Parental controls for iPhone / iPad: how it works

If you want to let your children play with your iPhone or iPad unattended, you should definitely activate the child lock for the devices. We show you how to activate and set it up.

Activate parental controls on the iPhone / iPad

On mobile iOS devices, parental controls are hidden behind the "Restrictions" option.

1. Open the "Settings" app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
2. At the bottom of the screen you will find the "General" menu item.
3. If you scroll down a bit, you will see the item "Restrictions".
4. Press the "Activate restrictions" button at the top, enter any security code and repeat it.
5. The child lock is now activated. If you leave the settings later, you will need the code to enter them again.
6. In order to deactivate the parental control again, click on the button "Deactivate restrictions".
7. You can read how to configure the childproof lock correctly in the following paragraphs.

Allow and deny access to the iPhone / iPad

• The top category is titled "Allow". Here you can prohibit access for the "Safari", "Camera", "FaceTime" and "iTunes" apps. To do this, you simply have to press the controls so that the individual fields change from blue to gray (see picture).
• This prevents your children from seeing content that is harmful to young people on the net, from spending their money on music, or from filling up their storage with photos.
• In addition, you can prevent "app installation" and "delete apps".
• All of these points regulate relatively sensitive areas of your iPhone. Depending on the age of the child, you can block access completely or allow only a few points.

Allowed content on iPhone or iPad

The second category is "Allowed Content". This mainly deals with the determination of age-related release of various content.

• Age ratings for: Let "Germany" exist as the selected country, because there is a wide range of youth protection levels available.
• Music & podcasts: Again, you should leave the "Explicit" function activated. This prevents videos or music with inappropriate content from being played.
• Films and programs: Under these two points you can decide which films or programs can be viewed on your device. You either block everyone, allow everyone, or choose certain age groups. According to the German protection of minors, these are FSK 0, 6, 12, 16 and 18. Attention: If you have transferred your own films to your device via iTunes, you should assign them an FSK value.
• Apps: Like movies, every app has an age restriction. However, this runs on a different system. They are 4+, 9+, 12+ and 17. As before, you can optionally allow or disallow all apps.
• In-app purchases: You should definitely activate this function. A child who needs parental controls should not be allowed to purchase content within apps. Otherwise it can quickly become very expensive, as there are also many apps for children with paid content.

Regulate data protection on the iPhone / iPad

• Location services: Here you can either globally deactivate all location services, or allow or prohibit only for individual apps. The settings for this are adopted from your usual settings, so you only have to adjust them here.
• You can allow or prohibit changes to the following items, such as "Contacts", "Calendar" and "Photos". If changes are not permitted under "Contacts", an app can no longer be granted access to the contact list. This is the case both for newly installed apps and for those that have already been installed, in which this was not yet permitted. Apps in which this has already been permitted are shown in a list below. Access must be deactivated there.

Allow changes and Game Center

• Accounts: With a click on "Do not allow changes" you can prevent something in the settings of the apps "Mail", "Contacts" and "Calendar" from being changed. However, this restriction only applies to the basic settings. For example, mails can still be deleted or sent.
• Maximum volume: Here you can also allow or prohibit changes to the volume.
• Add multiplayer and friends: At least the first feature should be activated if you want your child to play online in apps. The second function can remain deactivated.

$config[ads_text5] not found

Conclusion

It's not without reason that Apple's parental controls are called "restrictions". There are only light barriers that offer full protection in many respects. However, children can still access and change a lot of sensitive data. Moving the apps is particularly annoying if you let them be hidden, such as the camera app. After activation, they end up on the first page again, but unfortunately not in their previous place. Nevertheless, Apple hereby offers a way to make your iPhone or iPad a bit childproof.

This practical tip was carried out on the iPhone 4 under iOS 6. By the way: You should not only make your iPhone or iPad childproof. There are also some dangers for the little ones in your apartment. This tip shows you how to reduce the risk of injury.

$config[ads_text6] not found