How to Set Parental Controls on an iPhone

Parental controls on an iPhone live in Screen Time, and with iOS 27 Apple redesigned them. You now manage a child from Settings, Family, then the child’s name on your own phone. The new controls add Ask to Browse for websites, Screen Time Schedules, Time Allowances by app category, and approval before a child can talk to someone new. They only work the way Apple describes if the child has their own Child Account in your Family Sharing group and you keep a Screen Time passcode the child does not know.

This guide is for a parent or grandparent setting up a child’s iPhone or iPad, and for an adult child who is helping. It is not a way to watch someone in secret. It was rewritten on October 31, 2026, against Apple’s current support pages for iOS 27. If any device in your family is still on iOS 26 or earlier, jump to the older steps near the end.

Step 1: Update every device, then upgrade parental controls

This is the step most parents miss. Apple says the new parental controls require every device used in the last 90 days by a parent, guardian, or managed child in your Family Sharing group to be on version 27 of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, or visionOS. One old iPad in a drawer can hold the whole family back.

1. On your iPhone, open Settings, tap Family, then View Family Devices to see which devices still need updating.
2. Update each one in Settings, General, Software Update.
3. If a device can’t update, Apple lists it under Legacy Devices. If nobody uses it, remove it from the Apple Account.
4. When everything is updated, go to Settings, Family, and tap Get Started. You can transfer your existing controls or set up new ones.

Apple says that after you upgrade, parents are notified if a managed child is using a device that doesn’t have the latest parental controls.

Step 2: Child Account, Family Sharing, and your contact

• Give the child their own Child Account. Apple stresses that a child should have their own Apple Account and not share one with another family member. A shared login mixes purchases, messages, and location, and Screen Time cannot tell two people apart. Use the child’s real age.
• Add the child to your Family Sharing group.
• Put yourself in the child’s contacts. Apple says the Family Sharing organizer or another parent must be in the child’s contacts list so the child’s requests can reach you for approval.
• Set a Screen Time passcode and keep it somewhere the child cannot open. A passcode saved in the child’s notes is not a lock.

Some controls are on by default and, depending on your state, country, or region and the child’s age, cannot be turned off. Apple says Ask to Buy and Ask to Browse are on by default for children under 13, and Limit Adult Websites is on by default for children under 18.

Step 3: Apps and websites

All of these start at Settings, Family, the child’s name, then Apps & Websites. Enter your Screen Time passcode if asked.

• Ask to Buy. Tap Ask to Buy and turn on Require Purchase Approval. The child sends you a request for each eligible download or purchase, and you decide from your own phone.
• App Store limits. Tap App Store to set things like installing apps or App Clips. On iOS 26 and later, a child can ask for an exception, and you answer from your device.
• Websites. Tap Restrictions, then Filtering under Websites. Choose Limit Adult Websites, or Approved Websites Only to turn on Ask to Browse. With Ask to Browse, the child asks before visiting a new site in Safari and other supported browsers. Apple says you can allow sites ahead of time, such as the school’s learning sites. Do that first, or the child will be stuck on the first assignment.
• Block an app or site. Select it and tap Block App or Block Website. Apple says a blocked app is dimmed on the Home Screen, not deleted. You can also block apps with certain age ratings.
• Game Center. Under Restrictions, scroll to Game Center to limit things like Connect with Friends and Private Messaging. This covers only games that use Game Center. Games with their own chat need their own settings.

Step 4: Who your child can talk to

Apple’s new controls cover Messages, FaceTime, and Phone. From Settings, Family, the child’s name:

• Choose who can reach them: Contacts Only, Contacts & Groups with at Least One Contact, or Everyone.
• Manage Contacts: turn it on and choose the contacts you approve. Leave Allow Contact Editing off if you want the child to send you a request before adding someone new.
• Approval for strangers: Apple gives the example that if a child gets a message from someone new, they can’t see it until a parent or guardian in the family approves.
• Communication Safety: turn it on to help protect the child from viewing or sharing photos or videos with detected nudity, gore, or violence, including in texts and FaceTime video calls.

Step 5: When they can use the device

• Screen Time Schedule. Tap Screen Time Schedule and turn on Schedule, then Add Schedule and pick the days. Apple includes built-in time windows such as Before School, School, and After School, and lets you choose which app categories are allowed in each. You can add a custom window for practice or a short school day.
• Time Allowances. Tap Time Allowances, then the Add button. You set a daily budget across categories such as Entertainment, Games, and Social Media, then adjust each one. Apple says these start from age-based suggestions you can change. Turn on Match Screen Time Schedule if you want the allowances to apply only during certain windows.
• Always Allowed. Choose the contacts and apps that always work, whatever the schedule, so your child can always reach you.

Apple’s own guide points families to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ advice on screen-free times and screen-free zones. A schedule works best when it matches a rule the family already agreed on. See Screen Time and Sleep: A Practical Plan for Families.

