How to Enable Parental Controls on iPhone

Apple has one of the best parental control settings in the whole tech industry. Their parental controls for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch are all great. If you want to learn how to enable them on the iPhone and other iOS devices, you are in the right place.

In this article, we’ll also go over some other in-depth tips. This knowledge will allow you to customize your child’s iPhone experience fully. It will also give you complete control over what apps they use, the content they are seeing and listening to, and what they’re downloading and installing.

Enabling Parental Controls on iPhone

Right off the bat, here is how you activate the parental controls on the iPhone:

Launch the Settings app.
Select Screen Time.
Make sure to enable Screen Time.
Tap Continue after carefully reading what this feature allows you to do.
Select This is My Child’s iPhone if that is the case.
Configure the Downtime settings for your child’s iPhone. You can select the time when they will be unable to use Facebook, play videogames, etc. They’ll still be able to receive calls and texts from you and others, though. You can choose to allow other apps as well, but that’s up to you.
Next, you want to configure the App Limit settings. You can set individual app limits, which is neat. For example, you can give them one hour a day on social media app, and one hour in Candy Crush or other games. Finally, select Set App Limit.
Under the Content and Privacy settings, you can set up a passcode. Select Continue and introduce a passcode (four digits) so that only you can meddle with the settings. We highly recommend enabling this option.

In-App Purchase Control

Screen Time doesn’t only allow you to set up parental controls. It also lets you control all the in-app purchases made on the App Store, iTunes, etc. Follow the steps to change in-app purchase and other app control settings:

Open the Settings app.
Select Screen Time.
Then Select Content and Privacy Restrictions. Enter the passcode if asked.
Enable Content and Privacy Restrictions by moving the slider to the right.
Choose iTunes and App Store Purchases.
Here, you will see Installing Apps, Deleting Apps, and In-app Purchase options. Tap on the selection next to them (Don’t Allow or Allow). It’s probably best to block all of these options, but you can also lock them behind a password.

How to Control Internet Browsing on an iPhone

You are probably wondering about internet browsing. There are parental controls on the iPhone that allow you to limit your child’s browsing. Follow the steps to do that:

Tap on the Settings app and select Screen Time.
Choose Content and Privacy Restrictions and enable it. Enter your passcode if asked.
Select Content Restrictions.
Scroll down until you find Web Content. Select this option.
Choose Limit Adult Websites if you prefer this method. You can also select Allowed Websites Only and specify which sites your child can access. You need to add websites one by one, both the ones you want to allow and those that you don’t.

Allowed App Use

You can set app limits according to your preferences, but you can also make a list of apps that are always enabled. These will neglect the Downtime and App Limits. Follow the steps to allow some useful apps on your child’s iPhone:

Go to Settings and select Screen Time.
Choose Always Allowed and go through the list of apps.
Choose the installed apps that you’d like always to be accessible. Facetime, Maps, Messages, and Phone apps are allowed by default. You can even disable most of them except for the Phone app.

The best apps to allow your children to use are communication and education apps. You are fortunate if your child likes using these sorts of apps, instead of playing Fortnite in their free time.

Kids Won’t Like It

Don’t fool yourself; all kids hate parental controls. They think they know what’s best for them, but at a young age, they can’t be the ones deciding everything. Restricting their phone time, in-app purchases, and browsing seems like the right thing to do.

Be careful and try not to overprotect your kid if they are teens already. Try to find a healthy compromise and make parental controls somewhat reasonable for both sides.

What do you think about the parental controls on your child’s iPhone so far? Let us know in the comments below.