As the world celebrated Safer Internet Day, Apple on Wednesday said it is making some of the most powerful tools for learning, exploring and staying in touch, while empowering families to stay safe.
Apple said that it continually designs new features to help make sure kids use its devices in ways their parents or guardians want.
“With App Limits, users can combine individual apps and websites, and even whole categories, into a single, easy-to-manage limit. They are able to set a limit for a group of apps and websites, like games or their kids’ favourite streaming apps, ” according to the company.
Kids will get a notification when they’ve reached their time limit, so they can quickly wrap up a conversation, save a file, or close a game session before their time runs out – or ask for more time.
“Screen Time gives users a better understanding of the time they and their kids spend using apps, visiting websites, and on devices overall. They can get weekly reports or see specific app usage, notifications, and device pickups, ” said Apple.
Screen Time also lets users set the amount of time they and their kids can spend each day on specific apps and websites.
Parents can create exceptions for specific apps, like Messages or education apps, and kids can always request more time for adults to approve.
“With Downtime, users can set a specific time, like bedtime, when apps and notifications are blocked. Users can choose which apps are accessible or off limits, ” according to Apple.
Communication Limits let parents choose who their children can communicate with throughout the day and during downtime, so they can make sure the kids are always reachable.
“Communication Safety detects sensitive images or videos that children might receive or attempt to send in Messages, Airdrop, FaceTime messages, Contact Posters in the Phone app, and Photos, ” Apple informed.
If Communication Safety detects that a child receives or is attempting to send content that might contain nudity, it warns them, gives them options to stay safe, and provides helpful resources.
“Using Restrictions, parents can prevent their kids from installing new apps and making in-app purchases. Parents can set up their kids’ devices to limit adult content or open only websites that the parents select, ” Apple said.
iCloud Private Relay helps protect the users privacy when they browse the web in Safari. It ensures that no single party — not even Apple — can see both who the user are and what sites they're visiting.