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iPhone and iPad: a child’s apps, websites, and approvals

Pair service-level settings with controls over the apps and websites a child can open.

Checked against official help pages on September 18, 2026 · 2 min read

A carefully configured streaming profile is less useful when the same device can open an unreviewed app or website. Review the device layer as well as each entertainment service.

Recommended setup

  1. Open the child's controls. In Apple's current family-management instructions, start in Settings, open Family, choose the child, and review Apps & Websites. Use the parental Screen Time passcode when requested. Older software may place related controls under Screen Time and content/privacy restrictions. 1
  2. Review installations and approvals. Inspect the App Store installation settings and purchase-approval requirements. Decide which new apps require your involvement.
  3. Choose the web boundary. In the website filtering controls, choose the adult-site limit or the more restrictive approved-websites option, as appropriate.
  4. Review individual exceptions. Inspect allowed apps, websites, and any exceptions already approved for the child. 1

Good to know

An app-store age rating is not a custom filter for every item displayed inside an app. Use the Netflix, YouTube, social-app, or other service's own controls too.

Do not share a parental passcode just because it is convenient for one download. Make a legitimate approval and recovery plan so routine needs do not require broadly weakening the setup.

The path and available options depend on software version and account configuration. Use Apple's current instructions for the actual device when a menu differs. 1

Check your setup

From the child's device, check whether an unapproved app can be installed, a restricted website can be opened, and the parental settings can be changed. Inspect existing apps and approved exceptions rather than looking only at new installations.

This is a child-device guide. Adults using Screen Time for their own boundaries should configure their real account and review recovery separately; child-family features should not be presented as universally available adult controls.

Sources

  1. Apple: parental controls for a child’s iPhone or iPad

Steps were checked against these official help pages on September 18, 2026. Menus change; when a step does not match your screen, follow the linked page.

Related guides

Google SafeSearch: choose Filter, not BlurUse the strongest SafeSearch mode and check who can change it.2 min read Android: Family Link web controls plus an app reviewChoose the browsing boundary, review allowed apps, and verify that the actual device is supervised.2 min read Spotify: block explicit content and check family settingsTurn off explicit playback, but recognize that a label filter cannot guarantee every item is appropriate.3 min read
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