Parental Controls
The Ultimate Guide for Parents Setting Up an iPhone
Learn about how parents can use Screen Time, Device Supervision, and other techniques to keep children safe online
This comprehensive guide will walk parents through the process of setting up and managing parental controls on their child's iPhone. Whether you're looking to restrict app usage, block inappropriate websites, monitor activity, or simply understand the best approach for your family's unique needs, this resource provides clear, step-by-step instructions and practical advice. We'll cover everything from Apple's built-in Screen Time and Family Sharing features to addressing common challenges and loopholes, ensuring your child's online experience is safe and controlled.
Before getting started, it’s important to gather your household inventory, meaning, what resources do you and your child currently have? If you and your child both have your own iPhone or iPad devices, for example, then the approach you’ll need to take will be different than if you and your child share the same devices. Based on what you have available, you can choose the correct approach.
Choosing an Approach
There are two main options to consider for parental controls on iPhone:
- Screen Time
- Apple Family Sharing
From my testing, Apple Family Sharing is much more reliable and is the best choice for parents. However, it only works if both you and your child have separate iPhones.
Screen Time can be used by itself without Apple Family Sharing, but it requires parents to “borrow” their child’s device each time they need to make a change. It’s not nearly as convenient to use without Apple Family, but it’s still possible to get a setup that works well.
Apple Family Sharing
Apple Family Sharing requires children and parents to have separate devices and their own Apple accounts. If you’re a parent, then you can use your own personal Apple account as the Family Organizer, which is what Apple calls a parent account.
Apple Family Sharing can be a bit more complicated to set up, since it involves multiple accounts. If you’re still deciding on whether to use Apple Family, here’s some important information to keep in mind:
- Parents won’t automatically see all of their child’s activity or be able to set restrictions without proper setup
- It’s much easier to use Apple Family Sharing if you’re able to create a new account for your child as opposed to inviting an existing account; we’ll explain the correct way to create an account for your child later in this guide
- Location sharing might require you to borrow your child’s device and enable location services
- You will need to set a PIN for your child’s Screen Time restrictions, and this PIN is required both if you’re managing restrictions from your own device or need to borrow your child’s device
- Based on the age of your child, it is possible they could leave Apple Family; we’ll explain some of the workarounds you can try later in this guide
Screen Time Only
The classic approach is to use Screen Time restrictions only. Apple Family Sharing makes it much more convenient for parents to remotely approve purchases, set restrictions, or allow app installs, but it may not be supported on some older devices.
If that’s the case for you, we’ll also provide recommendations for parents to properly lock down their child’s device using Screen Time Only, without using Apple Family.
A) Setting Up Apple Family
Apple Family Sharing allows family members to “share” features between their Apple accounts. One of these features is Screen Time, and when managed by a parent (also called the Family Organizer) for their child, it’s called Managed Screen Time.
Managed Screen Time is locked using a four-digit PIN, just like normal Screen Time. However, since it’s managed by a parent’s (or Family Organizer’s) Apple account, parents can enter this PIN on their own devices without needing to borrow their child’s device. Parents can still manage Screen Time for their child by borrowing their child’s iPhone, so it’s still important to remember to choose a PIN that your child can’t guess.
Prerequisites
Here’s what you will need before starting:
- Your own iPhone and Apple account (not used by your child)
- Your child’s iPhone
Note that it is not required that your child have an Apple account created already. If your child is younger than 13 years old, Apple allows parents to create an account for their child.
Invite or create child account
On your (the parent’s) iPhone,
You should see an icon near the top right of the screen that looks like a profile icon with a plus symbol; this is how you can invite or create an account for your child
If your child already has an Apple account, you can invite them. Otherwise, you can create an account for your child instead.
If possible, we recommend creating an account for your child if they are 12 and younger. When an account is created like this, Apple treats it very differently than a standard or even Teen Apple account:
- Child accounts need to be a part of a Family Group, and cannot leave
- The age can’t be changed on Child accounts; they can only leave the Family Group by aging naturally
If your child is a Teen (older than 13 years), you can still use Managed Screen Time, but some of the other features won’t work. For example, Ask To Buy, Location sharing, or purchase settings might not be available or could be disabled by your child, depending on your region.
