Giving a child a phone or tablet can be risky business. From apps with 3rd party tracking (usually to see what else they’re interested in and to sell their user data to advertisers), to anyone who wants to contact them, there need to be set measures in place.

Now Apple, creators of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers, have added to their suite of advanced tools to keep users safe from potential online hazards. – These changes go live on the upcoming OS/app updates.

These tools include:

• Screentime: To see how much our kids are using the devices, and to put set limits to avoid excess time on the devices.
• Content restrictions: Parental settings which allow the parent/guardian to decide which apps and which websites or content types to allow to be viewed on the device.
• App Store controls: The account owner can give access only to the ‘Made for Kids’ apps which are forbidden from 3rd party tracking and either don’t have in-app purchases available or require additional passwords to access.
• NEW: Tools to warn children when sending or receiving potentially sensitive images.
• NEW: Siri-enabled reporting or helplines to trusted services like KidsHelpPhone.ca or to quickly contact a trusted person. Siri, Spotlight, and Safari Search have also been updated to intervene when users perform searches for queries related to child exploitation. These interventions explain to users that interest in this topic is harmful and problematic, and provide resources from partners to get help with this issue.

Via Apple:

Communication safety in Messages

The Messages app includes tools to warn children when receiving or sending photos that contain nudity. These features are not enabled by default. If parents opt-in, these warnings will be turned on for the child’s accounts in their Family Sharing plan.

This feature is included starting in iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2, and macOS 12.1. It requires accounts set up as families in iCloud.*