Use parental controls on your child's iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

With Content & Privacy Restrictions in Screen Time, you can block or limit specific apps and features on your child's device. You can also restrict the settings on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch for explicit content, purchases and downloads, and privacy.

  • Set Content & Privacy Restrictions

  • Prevent iTunes & App Store purchases

  • Allow built-in apps and features

  • Prevent explicit content and content ratings

  • Prevent web content

  • Restrict Siri web search

  • Restrict Game Center

  • Allow changes to privacy settings

  • Allow changes to other settings and features

Set Content & Privacy Restrictions

  1. Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
  2. Tap Continue, then choose "This is My [Device]" or "This is My Child's [Device]."
    • If you're the parent or guardian of your device and want to prevent another family member from changing your settings, tap Use Screen Time Passcode to create a passcode, then re-enter the passcode to confirm. In iOS 13.4 and later, after you confirm your passcode you'll be asked to enter your Apple ID and password. This can be used to reset your Screen Time passcode if you forget it.
    • If you're setting up Screen Time on your child's device, follow the prompts until you get to Parent Passcode and enter a passcode. Re-enter the passcode to confirm. In iOS 13.4 and later, after you confirm your passcode you'll be asked to enter your Apple ID and password. This can be used to reset your Screen Time passcode if you forget it.
  3. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions. If asked, enter your passcode, then turn on Content & Privacy.

Make sure to choose a passcode that's different from the passcode that you use to unlock your device. To change or turn off the passcode on your child's device, tap Settings > Screen Time > [your child's name]. Then tap Change Screen Time Passcode or Turn Off Screen Time Passcode, and authenticate the change with Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode.

If you forgot your Screen Time passcode, update your device to the latest iOS or iPadOS then reset your passcode. If you can't update your device, erase it and set it up as new to remove the passcode and choose a new one. Restoring your device from a backup won't remove your passcode.

An iPhone showing the iTunes & App Store Purchases screen. Under Require Password, the Don't Require option is selected with a checkmark next to it.

Prevent iTunes & App Store purchases

You can also prevent your child from being able to install or delete apps, make in-app purchases, and more. To prevent iTunes & App Store purchases or downloads:

  1. Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
  2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions. If asked, enter your passcode.
  3. Tap iTunes & App Store Purchases.
  4. Choose a setting and set to Don't Allow.

You can also change your password settings for additional purchases from the iTunes & App Store or Book Store. Follow steps 1-3, then choose Always Require or Don't Require.

An iPhone showing the Allowed Apps screen. Selected apps have their toggle turned on.

Allow built-in apps and features

You can restrict the use of built-in apps or features. If you turn off an app or feature, the app or feature won't be deleted, it's just temporarily hidden from your Home Screen. For example, if you turn off Mail, the Mail app won't appear on your Home Screen until you turn it back on.

To change your Allowed Apps:

  1. Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
  2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
  3. Enter your Screen Time passcode.
  4. Tap Allowed Apps.
  5. Select the apps that you want to allow.

Prevent explicit content and content ratings

You can also prevent the playback of music with explicit content and movies or TV shows with specific ratings. Apps also have ratings that can be configured using content restrictions.

To restrict explicit content and content ratings:

  1. Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
  2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions, then tap Content Restrictions.
  3. Choose the settings that you want for each feature or setting under Allowed Store Content.

Here are the types of content that you can restrict:

  • Music, Podcasts, News, & Workouts: Prevent the playback of music, music videos, podcasts, news, and workouts containing explicit content
  • Music Videos: Prevent finding and viewing music videos
  • Music Profiles: Prevent sharing what you're listening to with friends and seeing what they're listening to
  • Movies: Prevent movies with specific ratings
  • TV Shows: Prevent TV shows with specific ratings
  • Books: Prevent content with specific ratings
  • Apps: Prevent apps with specific ratings
  • App Clips: Prevent app clips with specific ratings

An iPhone showing the Web Content screen. Under Web Content, the Limit Adult Websites option is selected with a checkmark next to it.

Prevent web content

iOS and iPadOS can automatically filter website content to limit access to adult content in Safari and other apps on your device. You can also add specific websites to an approved or blocked list, or you can limit access to only approved websites. Follow these steps:

  1. Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
  2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions and enter your Screen Time passcode.
  3. Tap Content Restrictions, then tap Web Content.
  4. Choose Unrestricted Access, Limit Adult Websites, or Allowed Websites Only.

Depending on the access you allow, you might need to add information, like the website that you want to restrict.

Restrict Siri web search

To restrict Siri features:

  1. Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
  2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions, then tap Content Restrictions.
  3. Scroll down to Siri, then choose your settings.

You can restrict these Siri features:

  • Web Search Content: Prevent Siri from searching the web when you ask a question
  • Explicit Language: Prevent Siri from displaying explicit language

Restrict Game Center

To restrict Game Center features:

  1. Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
  2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions, then tap Content Restrictions.
  3. Scroll down to Game Center, then choose your settings.

You can restrict these Game Center features:

  • Multiplayer Games: Prevent the ability to play multiplayer games with everyone, allow with friends only, or allow with anyone
  • Adding Friends: Prevent the ability to add friends to Game Center
  • Connect with Friends: Prevent the ability to share a Game Center friend list with third-party games
  • Screen Recording: Prevent the ability to capture the screen and sound
  • Nearby Multiplayer: Prevent the ability to enable the nearby setting
  • Private Messaging: Prevent the ability to voice chat or send or receive custom messages with game and friend invitations
  • Profile Privacy Changes: Prevent the ability to change profile privacy settings
  • Avatar & Nickname Changes: Prevent the ability to change Game Center avatars and nicknames

Allow changes to privacy settings

The privacy settings on your device give you control over which apps have access to information stored on your device or the hardware features. For example, you can allow a social-networking app to request access to use the camera, which allows you to take and upload pictures.

To allow changes to privacy settings:

  1. Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
  2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions. If asked, enter your passcode.
  3. Tap Privacy, then choose the settings that you want to restrict.

Here are the things you can restrict:

  • Location Services: Lock the settings to allow apps and websites to use location
  • Contacts: Prevent apps from accessing your Contacts
  • Calendars: Prevent apps from accessing your Calendar
  • Reminders: Prevent apps from accessing your Reminders
  • Photos: Prevent apps from requesting access to your photos
  • Share My Location: Lock the settings for location sharing in Messages and Find My Friends
  • Bluetooth sharing: Prevent devices and apps from sharing data through Bluetooth
  • Microphone: Prevent apps from requesting access to your microphone
  • Speech Recognition: Prevent apps from accessing Speech Recognition or Dictation
  • Advertising: Prevent changes to advertising settings
  • Media & Apple Music: Prevent apps from accessing your photos, videos, or music library

Allow changes to other settings and features

You can allow changes to other settings and features, the same way you can allow changes to privacy settings.

  1. Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
  2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions. If asked, enter your passcode.
  3. Under Allow Changes, select the features or settings that you want to allow changes to and choose Allow or Don't Allow.

Here are some features and settings that you can allow changes for:

  • Passcode Changes: Prevent changes to your passcode
  • Account Changes: Prevent account changes in Accounts & Passwords
  • Cellular Data Changes: Prevent changes to cellular data settings
  • Reduce Loud Sounds: Prevent changes to volume settings for safe listening
  • Driving Focus: Prevent changes to the Driving Focus
  • TV Provider: Prevent changes to TV provider settings
  • Background App Activities: Prevent changes to whether or not apps run in the background

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