How to read this reference

One entry per setting: what it does, when it's worth using, and — because the marketing pages never say this — what it does not do. Paths are for iOS 27, managed from your own device through Settings → Family → [Child's Name]. On an older iOS the same tools live behind different doors; the differences are covered in our parental controls guide.

Ask to Buy

What it does: every download or purchase request lands on your phone with the app's details; you approve or decline from wherever you are.

When to use it: from the very first app, and it stays useful for years — on by default for children under 13.

What it does not do: it doesn't limit time. An approved game can be played for four hours on Sunday. Time is Time Allowances' job, not this one.

Ask to Browse

What it does: the child requests each new website; your approval makes it available from then on unless you block it again. You can also allow sites ahead of time.

When to use it: younger kids, and preteens doing homework — you pre-approve the school sites, and the requests filter the rest.

What it does not do: it doesn't rate content. Approving a site means trusting it sight unseen — so approve deliberately, and move to Limit Adult Websites as they grow.

Screen Time Schedules

What it does: defines windows of the day — Before School, School, After School, and your own — with different apps available in each. Quick actions let you pause the device, allow unlimited time for the day, or change the schedule on the fly.

When to use it: school days and sleep protection, from age six to sixteen. This is the setting that outlives the others.

What it does not do: it's not a total limit. Inside an allowed window, usage is bounded only by allowances and by your kid's judgment — which is the point of raising one.

Time Allowances

What it does: daily minutes per category — Games, Social Media, Entertainment — with research-informed guidance tailored to the child's age.

When to use it: when a category, not a clock, is the problem.

What it does not do: apps outside those categories aren't limited, and category membership is Apple's decision, not yours. A game that's classified "entertainment" spends the entertainment budget.

Allowed Contacts

What it does: limits who can call and message the child (Contacts Only, Contacts & Groups with at Least One Contact, or Everyone), and optionally puts the contact list itself under your management.

When to use it: younger kids through preteens, especially with a first phone.

What it does not do: it doesn't monitor conversations, and it doesn't gate communication inside third-party apps — the chat in a game is the game's territory.

Communication Safety

What it does: blurs nudity, gore, and violence detected in shared photos and videos — including on FaceTime calls — and offers the child age-appropriate guidance and resources, entirely on-device.

When to use it: always. It's on by default for children under 18.

What it does not do: it doesn't alert you, doesn't report to Apple, and doesn't read messages. It's a backstop for your child, not a window for you — and that's exactly why it works on teenagers who would never accept monitoring.

Web content filtering (Limit Adult Websites)

What it does: blocks known adult sites in Safari and other supported browsers, and lets you add specific sites to a Blocked list.

When to use it: it's the default for under-18 for a reason — the right level for most preteens and up.

What it does not do: it's not exhaustive. New sites, apps with built-in browsers, and content that's age-inappropriate without being "adult" can slip through. Filters reduce; they don't eliminate.

Content & Privacy Restrictions

What it does: sets age ratings for Music, Apple TV, Books and more, and requires your passcode for changes to system settings like Share My Location and Bluetooth sharing.

When to use it: alongside the others — especially for protecting the location and account settings themselves.

What it does not do: it guards settings; it doesn't filter content. It's the lock on the toolbox, not a tool.

App Store restrictions

What it does: allows or blocks Installing Apps and App Clips outright, sets rating ceilings, and gates in-app purchases.

When to use it: youngest kids — block installs so you install everything yourself; older kids — allow installs with Ask to Buy.

What it does not do: blocking installs doesn't remove what's already installed. For that, see the full restrictions map in our parental controls guide.

Which settings for which age

Orientation in one line each: ages 6–9 — Ask to Buy, Ask to Browse, Allowed Contacts, Schedules. Ages 10–12 — swap Ask to Browse for Limit Adult Websites, add Allowances. Ages 13+ — keep the structure, open the gates. The full age-by-age reasoning is in a parent's guide to iPhone safety, and the first-day configuration walk is the iPhone setup guide for parents.

A reference is for looking things up. Knowing which setting reaches for which problem — and when to use a conversation instead — is a different skill; how to monitor your child's iPhone usage covers the part where the settings end and the parenting starts.