Being a parent in a digital world is not easy: you have to learn before you teach. But it costs a lot of effort, and it is often quicker to ban than to educate. Instead digital tools such as smartphones and tablets offer many opportunities for the little ones, not just dangers. To maximize the former and reduce the latter, all the big manufacturers make tools available to adults that allow you to control down to the smallest detail the use that most make of their devices. In this article we will deal with the Apple ecosystem, elsewhere we have already covered Android. In addition to practical advice, of course, we will never tire of remembering that respect for others and common sense are the first rules to pass on to the little ones, valid in the real world and in the digital one, assuming that a difference still exists.
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What are parental controls and where are they?
The iPhone was introduced in 2007; “parental controls” have been available since 2008 and with each new version of the operating system they have become more precise and more reliable, so much so that today they allow you to control and limit practically all the functions of the device. On iPhone and iPad they can be found in the Settings menu, under Screen Time. The first time this section is accessed, a PIN code must be set, different from that of the device, so that only authorized persons can change these settings in the future. It should also be indicated if the device being configured is for the personal use of an adult or for a minor.
The weather
The “Content and Privacy Restrictions” menu in the “Usage Time” section allows you to moderate or inhibit the use of specific applications and features on children’s devices.
With “Screen Time”, adults can monitor the use of the device: how many times it is activated, which apps are used, how many notifications arrive. This feature also allows you to limit the time spent on particular apps or sites. The “Pause of Use” mode allows you to define a time interval in which notifications and apps are deactivated.
The app
You can then activate or deactivate some of the features of the iPhone or iPad: Safari, the camera, the Siri virtual assistant and dictation, Facetime, Carplay, Wallet and sending photo files to other devices via AirDrop. You can decide whether to prevent the use of the iTunes Store, reading Apple Music profiles (for example, to prevent access to artist pages), the iBookstore and Podcasts. You can completely prohibit the use of some apps (choosing by groups, such as Games or Social, or even one by one. Again, the limit applies to all devices registered with the same Apple ID.
“Guided Access” does the opposite: It locks the device to a single app, making it ideal for younger children or in specific situations, like when you want a child to watch a video, but can’t navigate to other apps. It can be turned on from the Accessibility options screen (Settings > General > Accessibility > Guided Access).
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The contents
If you don’t want to completely limit access to applications, iOS restrictions can also be applied only to content. From the Allowed Content section, you can select the type of restriction and set the limits for each type of multimedia product. From the Siri entry in this section you can prevent the virtual assistant from showing content taken from the Net among the results, while the Websites option allows you to limit access to pages with adult content. You can also add specific addresses to the always forbidden or always allowed list; the list, like the other settings, is automatically synchronized between all devices with the same Apple ID, and also applies to other browsers, such as Chrome.
I’m not old enough
The other options allow you to set age-based restrictions (if you choose the Italian restrictions) on the respective content, while under Music, Podcasts, News and iTunes U you can block the playback or viewing of any content that carries the “Explicit” label.
Another important feature is the ability to set an appropriate age rating for app purchases or downloads, ensuring that apps are appropriate for the age of the user. “Ask to Buy” then allows you to give or deny consent for purchases and app downloads. Only with the family manager’s approval will the app or content be downloaded to the child’s device.
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Privacy Restrictions
From the Privacy menu you can set capillary restrictions on all phone functions and apps that have access to your location, contacts and other sensitive data. With a tap on each option a new panel opens where you can completely block the changes or set specific limitations for each installed app that has requested access to that type of data.
Under “Location”, for example, you can prevent access to your location by apps already on your phone or those that will be installed in the future, or you can disable access to sensitive data by a specific application.
The messages
With “Communication Limits” it is possible to establish who can come into contact with the person using that device.
Apple also tried to protect young people from sharing or receiving inappropriate images. When the “Communication Safety” feature is activated on the profiles of children connected with their Apple ID within a family group, it acts as a shield in case they receive or attempt to send sensitive images. The Messages app, through machine learning, identifies the image, blurs it and guides children in managing this content. It also offers the option to contact a trusted adult with a predefined message asking what to do.
To protect privacy, Apple uses an artificial intelligence system (but in Cupertino they call it Machine Learning) on the device, which is able to analyze and recognize photos without human intervention and without having to upload them to the company’s servers.
Cross-platform
With iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma the filter has been expanded to work not only on Messages but also on other apps like Facetime and Airdrop. The option (deactivated by default) is available in the Privacy settings. The system is based on the same filter, and avoids receiving unwanted nude or pornographic photos via Airdrop, while sharing a contact or on FaceTime. Soon, other apps will also be able to use the sensitive content filter. For many minor messaging, social network, dating and similar applications, the new API could offer an alternative, free and quick solution to the age-old problem of moderating pornographic content uploaded to platforms.
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