Set up parental controls to manage your child's iPhone or iPad

Screen Time comes with parental controls that can help you manage the apps and websites your child can access, who they communicate with, when they use their devices, and more.

Before you get started

1. Make sure you have Family Sharing set up.

2. Create a Child Account for your child, if they don't have one already. Then make sure your child's Apple Account is part of your Family Sharing group. It's important that your child has their own Apple Account, and isn't sharing an account with anyone else (for example, another family member).

3. Update all devices in your Family Sharing group to iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and/or visionOS 27, then update your parental controls to access the new Screen Time and parental controls experience.

4. Make sure the Family Sharing organizer or another parent/guardian is added to the child's contacts list so the child's requests can be sent for approval.

Not all parental controls are available on all Apple devices. Some parental controls are located within Screen Time, and some are enabled through the settings directly — like Apple TV on the web. Depending on your state, country, or region, and your child's age, some parental controls are on by default and can't be removed.¹

How to set up parental controls for your child's iPhone or iPad

You can set parental controls from your own iPhone or iPad as long as you're the Family Sharing organizer or a parent/guardian in the Family Sharing group. Then you can check in on their activity, approve apps, websites, and people for your child to interact with, adjust content and privacy restrictions and more.

• Manage the apps and websites your child can access

• Choose who your child can communicate with

• Decide when your child can use their device

• Set Content & Privacy Restrictions

Manage the apps and websites your child can access

With Ask to Buy and Ask to Browse, you can approve which apps your child can download and purchase and which websites they can visit in Safari and other supported browser apps.¹ When they want to access a new app or visit a new website, they have to request approval. You can also allow websites ahead of time so your child always has what they need (for example, a website for a school project). If you approve a request, your child will be able to access the app or website unless you choose to block it later. If you decline the request, the app or website won't be available on your child's device.

The Apps & Websites section in Screen Time lets you manually allow or block specific apps and websites, and adjust these settings whenever needed. Every app and website you approve or block is organized into Allowed and Blocked lists within Apps & Websites, making it easy to review and manage what you allow. Ask to Buy and Ask to Browse are on by default for children under 13. Limit Adult Websites is on by default for children under 18.²

Approve what apps your child downloads and purchases

With Ask to Buy, you can give your child the freedom to make their own choices while still managing their downloads and purchases. When your child wants to make an eligible purchase or download, they send you a request. You can use your own device to view information about the app and decide to approve or decline the request.

1. Open the Settings app, tap Family, then tap your child's name.

2. Tap Apps & Websites. If asked, enter your Screen Time passcode.

3. Tap Restrictions.

4. Tap Ask to Buy, then turn on Require Purchase Approval.

Depending on the child's state, country, or region, Ask to Buy is turned on by default and can’t be turned off if the child is under 18.

Learn more about Ask to Buy

Manage App Store settings

1. Open the Settings app, tap Family, then tap your child's name.

2. Tap Apps & Websites. If asked, enter your Screen Time passcode.

3. Tap App Store, then choose a setting like Installing Apps or App Clips.

4. Choose Allowed or Blocked.

   

In iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 and later, you can allow your child to request an exception to the limit or restriction that you set in Screen Time. Learn how to respond to your child's app exception request.

Learn more about managing app installation preferences for your child's iPhone in countries or regions where alternative app distribution is available

Approve websites your child can access

You can use Ask to Browse, so when your child wants to browse a new website in Safari and other supported browser apps¹ — they have to ask for approval. You can approve or decline requests from your own device or your child's device. If you approve a request, your child can access the website anytime unless you choose to block it later. You can also allow websites ahead of time, so your child always has what they need (for example, a website for a school project).

When your child is ready to browse more freely, you can update the settings for Ask to Browse. Ask to Browse is on by default for children under 13 and Limit Adult Websites is on by default for children under 18.²

Learn more about Ask to Browse

Filter web content

1. Open the Settings app, tap Family, then tap your child's name.

2. Tap Apps & Websites. If asked, enter your Screen Time passcode.

3. Tap Restrictions, then tap Filtering under Websites.

4. Choose a browsing setting for your child: Limit Adult Websites or Ask to Browse. To use Ask to Browse, just set to Approved Websites Only.

   

Allow or block apps and websites

1. Open the Settings app, tap Family, then tap your child's name.

2. Tap Apps & Websites. If asked, enter your Screen Time passcode.

3. Select an app or website. Tap Block App or Block Website, then tap again to confirm. You can unblock an app or website at any time.

