Best Security Protections for Parents With iPhones

The internet can be a scary and dangerous place for a child with access to an iPhone. Luckily there are a number of tools parents can use to protect their children from certain threats and dangers online. To do so, you must have full access to your child’s device in order to enable limitations.

Setting a Passcode

Generally, the first action for securing your child’s iPhone would be to create a passcode for the device. You would need to pick a passcode that both you and your child can easily remember that is not easy for just anyone to guess. Once this is complete, you can start setting restrictions by going to Settings > Screen Time. Select “This is my child’s [device]”and set up a Screen Time passcode. Keep in mind that this should be different from the sign-in passcode in the previous step. Do not share this code with your child to ensure that only you can bypass the restrictions you set up. Once your passcode is confirmed, you will be asked to enter your Apple ID and password, which can be used to reset your password if it’s forgotten.

Restricting Content

One of the biggest concerns for parents is exposure to explicit content. Thankfully, you can set limitations for this type of content and content ratings by going to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Content Restrictions. You can restrict music, podcasts, and news that contain explicit material. You can also restrict movies, TV shows, books, and apps that have specific ratings.

You can create restrictions in terms of web content by going to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions, then select Content Restrictions, then Web Content. Depending on your desired level of limitations, choose either “Limit Adult Websites,” or “Allowed Websites Only.” Below these options, you can also allow or restrict specific websites by typing them in.

Preventing Purchases

If you’re worried about your child making unauthorized purchases, go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions, then select iTunes & App Store Purchases. This way, you can be certain that your child isn’t making expensive in-app, iTunes, or App Store purchases. There are also options to prevent app installation or deletion within this menu. This is particularly helpful if you have other third-party apps for parental monitoring that you wish to prevent from being deleted.

Controlling Apps

You can also hide specific preinstalled apps by going to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions, select Allowed Apps. Here you can select all the apps you wish to allow. If you wish to restrict an app this way, you will not delete it. The app will just be hidden and not appear on the home screen until you enable it again in this menu.

To prevent apps from gaining access to certain information or material on your child’s phone, go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions, then select Privacy. You can prevent apps from accessing things like Contacts, Calendar, photos or videos, Reminders, microphone, music library, and more. A major feature in this list includes location services. You can lock the ability for apps to track or access your location. You can further restrict your child from sharing their location in Messages or Find My Friends.

If the standard restriction options within Settings are not enough, you can also install apps that enable more advanced parental monitoring. Keep in mind that some applications do cost money. A few examples of top-ranking applications within this genre include Mobicip and Boomerang. With numerous security protection capabilities, you can monitor more and worry less.