Regardless of whether you create a new child account or invite an existing account, here’s the important information for parents:
- Enabling Managed Screen Time means that even if your child leaves Apple Family, they will still need your Screen Time passcode on their device
- Child (12 years and younger) and Teen (between 13 to 18 years) Apple accounts both allow parents enable Managed Screen Time
- Some Ask To Buy or Location sharing features might be impacted if your child is considered a Teen
It’s also important for parents to note that it’s possible to change the age of an Apple account , unless they have a child account.
Enable Managed Screen Time
If you’re creating an account for your child using Apple Family, Managed Screen Time should be enabled by default (or, you will be asked to enable it as a part of the setup process).
If you’ve instead invited an existing Apple account:
How to Update Restrictions
If you, as the parent, need to update restrictions on your child’s device, here’s how to do so remotely:
This menu should look something like this:
If you have a Mac computer, repeat these instructions in the System Settings app.
You will end up opening a menu like this:
We have more recommendations about how to enable specific restrictions later in this guide.
B) Settings Up Screen Time Only
If your child has an older iPhone, or they have the only Apple device in your household, then you might need to consider setting up Screen Time Only, without any remote features.
Apple Family Sharing requires you (the parent) to have at least one Apple device to remotely manage restrictions. This doesn’t need to be an iPhone; an iPad or Mac computer will also work. If there are no other Apple devices you can use, then you are stuck using Screen Time only.
Prerequisites and limitations
If you’ve decided to use Screen Time Only, here’s what you need:
- Your child’s iPhone
- Optionally, your own Apple account in case you forget your child’s Screen Time PIN
You can have an Apple account without needing an iPhone, iPad, or Mac computer by visiting Apple’s website . This is optional, but it’s useful if it’s a hassle to remember your PIN each time you need to make a change.
Borrow your Child’s iPhone and access Screen Time
If you need to make changes on your child’s iPhone (for example, you’ve borrowed their device), you can access Screen Time like this:
You’ll be able to manage the same restriction as you could with Apple Family:
We have more recommendations about how to enable specific restrictions later in this guide.
Lock Child’s iPhone Screen Time Settings with PIN
Since you can’t change Screen Time settings remotely, it’s very important that you lock Screen Time on your child’s device properly.
It’s only possible to set a four-digit PIN to lock Screen Time, so when you choose one, be sure that it’s not one that can be easily guessed by your child.
To lock Screen Time settings on your child’s device, choose this option from the Screen Time page:
After entering your Passcode, you’ll see a screen that asks for a recovery Apple account. This is why it may be a good idea to have your own Apple account that your child doesn’t have access to.
If you have an Apple account, enter it here. Otherwise, tap cancel.
Manage Apps
One of the first things we recommend parents do is manage what kind of apps their child can purchase from the App Store, but there are cases where you may need to limit apps in other ways.
Require Approval before your child can download a new app from the App Store
Ask To Buy is a feature that prevents your child from purchasing apps from the App Store. It does not affect already purchased apps, so if you’re trying to block an app that your child has already downloaded, you’ll need to use a different approach. It is also only available with Apple Family Sharing on a child account (meaning, your child is younger than 12).
You can tell if an app is purchased by checking the listing on the App Store. If you’re trying to review your child’s purchases, this needs to be done on their device; not yours.
Apps or games that are purchased have a cloud icon that allows them to be redownloaded.
Apps not yet purchased have the “GET” button instead.
Free apps need to be “purchased” before being downloaded, so Ask To Buy will send you (the parent) a message when your child tries to purchase a new app (even if the app is free). You can then deny or approve the request.
Time-limit apps to discourage their use
Screen Time provides the option to add App Limits, and this can be used to “block” certain apps by setting an extremely low time limit of 1 minute (the lowest allowed).
Set an app limit from the Screen Time page:
App Limits are useful for apps that can’t be uninstalled (like Camera) or apps that are already downloaded to your child’s iPhone.
When your child exceeds the time limits you've set on an app, they'll see a screen like this instead of the app:
Block apps above a certain age rating
You might want to restrict apps that could be downloaded from the App Store. For example, many gambling and casino apps are blocked if you set the age range for your child to 12 and below.
To set your child’s age rating from Screen Time:
If your child tries to download an app above the age rating you've set, they'll see a message like this:
Disable the App Store completely
You can also disable the App Store entirely if Ask To Buy isn’t an option. Just note that this completely disables the App Store, meaning that currently installed apps might have trouble updating. There are a few workarounds you can try that allow you to install apps that we’ll get into when we talk about setting a Downtime.
