Supervised Device Restrictions

Tech Lockdown Team

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Updated December 19, 2024

From the Tech Lockdown dashboard, members can install configuration files directly to their supervised iPhone and iPad devices. This enables reliable enforcement of certain restriction that can prevent content filtering from being bypassed.

Here are a few key benefits of using supervised configs:

1. Prevent configs from being uninstalled or overridden, gating the ability to uninstall the config behind the Tech Lockdown dashboard's profile locking  feature.
   
2. Enforce a connection to a  Content Policy without having to block access to device settings or disable the app store.
3. Create "self-destructing" configs that delete themselves after a certain amount of time. Great for use-cases like temporarily turning your iPhone into a dumb phone limited to only a few essential apps when studying, working, or wanting to take a break from your phone for a week.

Additionally, config files provide a more reliable alternative to Screen Time:

1. If you use Screen Time to limit the app store, you lose the ability to update existing apps (causing them to stop working eventually). With the supervised config approach, you can disable the App Store and still update existing apps.
2. Screen Time settings are easy to bypass if you are self-managing. The same settings can be enforced more reliably with supervised configs in the Tech Lockdown dashboard.
3. You can block specific apps natively (prevent them from being opened at all) with a supervised config, but Screen Time only allows setting app time limits.

Config files unlock functionality that you can't download from the App Store:

1. App blocklists are enforced reliably. In contrast, if you use an App Blocker downloaded from the App Store, it can easily be toggled off in Screen Time settings and this isn't gated behind the Screen Time pin!
2. App Store apps cannot enforce themselves (prevent uninstall) or prevent you from changing settings that allow bypass on a device (deleting VPN profiles). Supervised configs are a reliable alternative to App Store apps used alongside content blocking systems.

Prerequisites

Log into the Tech Lockdown dashboard and navigate to Tools > iPhone / iPad. Then, select one of the options:

1. Config Presets
2. App Management.
   

Both options require your iPhone device to be supervised , and instructions for how to do this is also made available to Tech Lockdown members in the guides section of the dashboard.

Premium Guides

Setting up Supervised Mode for iPhone

Reliably prevent bypass of content blocking.

Read More

Next Steps

Config Presets

Reference the available presets to learn what they do and why you would use them.

App Management

Block apps natively (prevent them from being installed or opened). Combine with the self-destructing config settings to add a timer to a blocklist.

Install Config Files

Learn how to add config files to a supervised device.

How to Uninstall a Config File