Apple's New Child Safety Tools: What Parents Need to Know

Apple recently unveiled its expanded child safety tools alongside the announcement of its latest software updates.

Here’s everything you need to know about the new features:

Parents and guardians can now set up child Apple accounts that automatically enable age-appropriate safeguards, such as access restrictions for certain media and apps.

Of course, you can also customize these settings and manually manage the apps and media your child gets access to. Child Accounts can be set up for children up to 18 years of age.

If you’re familiar with Apple’s existing child safety feature, Ask to Buy, which requires parents to approve app downloads and in-app purchases, the new feature, Ask to Browse, works in a similar way.

Ask to Browse is essentially a content filter that lets you manage your child’s web access in Apple’s browser in Safari by requiring your approval whenever they open a new website.

This feature works not only on iPhones but also on iPads and Macs, allowing you to monitor all the websites your child attempts to access.

Of course, a child safety program isn't complete without whitelisted contacts. Apple implements this by asking parents to approve who their children can communicate with across apps such as Messages and FaceTime when setting up a Child Account.

Whenever your child wants to add a new contact, they may be required to ask for your permission first. In addition to promoting safer communication, this feature also helps block harmful content, including nudity, violence, gore, and other inappropriate material, when it is detected in shared communications.

As a parent, you’ve probably already established screen time rules for your children. The Time Allowances feature helps by allowing you to manage how long your children spend using their devices.

You can further customize these settings by setting time limits for individual apps or app category, such as games, social media, and entertainment. Apple’s default settings are based on expert research, but as always, you can tailor them to your family’s needs.

Additionally, you can create different daily schedules that allow certain apps to open only at specific times of the day or on particular days of the week, such as entertainment apps after school hours or extended social media access on weekends.

Lastly, this feature lets you view your children’s daily average device usage, most-used apps, and most-visited websites. This gives you a clearer picture of where they spend most of their online time and helps you determine whether any adjustments need to be made.

Apple is also working with the American Academy of Pediatrics and other researchers to develop its Family Media Plan, a supplemental guide designed to help parents navigate parental controls and manage Apple device usage as their family grows.

In addition, Apple has launched a dedicated website where parents can find tools, answers to frequently asked questions, and other helpful resources for setting up their child’s account.

These new features will be available when you install the Screen Time update in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27.

In 2024, Smart Parenting launched the Smart Parenting Guide to Digital Parenting to meet the Filipino family's need for expert-backed, evidence-based guidance and reporting on raising children in the digital age. We've published longreads on why Filipinos need a guide for parenting kids in the face of digital advancements, imagining a Philippines with a social media ban for minors, and have continuously reported on cyberbullying. Keep visiting and following Smart Parenting to stay up to date.

PH Pediatric Society recommends no socmed under 16.