From Screen Time Settings:
These other options might be useful as well:
- The Deleting Apps option can be used to prevent apps from being deleted by your child
- Disabling In-app Purchases means that your child can’t purchase in-app items (for example, in a video game)
Prevent Apps from being deleted
This isn’t always the best option for parents, but if you have additional parental control apps that supplement Apple Family or Screen Time, this can be used to prevent those apps from being deleted by your child.
This could also be an option for parents who periodically review their child’s installed apps. In this case, a parent might consider allowing app updates by enabling the App Store, but prevent the child from removing any installed apps, so these apps can be reviewed. If this is the case, parents should remember that apps can be hidden.
From Screen Time Settings:
If your child presses and holds an app icon, and taps remove app, they won't see an option to delete the app from their iPhone:
Set Up Downtime
Downtime can be used to:
- Set a downtime for your child that blocks distracting apps and notifications
- Temporarily “deactivating” your child’s iPhone remotely (if using Apple Family)
See our dedicated guide for how to set up downtime to remotely deactivate your child’s iPhone for more information.
Five minutes before Downtime is active, your child will see a notification like this on their iPhone:
When a downtime is active, you're child will see this page when trying to open a blocked app:
Manage Websites
In addition to having the ability to block and manage apps on your child’s iPhone, you can also block websites and view limited browsing activity for your child.
There are two main modes for blocking websites:
- Limit Adult Sites, which blocks explicit websites by default and additional website that you (the parent) decide should be blocked
- Allowed Sites Only, which blocks every website except for ones you (the parent) have specifically allowed
Block specific websites only
This is the most straightforward approach. From Screen Time:
Block all websites by default
This will require you to be much more involved with your child when accessing websites. From Screen Time:
Keep in mind that blocking all websites by default will be extremely limiting for your child. Apple doesn’t currently have a way for children to request access to a website.
Avoid Common Issues
If you’ve followed the instructions in this guide so far, you should have a fairly decent parental control system set up for your child. However, you can go even further and block many common loopholes and avoid common issues.
Block non-Safari Browsers
Screen Time will collect activity from most browsers, including Safari and Chrome. However, some browsers might not accurately filter content, and it may be necessary to block them.
The easiest way to block non-Safari browsers is to block apps rated 17+. Safari is the only browsing app on the App Store that doesn’t have a 17+ rating.
Update Apps While App Store is Disabled
If you’ve disabled the App Store on your child’s iPhone, you may want to ensure that currently installed apps stay up to date.
You can enable the App Store temporarily and block it with Downtime to install updates. Here’s how:
From Screen Time, go to Downtime (you can set this up by following the instructions in our guide to remotely disable a child’s iPhone )
If set up this way, the App Store will be enabled but can’t be opened on your child’s iPhone. This is only temporary, and once the Downtime expires, the App Store will be accessible again.
You can wait around 30 minutes or so to re-lock the App Store, or you can borrow your child’s iPhone and verify that apps are being updated correctly.
Remove Common Loopholes
There are other loopholes you might consider disabling that are incredibly difficult to do manually. Some apps on the App Store can help close these loopholes.
Here are some of the loopholes that might need to be blocked by parents:
There are some apps that parents can download on their child's iPhone that can automatically remove several of these loopholes. For example, we've done a full test of the Gertrude iOS app, which is specifically designed for parents using Screen Time. See our Gertrude app review for more information about how it works.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to Prevent Child from Leaving Family Group
This is only possible if your child’s age is below 12 years old and they are added to a Family Group. The option to leave the family group will be grayed out:
If this isn't an option for you, then it's important to choose a strong Screen Time PIN. If you’ve set a strong PIN for your child’s Screen Time restriction, your child will still need to enter that PIN to unlock the iPhone.
How to Monitor Child’s Activity
See our dedicated guide about how to monitor your child’s iPhone activity .
Parents can see a decent amount of activity information from their child, including the amount of time their child spends on an app or website, number of notifications received by their child, and the total number of iPhone pickups.
How to Remotely Disable Child’s iPhone
See our dedicated guide about how to automatically restrict iPhone usage for your child.
How to Block Apps without Disabling the App Store
In addition to Screen Time/Apple Family, you could enable additional restrictions using Supervised Mode. Supervised mode unlocks the ability to use Supervised App Blocking , which can block specific apps from the App Store.
How to Combine Apple Family with Supervised Mode
Supervised mode and Apple Family can be combined to create a highly controlled iPhone.