Family Sharing is the foundation for all parental controls. It links your child’s Apple ID to yours so you can manage settings remotely.

Steps:

1. On your device, go to Settings → [your name] → Family Sharing

2. Tap Add Family Member → Create Child Account

3. Follow the prompts to:
   Enter your child’s name and date of birth
   Create their Apple ID
   Confirm parental consent using your Apple ID password

Once complete, you can manage Screen Time, app downloads, permissions and location in the following steps from your own device.

When you first enable Screen Time (or during device setup), Apple shows a Parental Controls introduction screen.

This activates Apple’s full child-protection system, including:

• Content filters

• App and media age ratings

• Communication Safety

• Privacy protections

Tap Continue to begin configuring protections for your child.

Choose your child’s age to apply Apple’s recommended restrictions automatically.

This sets controls for:

• App age ratings (e.g. 9+, 12+)

• Web content filtering

• Films, TV, music and books

• Game Center features

You can adjust these later at:

Settings → Family → [Child’s Name] → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → Content Restrictions

Communication Safety helps protect children from receiving or sending explicit images in Messages.

It:

• Blurs sensitive images

• Explains why they may be unsafe

• Encourages children to seek help from a trusted adult

You can adjust this later at:

Settings → Family → [Child’s Name] → Screen Time → Communication Safety

All detection happens on the device — Apple cannot see message content.

Control who your child can call, message or FaceTime.

You can set:

• During Screen Time: Contacts Only

• During Downtime: Family Only

• Contact Approval: Require approval before new contacts are added

This prevents contact with unknown people.

You can adjust these later at:

Settings → Family → [Child’s Name] → Screen Time → Communication Limits

The Screen Time overview is where everything connects.

From here you can manage:

App Limits

• Set daily limits by category (Games, Entertainment, Social)

• Set limits for specific apps (e.g. YouTube or Roblox)

Choose a small list of apps available at all times (e.g. Messages with family, Calculator, learning apps).

You can adjust these later at:

Settings → Family → [Child’s Name] → Screen Time → App Limits

Downtime helps create healthy routines for sleep and school.

• Set start and end times

• Only approved apps and contacts will work

You can adjust these later at:

Settings → Family → [Child’s Name] → Screen Time → Always Allowed

Screen Distance uses the TrueDepth camera to warn if the device is held too close.

You can adjust this later at:

Settings → Family → [Child’s Name] → Screen Time → Screen Distance

This ensures you approve every app download and in-app purchase.

Approval requests are sent directly to your device.

You can adjust this later at:

Settings → Family → [Child’s Name] → Ask to Buy

This is essential. Without it, children can change restrictions.

Choose a passcode different from the device unlock code.

If forgotten, recover using your Apple ID.

You can adjust this later at:

Settings → Family → [Child’s Name] → Screen Time → Use Screen Time Passcode

Location sharing helps keep children safe and find lost devices.

Only family members can see the location.

You can adjust this later at:

Settings → Family → [Child’s Name] → Share My Location

Also ensure:

Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Find My → On

AirDrop & Nearby Sharing

Reduce unwanted contact in public places.

You can adjust this later at:

Settings → Family → [Child’s Name] → General → AirDrop

Allowed Apps

Hide or disable specific built-in apps.

You can adjust this later at:

Settings → Family → [Child’s Name] → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → Allowed Apps

App Privacy Report

See which apps access camera, mic, or location.

You can adjust this later at:

Settings → Privacy & Security → App Privacy Report

Software Updates

Keep security protections current.

You can adjust this later at:

Settings → General → Software Update → Automatic Updates

If your child’s device is new or has been reset, Apple will guide you through child setup automatically.

How it works:

• Turn on the child’s device

• Choose Set Up for a Child

• When prompted, bring your own device nearby

• Sign in with your child’s Apple ID (from Family Sharing)

Apple will automatically apply your Screen Time, restrictions and protections during setup.