   

If you block an app, the app won't be deleted, it's just dimmed on the Home Screen. You can also block apps with specific ratings (or Unrated apps in the EU).

Choose who your child can communicate with

You can choose who your child communicates with in Messages, FaceTime, and Phone by deciding who's included in their contacts list, and requiring permission before they connect with anyone new. For example, if your child receives a message from someone new, they can't see the message until you or another parent or guardian in the Family Sharing group approves.

Manage communication during Screen Time

1. Open the Settings app, tap Family, then tap your child's name.

2. Tap Allowed Contacts.

3. Tap During Screen Time.

4. Choose Contacts Only, Contacts & Groups with at Least One Contact, or Everyone.

   

Manage your child's contacts

1. Open the Settings app, tap Family, then tap your child's name.

2. Tap Allowed Contacts.

3. Turn on Manage Contacts, and choose the contacts you approve.

4. If you want your child to be able to edit their contacts, turn on Allow Contact Editing. If you want your child to have to send you a request in order to add a new contact, then keep Allow Contact Editing off.

Turn on Communication Safety

Communication Safety helps protect your child from viewing or sharing photos or videos with detected nudity, gore, or violence. This includes pictures and videos sent through text message or a FaceTime video call.

1. Open the Settings app, tap Family, then tap your child's name.

2. Tap Communication Safety, then turn on Communication Safety.

   

Learn more about Communication Safety

Decide when your child can use their device

With Screen Time Schedules, you can choose which apps your child can access at different times of the day, like before school, during school, and after school. You can even set up separate routines for weekdays and weekends, or create your own based on what works best for your family. You can also quickly pause device use, allow unlimited use, or change the schedule for the day, right within the Screen Time settings.

With Time Allowances, you can set boundaries for how long your child can use apps across app categories, such as entertainment, games, and social media. You can set a daily time budget that spans all categories, then fine tune it by adjusting the time allotted to any individual category.

Set Time Allowances for apps

1. Open the Settings app, tap Family, then tap your child's name.

2. Tap Time Allowances, tap the Add button, then follow the onscreen instructions.

   

Set Screen Time schedules

1. Open the Settings app, tap Family, then tap your child's name.

2. Tap Screen Time Schedule, then turn on Schedule.

3. Scroll down and tap Add Schedule.

4. Select the days you'd like the schedule to apply to.

   

Learn more about Screen Time schedules and Time Allowances

Set Content & Privacy Restrictions

Content & Privacy Restrictions let you manage Apple content, apps, and settings for your child’s device. You can choose age-appropriate ratings for categories of apps, music, books, movies, TV shows, and more — so your child sees apps rated for their age group. You can also set restrictions for Game Center, limit what your child can access through Siri and Siri controls, manage privacy settings, and help reduce eye strain with Screen Distance. Many of these settings are applied automatically based on your child’s age,¹ but you can adjust the settings at any time.

Set age-based content restrictions

1. Open the Settings app, tap Family, then tap your child's name.

2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions. If asked, enter your Screen Time passcode.

3. Select a type of content under Content Restrictions, then choose a setting like, Don't Allow, Unrated, Allow All, or a specific age rating.

   

Manage Siri Restrictions

1. Open the Settings app, tap Family, then tap your child's name.

2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions. If asked, enter your Screen Time passcode.

3. Tap Siri, then select a category, like Writing Assistance or Image Creation.

4. Choose Allowed or Blocked.

   

Set restrictions for Game Center

1. Open the Settings app, tap Family, then tap your child's name.

2. Tap Apps & Websites. If asked, enter your Screen Time passcode.

3. Tap Restrictions, then scroll down to the Game Center section.

   

4. Choose a setting like Connect with Friends or Private Messaging.

5. Choose Allowed or Blocked.

Manage Privacy Restrictions

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

1. Open the Settings app, tap Family, then tap your child's name.

2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions. If asked, enter your Screen Time passcode.

3. Scroll down and select Privacy Restrictions.

4. Choose a category, like Accounts or Calendar.

5. Choose Allow or Don't Allow.

Turn on Screen Distance

Some Screen Time features are turned on by default for child accounts (age varies by state, country, or region) that are part of a Family Sharing group. For example, Screen Distance can help your child engage in healthy viewing habits that can lower their risk of myopia and can give people of all ages the opportunity to reduce digital eyestrain

Learn how to Screen Distance to reduce eye strain