Ensuring your children’s safety while they browse the internet is a top priority for many parents. Fortunately, both iOS and macOS offer robust parental control features that allow you to monitor and manage their online activities. These controls can help you prevent access to inappropriate content, limit screen time, and safeguard your child's privacy. In this guide, we will walk you through the steps to set up parental controls on both iOS and macOS devices for safe browsing.
Table of Contents
- Introduction to Parental Controls
- Setting Up Parental Controls on iOS
- Setting Up Parental Controls on macOS
- Using Family Sharing for Parental Controls
- Troubleshooting Common Parental Control Issues
- Conclusion
Introduction to Parental Controls
Parental controls allow parents to manage how their children interact with their devices, limiting access to certain content, apps, and websites. On both iOS and macOS, Apple’s Screen Time feature provides a centralised hub for these controls, allowing parents to restrict browsing, monitor screen time, and filter content. This guide will show you how to configure these controls for both platforms.
Setting Up Parental Controls on iOS
Setting up parental controls on iOS is simple and can be done through the Screen Time feature. Here’s how to get started:
2.1 Enabling Screen Time
- Open Settings on your child’s iPhone or iPad.
- Tap Screen Time.
- Select Turn On Screen Time, then tap Continue.
- Choose This is My Child’s iPhone.
- Set a Screen Time passcode to prevent your child from changing the settings (it should be different from your device's unlock code).
Now, you can manage and monitor how your child uses their device.
2.2 Content Restrictions
Content restrictions allow you to block inappropriate content, limit explicit music, and restrict apps and features that might not be suitable for children.
- In Screen Time, tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
- Toggle the Content & Privacy Restrictions switch to On.
- Set up a Passcode for these restrictions if prompted (again, this should be different from your device unlock code).
- Under the Content Restrictions section, you can adjust settings for:
- Music, Podcasts & News: Block explicit content.
- Movies, TV Shows & Apps: Limit access to age-appropriate content.
- Web Content: Restrict access to websites or allow only specific websites.
- Games: Limit games by age rating.
2.3 Web Filtering
Web filtering is essential for ensuring safe browsing. Here’s how to limit access to inappropriate websites on iOS:
- In Content & Privacy Restrictions, tap Content Restrictions.
- Scroll down to Web Content.
- You can choose to allow Unrestricted Access, Limit Adult Websites, or Allowed Websites Only.
- Limit Adult Websites: Automatically filters out websites with explicit content.
- Allowed Websites Only: Restricts the device to only the websites you specifically allow.
To add specific sites to the Allowed Websites list, tap Add Website under the ALLOWED WEBSITES ONLY section.
Setting Up Parental Controls on macOS
Similar to iOS, macOS also offers Screen Time and web content restrictions. Here’s how to set them up:
3.1 Using Screen Time on macOS
- Open System Preferences on your Mac.
- Click on Screen Time.
- Select Options at the bottom left and turn on Use Screen Time Passcode.
- Choose your child’s user account from the left sidebar, or create a new child account for them under Family Sharing.
This will allow you to monitor their usage and apply restrictions based on your preferences.
3.2 Setting Website Restrictions
- In Screen Time, select your child’s account.
- Click on Content & Privacy in the left-hand sidebar.
- Under Content, click on Limit Adult Websites to block explicit websites.
- You can also add specific websites to the Always Allow or Never Allow lists, just like in iOS.
3.3 Managing App Usage
Just like on iOS, you can limit the amount of time your child spends on certain apps or categories of apps.
- In Screen Time, click on App Limits.
- Choose the category or individual apps you want to restrict.
- Set a time limit for how long your child can use those apps per day.
Using Family Sharing for Parental Controls
Family Sharing is an essential tool for managing multiple Apple devices in a family. Through Family Sharing, you can create a child’s Apple ID, set up parental controls, and monitor activity across all of their Apple devices.
- To set up Family Sharing, open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
- Tap [Your Name] > Family Sharing.
- Tap Add Family Member and choose Create a Child Account to set up a child’s Apple ID.
- Set restrictions for the child’s account using the Screen Time options, just as described above.
Family Sharing also allows you to monitor your child’s purchases and approve or decline any requests from your child’s device.
Troubleshooting Common Parental Control Issues
If you encounter issues with parental controls, here are some common fixes:
1. Screen Time Passcode Not Working
If you’ve forgotten the passcode, you can reset it through Settings > Screen Time > Change Screen Time Passcode > Forgot Passcode?. You’ll be prompted to enter your Apple ID to reset the passcode.
2. Content Restrictions Not Working
Ensure that Content & Privacy Restrictions are enabled in Screen Time. If restrictions are still not working, restart your device or sign out of your Apple ID and sign back in.
3. Unable to Access Websites
If a website is being blocked despite your settings, check that the Limit Adult Websites or Allowed Websites Only restrictions are not too strict. Add the website manually to the Always Allow list if necessary.
Conclusion
Setting up parental controls on iOS and macOS ensures that your children can browse safely while limiting their exposure to inappropriate content. By using Screen Time, Content Restrictions, and Family Sharing, you can manage their device usage, set app limits, and filter web content. These tools not only allow you to keep your children safe online but also give you peace of mind as they navigate the digital world.
