Apple introduces new Child Safety Features
Apple previewed a new suite of Child Safety tools it hopes will give parents greater control over their kids’ content, communication, and device access time. The features are coming in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 this autumn.
There are some powerful protections within these improvements, but perhaps one of the best is that in building these protections Apple has worked very closely with experts in online health and safety, and has also woven in some good advice and education elements within the protections, so parents can make better-informed decisions that can be logically shared with their children.
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Child Accounts and controls
The first change is Child Accounts. These can only be created by parents who can then use this to enable age-tailored safeguards like limiting adult websites, age-appropriate media, and App Store restrictions. It’s required for children under 13 and available up to age 18.
Parents also gain content controls that let them choose which apps their kids have, including some pre-curated sets.
There’s also a new Ask to Browse feature that requires kids to get parental approval before visiting any new website in Safari, and new communication controls which let parents vet who their kids speak with. Communication Safety, which already blurs nudity in messages and calls, will now also block gore and violent content in shared images and videos.
New Time Allowances let parents set limits by app category (Entertainment, Games, Social Media, etc.), while daily Schedules let parents control which apps are accessible at different times, such as during school hours. Apple has also improved the Screen Time dashboard so parents gain an at a glance view of the most used apps and general app usage of their kids.
Finally, Apple is also offering developers APIs like SensitiveContentAnalysis, PermissionKit, and a Declared Age Range API to help them build age-appropriate in-app experiences, which should help ensure a wide range of future child-safe apps.
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