Step 6: Content, Siri, and privacy locks

From Settings, Family, the child’s name, tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.

• Ratings. Under Content Restrictions, pick a category and choose Don’t Allow, a specific age rating, or Allow All.
• Siri. Tap Siri to limit features such as Writing Assistance or Image Creation.
• Privacy Restrictions. Scroll down to Privacy Restrictions and choose what the child can change, such as Accounts. If you lock location sharing, tell the child. A teen who feels watched in secret will look for a workaround. Read what family location sharing shows first.
• Screen Distance is on by default for many child accounts and helps reduce eye strain.

If your family is still on iOS 26 or earlier

Apple says devices that can’t update still use the iOS 26 Screen Time and Family Sharing settings. On those devices, the controls are in a different place:

1. Open Settings, tap Screen Time, then the child’s name under Family.
2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions, enter your Screen Time passcode, and turn it on. If you turn this switch off later, the controls inside it pause.
3. Under iTunes & App Store Purchases, set installing apps and in-app purchases to Don’t Allow, or Always Require a password.
4. Under App Store, Media, Web, & Games, set ratings, and under Web Content choose Limit Adult Websites or Only Approved Websites.
5. Under Privacy and Allow Changes To, lock Share My Location and Passcode & Face ID for a younger child.

What to skip

• Do not leave one old device un-updated and wonder why the new controls are missing. Check View Family Devices.
• Do not use a fake birth date to get fewer restrictions. Age-based defaults exist for a reason, and they differ by country.
• Do not rely on Screen Time alone for TikTok, Snapchat, Discord, or Roblox chat. Those apps have their own parent tools.
• Do not install a random “parental control” app from an ad. Use the controls built into the phone first.

Checklist

• Every family device used in the last 90 days is on version 27, or you know which ones are legacy devices.
• Parental controls are upgraded from Settings, Family, Get Started.
• Child has their own Child Account in your Family Sharing group, and you are in their contacts.
• Screen Time passcode is set and stored away from the child.
• Ask to Buy and website filtering are set the way you want, with school sites allowed ahead of time.
• Who they can talk to, and Communication Safety, are set.
• A Screen Time Schedule and Time Allowances match your family’s rules, with you on the Always Allowed list.
• You have told the child what you can see and what you can approve.

What this means for you

A parent should manage this from their own phone, under Settings, Family, not only on the child’s phone. The new request flow is the point: the child asks, you answer, and nobody needs the passcode in the moment.

An adult child helping a parent with the parent’s own iPhone should not use these controls. They are for a Child Account. For an older adult, the useful pieces are a strong device passcode, no unknown configuration profiles, and a family rule about pop-ups. That rule is in how to spot a fake tech-support pop-up.

If a child uses an Android phone, Screen Time will not cover it. Use Google Family Link for that device. App-level controls are in the guides on Roblox, TikTok Family Pairing, YouTube Kids, and Instagram Teen Accounts.

FAQ

Why don’t I see the new parental controls?

Apple says every device used in the last 90 days by a parent, guardian, or managed child in your Family Sharing group must be on version 27. Go to Settings, Family, View Family Devices to find the one holding you back, then tap Get Started once all are updated.

Where did Screen Time go for my child?

After upgrading, you manage your child from Settings, then Family, then the child’s name. Apps & Websites, Screen Time Schedule, Time Allowances, and Content & Privacy Restrictions are all there.

What is Ask to Browse?

It makes your child ask before visiting a new website in Safari and other supported browsers. You approve or decline from your device, and can allow sites ahead of time. Apple says it is on by default for children under 13.

Can I stop strangers from texting my child?

Yes. Set who can communicate to Contacts Only and turn on Manage Contacts. Apple says a message from someone new stays hidden until a parent approves.

Does this stop a child from using a friend’s phone?

No. Screen Time follows the Apple Account and the devices you manage. A different phone with a different login is outside these controls. That is a conversation, not a setting.

Sources

• Apple Support, “Set up parental controls to manage your child’s iPhone or iPad,” support.apple.com/en-us/105121, accessed October 31, 2026.
• Apple Support, “Use Screen Time to manage your child’s iPhone or iPad,” support.apple.com/en-us/108806, accessed October 31, 2026.
• Apple Child Safety Guide, “Update your family devices to iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27,” support.apple.com, accessed October 31, 2026.
• Apple Child Safety Guide, “Set up Screen Time Schedules and Time Allowances on your kid’s device,” support.apple.com, accessed October 31, 2026.
• Apple Support, “Family Sharing overview for kids and teens,” support.apple.com/en-us/119854, accessed September 23, 2026.

Photo: a child using a tablet, by Walden Kirsch / Intel Free Press, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

This is not legal, medical, or financial advice. Apple’s menus and age rules differ by country and software version. If a step does not match your phone, use the Apple Support links above.

Update this guide if Apple changes the iOS 27 parental controls, the 90-day device rule, or the default settings by age.