manage the child’s contacts
• It will say Pending.The child will have to approve that you can manage their contacts
• If you want your child to be able to create or modify contacts without a screen time passcode, tap “Allow Contact Editing”. They will be able to communicate with anyone including unknown numbers

Communication Safety

• Messages can detect when nude photos are being sent or about to be viewed on your child’s device. Guidance and age-appropriate resources will be offered to help them make a safe choice 
• When the setting is turned on, messages that appear to contain nudity will be blurred and users will be warned that the “photo may be sensitive”
• Warning messages also provide ways to get help like leaving the conversation, blocking the contact, messaging someone they trust, etc., and “reassures the child that it’s ok if they don’t want to view the photo or continue the conversation” (Source: Apple)
• If the user chooses to view or send the inappropriate image even after the warnings, Messages will confirm that they are sure they want to do so one more time
• To turn this feature on or off, tap “Communication Safety”

Content & Privacy Restrictions

• Using the Content & Privacy Restrictions setting, parents can tailor the types of content that are allowed on their child's devices to include limiting explicit content, configuring what personal information apps get access to, turning off the ability to share locations, and restricting in-app purchases
• From the Screen Time menu, tap "Content & Privacy Restrictions" 
• Turn “Content & Privacy Restrictions” to the on (green) position
• Parents can block or allow iTunes & App Store Purchases
• Control which Apple default apps are allowed

Parents can set content restrictions for:

• Music, podcasts, news, and fitness
• Music videos
• Music profiles
• Movies, TV shows, and books
• Apps
• App clips
• Web content, parents can create an approved or blocked list of specific websites
• Siri
• Game Center features, including the ability to play multiplayer games

Parents can choose whether or not students can:

• Share location services - we recommend that this setting is turned to “Don’t Allow”
• Change passcodes
• Change accounts
• Change cellular data
• Turn off Driving Focus
• Change TV provider
• Background app activities

How to turn off AirDrop on your student’s phone

Many schools are dealing with a lot of file sharing problems between students using AirDrop to share unwanted or inappropriate files back and forth. With the new addition of the NameDrop feature on iOS devices, parents are concerned about their students sharing their contacts with unwanted strangers. Although the new feature isn’t really as dire as some news reports make it out to be, parents still have the option to block AirDrop from their student’s devices to take away the option of easily sharing information with others nearby.

• Under "Content & Privacy Restrictions" tap "Allowed Apps"
• Turn AirDrop to off (gray) 
  
  • AirDrop and all of its functions will no longer be an option on the student’s device

Apple Guided Access Lock

• Guided Access keeps your phone locked into a single app for as long as you want it to be; only an adult who knows the access code can unlock it
• Guided Access also allows you to disable unwanted features within a given app
• Parents can also set time limits for your child’s screen time. A sound will play indicating that time is almost up, and a voice will announce exactly how much time is left

How do you use Guided Access?

• This feature is easy to find and enable:
  
  • Go to "Settings" then "Accessibility." Scroll down to “Guided Access,” tap to turn it “On,” create a four-digit passcode or enable Face ID, and you’re ready to go
• Open the app your child is going to use, and then lock the phone into that app by triple-clicking the side button in the app you want to use. Now you’re in Guided Access mode

• To disable buttons within the app, just use your finger to circle the areas on the screen you want to disable

Additional Resources for Parents, Students, & Educators

Click here to view the SmartSocial Family Media Agreement resource

Click here to view Parental Control on Student Device: What Parents & Educators Need to Know

Click here to view Apple Air Tags (and other tracking devices): What Parents & Educators Need to Know

Click here to view Air Drop, Nearby Share, & Self Share: What Parents & Educators Need to Know About Student Device Dangers

Conclusion

Tracking how much time your family spends on their devices (and how) is a great way to start regulating screen time and building positive habits. If anyone in your family has an Apple device, consider configuring the Screen Time settings but understand that there are still ways for students to bypass those restrictions.

Hear Rachel & Andrea discuss the bug with Apple Screen Time

MomTalk with Beth & Andrea discussing screen time tips