How to put parental controls on iPhone

Family sharing works by basically linking up a bunch of Apple accounts together to share the purchases, subscriptions and iCloud storage of the families 'owner'. This extends to setting up Apple accounts for your child's iPhone by getting you to setup specific 'child' accounts when adding them to your family. If that all sounds really complicated, we get it. That's why we created this guide, to help you get up and running as easily as possible.

If you're still shopping around the for the right smartphone, we've got our best phones for kids article to help you find what you're looking for. A smartwatch might also be a good option if you want your child to stay connected without buying them a phone just yet, so we've put together our list of the best smartwatches for kids to help you find the best option for you.

How does Family sharing work?

Family sharing essentially connects a group of Apple accounts into 1 'family' which can be controlled by 1 or more 'owners'. This allows you to share purchases, including a shared payment method if you'd prefer, subscriptions and locations through Apple's Find My app. When setting up a new member, you can create a 'child' account, which allows you as the family owner greater control over the accounts access to content, screen time and more.

How to put parental controls on iPhone

Like most tech, iPhone's offer a range of parental controls you can access through what they call Family Sharing. Just like it's name suggests, Family Sharing allows you to share purchases like apps, movies and games as well as subscriptions with your family by pairing their Apple account with yours. As the family organiser, you'll then be able to manage what content your family members can access through the Family Sharing hub.

This is where Apple's parental controls live. Here you can create a child account allowing you to manage your child's access to content via their Apple devices.

We wanted to make things as easy as possible to get you setup, so we created a simple step-by-step guide. The process involves quite a few screens but shouldn't take longer than 15 minutes. You'll want to double check that your phone is updated to the latest version of iOS (iOS 18 at time of writing) to ensure that you have the latest features. If you have an older phone, it may not be compatible with the latest iOS software, so we recommend checking on the Apple website to see a full list of compatible models.

Step-by-step setup guide

1. You'll find the 'Family' tab at the top of your iPhone's settings page just beneath your account information. Clicking on this will take you through to the Family Sharing home screen where you'll find your family details.
2. To setup a new family member, you'll need to click on the icon in the top right corner of the screen (the profile icon with a small plus symbol).
3. On the next screen, select 'Create Child Account' from the options.
4. Enter your child's first and last name as well as their date of birth. Note: as Apple notes, "a child account will be part of your family until the child is at least 13 years old. You must be an adult and a child's parent or legal guardian to provide consent."
5. The next screen will ask you for parental consent. This is done by verifying the payment method you use on your Apple account. You'll just need to input your cards security code for verification purposes. Note: your card will not be charged, this is just to provide consent.
6. The next screen will show you the Family Privacy Disclosure. Read through this disclosure and then, when you're happy, agree to progress.
7. Then you'll see the terms and conditions for Family Sharing. Again, read through these terms and conditions before agreeing.
8. The next screen will show you the email address for your child Apple account, this is what you'll use to login on their devices. Note: make sure you're happy with this email as it cannot be changed. You can also use an existing email address if you already have one setup.
9. Now you'll need to setup a password.
10. The next screen will ask for your phone number. By default, this will be the phone number attached to your own Apple account. When your child signs into their account, a verification code will be sent to your phone number.
11. The next screen gives you an overview of the Family Sharing screen time features. You can restrict settings for explicit content, purchases, downloads and privacy as well as getting weekly reports about your child's screen time. Screen time is also where you'd setup any app limits and downtime for your child. We go into a bit more detail on how to use screen time below, for now, hit continue.
12. This screen is where you can start to dial in the parental control settings for your child's account. You can set their age, limit websites they can access through the browser and set limits on the age restricted content they can access through the App Store, iTunes and Apple Books. You can even control if they're seeing explicit content in Apple Music or on Apple News as well as being able to turn off access to music videos and profiles. Through this screen, you'll also be able to control access to Siri Web Search and whether or not they can delete apps.
13. The next screen gives you more information on Apples sensitive photo and video protection resources, allowing you to see the ways in which iOS ensures your child doesn't send or view any inappropriate content.
14. Now you can setup Apple's 'Screen Distance' feature on your child's devices. Screen Distance encourages you to move your iPhone or iPad further away to support your eye health. When your child's devices is closer than 30 centimetre's from their eyes, their phone will notify them to move further away.
15. You'll then be asked if you want to track your child's screen time. This can be setup later if needed.
16. Now you'll need to setup a parental control passcode which will allow you to access and amend these controls moving forward.
17. 'Ask to Buy' - Apple's system to notify and request your approval for any purchases your child tries to make - is setup by default. Click 'Continue' to leave it on or 'Turn Off Ask to Buy" to turn it off.
18. You'll then be asked if you want to share your child's location with your family. Your child's location will be shared with all members of your family including those added later. You'll also be able to use Apple's Find My feature to locate your child's devices. This screen also includes more information on location sharing and can be skipped if you'd prefer not to use it.
19. And that's pretty much it. The final screen will allow you to set one or more of the existing members of your family as a parent or guardian. They will then be able to adjust parental controls and approve requests for all children in your family.

What is screen time?

Screen time launched a few years ago as a way for you to manage and limit your screen time. It allows you to set time limits on certain apps, restrict access to apps and websites during certain hours and gives you rich data insights into how you use your phone (and which apps pester you with notifications most often).

Apple's screen time feature is bundled in with the parental controls within your family sharing hub, allowing you to see your child's activity and restrict access to inappropriate content where needed. This is all done through the Screen Time feature while setting up your child's account within your family (though it can be setup at a later date if you need to make any changes).

How to share purchased apps on Family Sharing?

When your family is setup, you'll see 3 tabs within the family hub in your iPhone settings. These include subscriptions, purchase sharing and location sharing. Sharing apps you have purchased with your family is managed by setting up Family Purchase Sharing. It should be noted that should you choose to enable this, your family members will share the family owners payment method. As Apple notes, "as the family organiser, you will be charged for existing and future media purchases and subscriptions made by all family members. With Ask To Buy, you can control what children can buy or download."

When this is setup, everyone in your family can share the apps, media and books they buy. Apple does note that all accounts stay separate keeping preferences private and recommendations personal.

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