Child Safety
Committed to building a safe and trusted platform for kids.
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A Child Account enables safeguards based on a child’s age and provides access to powerful parental controls.
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Screen Time shows parents how a child has been using their device — and now provides controls to quickly adjust access.
Coming this fall
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We provide parents with guidance when setting time allowances shaped by expert health research.
Coming this fall
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Privacy and security are built in from the beginning to help keep children safe.
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If a child isn’t ready for an iPhone, Apple Watch For Your Kids gives them independence and parents peace of mind.
- Open Settings, tap your name, and then tap Family.
- Tap the Add Member button.
- Tap Create Child Account and follow the onscreen prompts.
- Sign in to the Child Account on the child‘s device.
For more information, visit Apple Support.
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Set a foundation.
In Setup Assistant, parents can choose exactly which system apps to allow. They can select a few essential apps, a recommended set, or the specific ones they want.
Coming to: iPhone, iPad
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Allow new apps.
With Ask to Buy, children need to ask permission to download or purchase an app or make in-app purchases. Parents will receive the request in Messages and can decide — with helpful context — if it’s the right app or purchase for their child.2
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Approve new websites.
Ask to Browse requires children to ask when they want to view a new website using Safari. Parents can take a closer look at the request in Messages before approving.3
Coming to: iPhone, iPad, Mac
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Manage contacts.
As children grow, they want to connect with new people. Children must ask for permission before adding new contacts, and parents can review and approve each request4 before children can communicate with them through Phone, FaceTime, and Messages.
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Determine screen time.
Time Allowances give parents more flexible ways to manage the time their children spend in apps across categories, including entertainment, games, and social media. Parents can choose a daily total time that applies across app categories — and also make adjustments to time spent in any particular category.
Coming to: iPhone, iPad, Mac
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Start off with guidance.
We provide parents with guidance when setting time allowances that is based on a child’s age and shaped by clinical and child development research. Parents can always adjust these settings based on what’s best for their child.
Coming to: iPhone, iPad, Mac
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Create flexible schedules.
School days, weekends, and homework time aren’t the same, so parents can now set a schedule and choose which apps are available to their child at different times of day.
Coming to: iPhone, iPad, Mac
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Easily make adjustments.
Parents can pause access to devices during meals and other times that deserve full attention. And when a child needs a little extra time to finish something, parents can open up access to apps just as easily without dropping any protections.
Coming to: iPhone, iPad, Mac
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Give them more time.
When children reach the end of their time allowance, they’ll get a notification and can ask parents for more time to quickly wrap a conversation or finish an activity.
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Explore with confidence.
We review each App Store app to check that it does what it says and meets our high standards for privacy, security, and content. Every app has an age rating that helps parents decide whether it’s appropriate for their child.
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Made for Kids.
This section on the App Store is a curated place to find apps designed for children 11 and under.
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Customize for their age.
Parents can share the age range of their child with apps in a privacy-protective way. Apps can use this information to tailor age-appropriate experiences for children. Parents can choose how the age range is shared — and change their preference anytime.
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Know where they are.
With Find My, children can share their location with parents. Even if a child doesn’t have an iPhone, it works with Apple Watch.
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Get location-based alerts.
Parents can know where their child is with automatic notifications that alert them when a child arrives at or leaves a particular place, like school. Parents can also create custom alerts for specific locations.
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Help them communicate safely.
Communication Safety helps protect children from viewing or sharing detected nudity in Messages, FaceTime, and more. It now also intervenes when it detects gore or violence in shared images and videos.
Coming to: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch
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The first step is to create a Child Account with Family Sharing, which is available for children under 18.
Learn how to create a Child Account Go to Family in Settings
Child Accounts enable safeguards across the system based on a child’s age. A Child Account also provides parents with powerful controls that help manage what content a child can see, who they can talk to, when they have access to apps, and more. -
Open Settings or System Settings. Then under Family, tap your child’s name. You’ll see parental controls there.
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If your child is using a device that is signed into someone else’s Apple Account, they may not have access to the same age-based safeguards and parental controls designed to help them stay safe, and may be able to access content that’s not appropriate for them.
Learn how to create a Child Account
To switch them to a Child Account, open Settings or System Settings, then sign out of the Apple Account on the child’s device. Tap the name associated with the account. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and tap Sign Out.
Once you’ve signed out, you’ll be able to sign back in using your child’s account. -
If the birthday associated with your child’s account is incorrect, some age-based safeguards may not be enabled, and parents may not be able to use the full set of child safety features Apple provides.
Learn more about how to update your child’s birthday
To update your child’s birthday, use Settings or System Settings on a device with their account signed in, or sign in with their account on account.apple.com. -
You can still create a Child Account directly on your child’s device. This enables age-based safeguards and allows you to set up parental controls, including Screen Time. We also recommend setting up a Screen Time passcode that your child does not know. This is designed to help prevent children from changing these settings.
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With Family Sharing, you and up to five family members can share access to Apple services like iCloud+, Apple Music, Apple TV, and more — without sharing an Apple Account. You can even help locate each other’s missing devices, share your location, and manage a child’s device with Screen Time and parental controls.
Go to Family in Settings
To do this, open Settings, tap your name, then tap Family, and follow the onscreen prompts to invite family members or create a new Child Account.