How to set up parental controls on your child's iPhone in iOS 27
Set up Screen Time parental controls on your child's iPhone from your own: what you need first, and the five settings worth checking.
The skim
- Quick answer: on your iPhone, open Settings → Family → your child's name → Screen Time, then follow the prompts. Apple recommends managing your child's settings from the parent's device.
- Before you start: you need Family Sharing, and your child needs their own Child Account in your family group. Don't share one Apple Account between family members.
- Good news for younger kids: Apple says Ask to Buy and Ask to Browse are on by default for children under 13, and Limit Adult Websites is on by default for under-18s. Some defaults vary by region.
We haven't tested these steps on our own devices. The menu names below come from Apple's support pages, published Oct. 26, 2026, and rechecked Nov. 8, 2026.
What you need first
- Set up Family Sharing on your iPhone.
- Create a Child Account for your child if they don't have one yet, and make sure it's in your Family Sharing group.
- Update the software, then upgrade the parental controls. Apple treats these as two separate steps. First, update every device in the family group to iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27 or visionOS 27 or later (Settings → General → Software Update). Then go to Settings → Family and tap Get Started to move your existing parental controls to the new Screen Time or set up new ones, per Apple's upgrade guide. Apple says the upgrade requires every device a parent, guardian or managed child has used in the last 90 days to be on version 27 or later. To see which devices still need updating, go to Settings → Family → View Family Devices. Devices that can't update can still use the Screen Time and Family Sharing settings from iOS 26 or earlier.
- Add yourself (or another parent or guardian) to your child's contacts so their requests can reach you for approval.
Turn on Screen Time for your child
- On your iPhone, open Settings.
- Tap Family, then tap your child's name.
- Tap Screen Time and follow the onscreen instructions.
Apple says that if you manage your child's account through Family Sharing, the Screen Time passcode has to be set on the parent's device, not the child's.
Five settings worth checking
Every path below starts at Settings → Family → your child's name, per Apple's parental controls guide. If asked, enter your Screen Time passcode.
- Approve app downloads and purchases: Apps & Websites → Restrictions → Ask to Buy → turn on Require Purchase Approval.
- Filter websites: Apps & Websites → Restrictions → Filtering (under Websites). Choose Limit Adult Websites, or Approved Websites Only to use Ask to Browse.
- Choose who they can talk to: Allowed Contacts → During Screen Time, then pick Contacts Only, Contacts & Groups with at Least One Contact, or Everyone. Turn on Manage Contacts to approve their contact list.
- Communication Safety: tap Communication Safety and turn it on. Apple says it helps protect your child from viewing or sharing photos and videos detected to contain nudity, gore or violence, also works on live FaceTime calls, and that Apple doesn't get access to those photos or videos.
- Time limits: Time Allowances → Add sets daily time budgets by app category. Screen Time Schedule → Schedule → Add Schedule sets which apps work at which times, such as during school.
Content & Privacy Restrictions sets age ratings for apps, music, movies and books. It can also restrict Siri features like Image Creation and limit changes to settings like Share My Location.
Limits to know
- Not every control is available on every Apple device, and Apple says some aren't in Screen Time at all.
- Depending on where you live and your child's age, Apple says some controls are on by default and can't be removed.
- Blocking an app doesn't delete it. Apple says it shows dimmed on the Home Screen.
- In iOS 26 and later, your child can ask for an exception to a limit, and you approve or decline it from your device.
Troubleshooting
- Your child's requests never reach you: Apple says the Family Sharing organizer or another parent or guardian has to be in the child's contacts list so requests can be sent for approval. Check that you're in their contacts; Allowed Contacts → Manage Contacts is where you choose the contacts you approve.
- You don't see the new controls: go to Settings → Family → View Family Devices, then Legacy Devices, to see which devices can't update. Every device a parent, guardian or managed child used in the last 90 days must be on version 27 before the upgrade.
- A setting can't be switched off: Apple says some controls, including Ask to Buy for under-18s in some places, are on by default and can't be removed depending on your child's age and region.
FAQ
Can I set this up on my child's iPhone instead? Apple recommends managing it from the organizer's or a parent's device. You can manage Screen Time on the child's device with a Screen Time passcode, but if you use Family Sharing, the passcode has to be set on the parent's device.
What if an older family iPad can't run iPadOS 27? Apple says devices that can't update keep using the Screen Time and Family Sharing settings from iOS 26, iPadOS 26 or earlier. After the upgrade, parents are notified when a managed child is using a device without the latest controls, and can manage it locally with the Screen Time passcode.
Does blocking an app delete it? No. Apple says a blocked app stays on the device, dimmed on the Home Screen, and you can unblock it later.
Setting up a new iPhone or iPad as a holiday gift? Do this before you wrap it, then keep its software current with our iPhone update guide.
Sources: Apple Support: Set up parental controls to manage your child's iPhone or iPad, Apple Support: Update your family devices to iOS 27, Apple Support: Use Screen Time to manage your child's iPhone or iPad.
