Children are receiving mobile devices at younger ages now. As a parent, it is crucial to protect them while utilizing them. Your child’s iPhone has many features and settings you can utilize to help protect them and their personal information. On the newer operating systems, the security features are more advanced compared to older iOS versions. If you are concerned about your child’s safety on their phone, make sure to utilize these iPhone parental control, safety, and security tips to keep them safe.
iPhone Security Tips For Your Child’s Phone
With technology advancing, we see new features released by Apple to protect users from vulnerabilities and threats. Some may work better for some people than others, but it all depends on how you utilize them. Do not let your child’s device put them at risk any longer! Start utilizing these tips to make sure their iPhone is protected.
1. Set Screen Limitations
You can set screen limits in the settings of your child’s iPhone. This is a great starting point in reducing your child’s screen time. To locate the feature, navigate to Settings → Screen Time. Tap to turn on and select This Is My Child’s [Device]. Once this is done, set limits for specific apps, block inappropriate content, turn the phone off during certain times, and more.
2. Set Up Find My iPhone
Apple created Find my iPhone (Find My) to help customers keep track of all of their devices. This is crucial when your child’s device may be lost or stolen. Find My iPhone can help locate a device, have it play a sound out loud, and lock it. If the device was stolen, you can see the device location if it is still on.
3. Create Strong Passwords
Having a strong password is essential to keep a device protected from unauthorized users. Apple’s features have improved over the years introducing Touch ID and Face ID. It is always vital to enable two-factor authentication on your child’s device or have a strong Touch ID passcode. Make sure you do not make the password easy; make it more than six characters and do not reuse the same password for all your devices.
4. Turn On USB Restricted Mode
Hackers commonly use USB accessories to access devices. Enabling USB Restricted Mode on an Apple device will prevent USB accessories from making a data connection. You will need to grant access and unlock the device first before it allows connection to the USB accessory. This is crucial to prevent any malware or hacker from gaining access to an iPhone.
How To Find USB Restrict Mode:
Settings → Face ID & Passcode → enter passcode. Scroll down to USB Accessories. (If the tab to the right is lit green, it is enabled.)
5. Back-Up Software
Third-party apps have been proven to help protect and store iPhone data somewhere besides the device itself. This software can store data like calls, text messages, photos, location history, and more. Monitoring an iPhone and keeping your children safe on their iPhones is crucial with criminals online targeting their data.
6. Disable Specific Apps
You can block certain apps on an iPhone to ensure your child is not exposed to any age-inappropriate content. You can require a password to be entered to download applications. To enable this feature, please do the following:
Go to Settings and select Screen Time.
Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions and enter your passcode.
Select iTunes & App Store Purchases.
Choose the setting you want to and set it to Do Not Allow.
7. Restrict Siri Web Search
Siri is an excellent feature that Apple introduced to help make everything easier and convenient. Kids, however, tend to abuse this feature by asking Siri questions that are not age-appropriate. With the web restrict feature enabled, Siri will not bring your child to the web when they ask a question, and will not display any content that contains abusive language. This will also need to be enabled in the Content & Privacy Restrictions section of the Screen Time settings.
8. Set Up Family Share
Family Share is an excellent feature to ensure your children are protected while utilizing their iPhones. With Family Share enabled, families can link up to 6 devices to their Apple ID. You can share music, photos, locations, approve spending in the app store, and more.
9. Add Trusted Phone Number
Adding a trusted phone number is a fantastic new feature to help parents ensure their children are protected. To locate this, go to Settings and select the icon at the top. Select Password & Security → Edit and add your number. This is crucial if your child’s password manager was compromised. It will send an alert to the number indicating a sign-in was attempted in a specific location.
10. Turn Off Location Access For Unwanted Apps
Often when users create a new account on an app, they allow the app to collect and use many features of the device. Your child may always click away and it can be convenient when saving a credit card or password on a website. However, apps may be utilizing things on their iPhone like location which can expose it to unwanted parties. Make sure to review what apps are accessing the location of their iPhone and adjust apps accordingly.
To adjust this setting, go to Settings → Privacy → Location Services → Review & edit the app settings.
As parents, it is instinct to protect our children online from threats like spam accounts, scammers, pedophiles, and other threats. We want to make sure our child’s iPhone and other devices are secured. Utilizing the tips above will help ensure their iPhone and information are not vulnerable. A cell phone can be a parent’s best friend when used correctly. Ensure you and your child are utilizing them safely and have a plan if any dangers occur.