Mu This year’s WWDCApple has devoted significant time to child safety and parental controls, highlighting ways parents can help children develop healthy habits while using its devices. as The Verge (And Reddit users) point out, however, that most of the features highlighted are not entirely new.
Screen Time is getting a redesign
Screen Time will have an upgraded interface, with an at-a-glance view of a child’s device usage, including daily averages and most-used apps. There is also a quick access button to pause or allow device usage and change the app schedule.
Ask to browse allows parents to monitor website usage
Ask to Buy is an existing parental control that allows children to send requests for App Store purchases, which you can approve or deny. The new Ask to Browse feature works the same way: parents can ask kids and teens for permission to visit new websites on Safari. These requests come through messages on the parent’s device. Ask to browse is enabled by default for users under 13 and can also be added to teen accounts. This feature can help prevent teens from using their browser to access restricted applications (eg, social media platforms).
Time allowances for apps now come with expert recommendations
Parents already have the ability to set certain limits on when and for how long kids can use certain apps. In iOS 27, time allowances will show recommendations from child development experts, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics. When you select a time allowance, a slider will show whether the limit is “within general guidance” for your child’s age. Parents can enable time limits for app categories—including entertainment, games, and social media—and use the extended Screen Time Schedules feature to set availability for app categories during specific periods, such as school hours, after school, and on specific days of the week or weekends. Apps will be assigned to time allowance categories Based on developer inputs. One thing that’s missing is the ability to get more granular with customized categories, which would allow parents to separate certain social or entertainment apps from others and assign different limits.
What do you think so far?
Other child safety updates are coming to iOS 27
Apple’s existing Communication Safety feature, which is turned on by default for users under 18, obscures nudity in messages and FaceTime calls. With iOS 27, it will also block violent content and gore found in shared images and videos. Parents will also have more control over allowing new contacts for messages (including group chats), FaceTime and phone.
