Warning for all parents with an iPhone – you must do Apple’s ‘triple check’ today

APPLE has reminded iPhone owners of some important tips to keep kids safe.

The tech giant has long had a number of free tools available on iOS to help parents protect their children.

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But now the firm is warning adults once more to mark Safer Internet Day.

“At Apple, our goal is to provide people with technology that not only improves and enriches their lives, but also helps them stay safe online,” said Erik Neuenschwander, Apple’s director of User Privacy.

Here are three ways you can tighten iPhone and iPad settings to make things safer for young ones.

Family sharing

Family Sharing is a special tool built by Apple that lets you create a family group.

You can then manage it to help protect your children.

You’ll need to add each child to the Family Sharing group first.

Once you’ve added a child to your Family Sharing group, you can select the parental controls as you see fit.

Then, when you’re setting up a device – like an iPhone – for a child you can add age restrictions for content.

This works across apps, books, TV shows and movies.

You can also set time limits for specific apps.

There’s an option to restrict who your kid can chat to as well.

Best of all, you can make it so you personally approve any requests by the child to make a purchase – or even download something for free.

If you want to edit any Family Sharing settings later, go back into Settings > Name > Family Sharing.

For instance, there’s a built-in Screen Time section that lets you manage downtime, app use, contacts and content ratings.

Screen Time

Screen time is a great way to limit how long your child spends on their devices.

You can set it up by going to Settings and finding Screen Time.

Select Turn On Screen Time, then the blue button which also says Turn On Screen Time.

Next, tap This is My Child’s iPhone (or iPad).

Here you can select which content you wish for them to be able to access – Apple offers a bit of help if you say their age.

But the best bit is time away from screens, where you can set a downtime period where the device won’t work, such as between 9pm and 7am when they should be asleep.

You can also set app and website limits for specific categories of your choosing.

Content & Privacy Restrictions

You can prevent young ones from getting hold of some things not meant for their age, like music or TV shows with swearing.

It works if the content has a specific rating in place – which all apps must carry.

Go to Settings, then Screen Time.

Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions, then Content Restrictions.

Choose the settings you want for each feature or setting under Allowed Store Content.

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