So, there is no two ways around this, your child is going to want to use your shiny new iPhone and will want one for his next present. In fact, most parents nowadays have an iPad that used solely by their kids. All this is fine and to be honest there is just no method to keep them off technology till they grow up.
The problem comes when you realize that, not only can this give them unchecked access to the internet this can also make them vulnerable to other people on the internet. Also, let’s not forget all the recent incidents of children running up large bills on the app store or other sites since your credit card is setup on the phone directly or by apple pay. So, these steps are tremendously important to keep your child safe and your wallet as well. Not to worry as Apple has you covered.
What you need to do to setup Parental control
iOS has child restrictions build into their system and it is fantastic. It can let your protect your child’s privacy, restrict your child’s access to explicit content and also stop your credit card from being used.
Simply open the settings app. Then click on general and then restrictions. Just tap enable and set a passcode. Wait, you’re not done yet, there is more to do!
Next you need to set content ratings, privacy settings and in app purchases. There are five main sections in iOS restrictions which are allow, allowed content, privacy, allowed changed and game center.
There is no hard and fast rule here since this depends on the age of your child and what your relationship is with them. However, the important one to setup is the ‘allowed changes’ section. This will let you limit what your child can modify on their devise. There wouldn’t be much point to doing all these changes if your child can simply undo all of them, now is there? You can also setup content ratings on movies, music and even games.
Another great feature is to setup website control. You can limit access to adult content and even use specific websites that you just don’t want them to access even if the content is safe.
Game Center
This is the iOS section that relates to their gaming activities and contact with other players in the eco system. You should want to limit the social access they have while playing games as this could potentially be a risk to their safety. These features including limiting access to adding friends and screen recordings. All very important Parental Control features.
Privacy
The final section relates to your child’s privacy. Here you can prevent apps to access your current location, microphone and access to social media. Information such as these can be used by people to pin point location and create direct contact to your child. So, you want to make sure they remain invisible.
With all these restrictions set in place you can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that when your child is using an iPhone or iPad they are playing in a safe digital environment. We recommend doing the same thing for all mobile platforms. So also please check out our Android guide on parental control as well.
This needs to be shared with parents on social media. Most of them just hand their phones or ipads to their children without any check