Parental controls on iPhone work best when you set them from your own phone, through Family Sharing, with a Screen Time passcode your child does not know. That stops most changes. If your child still finds a way around the limits, the stronger option is to supervise the iPhone and lock a profile on it. A locked profile cannot be removed on the iPhone itself. Undoing it takes erasing the iPhone, or a Mac with Apple Configurator.
Start with Apple's own controls. They are free, and for many families they are enough.
Set up Apple's parental controls first
These steps follow Apple's support pages for iOS 27. Do every step on your own iPhone.
1. Set up Family Sharing and a Child Account
- Open Settings and tap your name.
- Tap Family, then tap Continue. Follow the steps on the screen.
- Go to Settings > Family and tap the Add Member button.
- Tap Create Child Account, then tap Continue.
- Enter your child's name and real birthday.
Your child signs in to their iPhone with this account. Update all family devices to iOS 27 to get the new controls.
2. Set a Screen Time passcode your child does not know
- Open Settings and tap Screen Time.
- Tap your child's name under Family. If you do not see it there, go to Settings > Family and tap your child's name.
- Tap Manage Screen Time, then tap Lock Screen Time Settings.
- Enter a four-digit passcode two times.
Every other limit depends on this passcode. Do not use a birthday, and do not type it where your child can see the screen. Apple notifies you each time the passcode is used on the child's device. If you get a notification you did not expect, change the passcode.
3. Turn on purchase approval (Ask to Buy)
- Go to Settings > Family and tap your child's name.
- Tap Apps & Websites, then tap Restrictions.
- Tap Ask to Buy and turn on Require Purchase Approval.
Now every new app or purchase needs your approval.
4. Block apps and filter websites
- Go to Settings > Family > your child's name > Apps & Websites.
- To block one app or site, select it, then tap Block App or Block Website.
- To filter the web, tap Restrictions, then tap Filtering under Websites, and choose a setting.
5. Set content, contacts and times
All of these are in Settings > Family > your child's name:
- Content & Privacy Restrictions. Under Content Restrictions, pick a type of content and choose an age rating or Don't Allow.
- Allowed Contacts (called Communication Limits before iOS 27). Tap During Screen Time and choose Contacts Only, Contacts & Groups with at Least One Contact, or Everyone.
- Screen Time Schedule (called Downtime before iOS 27) sets the hours the phone is available.
- Time Allowances (called App Limits before iOS 27) sets limits on apps.
How kids get around Screen Time
Parents and child safety groups report the same few ways around Screen Time. I list them so you know what to watch for, not as instructions.
- The passcode leaks. The child sees it typed, guesses it, or records the screen.
- The clock. Changing the date or time zone can move a time limit.
- Delete and install again. Removing an app and installing it again has been reported to reset its time limit.
- Another door. A blocked site opens in a browser inside another app.
- Another device. An old phone, a tablet or a friend's phone has no limits.
Apple fixes some of these with each iOS version, and new ones appear. Screen Time set on the child's own phone without Family Sharing is weaker still: the passcode can be reset with the Apple Account.
None of this means your child is bad. Children are curious, and a rule with an off switch invites a test.
The stronger option: supervise the iPhone and lock a profile
Supervision is a mode Apple built for iPhones owned by schools and companies. A supervised iPhone accepts a profile, a small settings file with rules, and you can lock it. A locked profile can:
- hide and block the apps you choose, even if they are installed. The App Store stays on.
- block the websites you choose.
- turn on Apple's adult website filter. It works in Safari and in apps that use the system web view.
Nobody can remove a locked profile in Settings. There is no passcode to guess.
| Apple's parental controls | Supervised iPhone with a locked profile | |
|---|---|---|
| Set up from | Your iPhone | A Mac with a cable |
| Time limits and schedules | Yes | No |
| Purchase approval | Yes | No |
| Block apps and websites | Yes | Yes |
| Protected by | A four-digit passcode | No off switch in Settings |
| How to undo | Change the settings | Erase the iPhone, or use a Mac with Apple Configurator |
Use both. Keep Ask to Buy on, and use the profile for the few apps and sites that must stay blocked.
There are two free ways to do it:
- The attention awareness Mac app. The Mac app supervises the iPhone without erasing it. It makes a fresh backup, changes one setting in it and restores it. Photos, messages and apps stay. It needs a Mac with Apple Silicon and macOS 14 or later, and no account.
- Manually via Apple Configurator, Apple's own Mac tool. The manual guide erases the iPhone first. Only what syncs to iCloud comes back.
I use this setup on my own iPhone. My screen time went from more than 5 hours a day to 1 hour 45 minutes.
What to know before you lock your child's iPhone
- Talk to your child first. Say what you will block and why. A lock that arrives as a surprise damages trust.
- Plan one afternoon. You need the Mac, a cable and the child's iPhone. The backup and restore take time.
- Back up first. Use Finder or iCloud. The app does not erase the iPhone, but things can go wrong, and the backup is the way back.
- Test before you lock. In trial mode the profile can be removed in Settings. Making it permanent later takes one more plug-in.
- It is hard to undo by design. It cannot be removed on the iPhone itself. To remove it you erase the iPhone, or use a Mac with Apple Configurator.
- Nobody can watch the phone. No app is installed on the iPhone, and the phone is not connected to any server. The profile blocks things. It does not report anything.
What this cannot do
- It does not set time limits or approve purchases. Screen Time does that.
- It does not block everything. Apple's adult website filter misses some sites.
- It works on iPhone only today.
- It does not survive an erase. A child who erases the iPhone removes the profile, and loses what is on the phone.
- A Mac with Apple Configurator can remove the profile. For that a child needs the Mac, a cable and the iPhone's passcode.
When Apple's built-in controls are enough
Stay with Screen Time if the passcode is still secret and the limits hold, or if you mainly need time limits and purchase approval.
Paid parental control apps can add activity reports. They cost a monthly fee. Try Apple's free controls first.
Consider supervision when the same app or site keeps coming back after you block it.
Questions parents ask
Can my child turn off Screen Time on iPhone?
Not without the Screen Time passcode, if you set it up through Family Sharing from your own device. If your child learns the passcode, they can change every limit.
What do I do if my child knows the Screen Time passcode?
Change it. On your iPhone go to Settings > Screen Time, tap your child's name, tap Manage Screen Time, then tap Change Screen Time Passcode.
How do I lock apps on an iPhone for kids?
Go to Settings > Family > your child's name > Apps & Websites, select the app and tap Block App. For a block that cannot be removed in Settings, use a locked profile on a supervised iPhone.
Can a locked profile be removed?
Not in Settings. Erasing the iPhone removes it. Restoring a backup made before supervision also removes supervision.
Next steps
Set up Family Sharing and a secret passcode today. If the limits do not hold, try the locked profile in trial mode with the free Mac app, or do it manually via Apple Configurator.