Enhanced features help keep Apple gadgets suitable for children.
The recent iOS 27 release in September focused on Siri’s AI capabilities while also introducing various minor enhancements. Among these updates, Apple collaborated with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to enhance parental controls. A guide titled “Building Healthy Digital Habits” was released to assist parents in balancing their children’s screen time with essential activities like sleep, exercise, education, and family interactions.
This update includes several new parental control options such as Time Allowances, Ask to Browse, Ask to Add Contacts, a Pause Device function, and expanded Communication Safety. Additionally, the process for setup has been made more straightforward, offering age-appropriate app suggestions for children’s accounts, avoiding the clutter of default apps on their home screens.
It’s important to note that these features do not activate automatically after the device is updated. All devices in a Family Sharing group—whether it’s an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, or Apple TV—need to be running iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, or tvOS 27 for the new Screen Time system to function properly. Devices that cannot be upgraded will continue to use the old iOS 26 controls, creating potential issues for families with older devices. If you haven’t performed the updates yet, make sure to follow the necessary steps to prepare your devices for a major software update.
What are the new features in iOS 27’s parental controls?
One significant change is the replacement of App Limits with Time Allowances, which allows parents to have finer control over their children’s screen usage. For example, if parents allocate three hours for daily phone use, they can specify how much time should be spent on social media, entertainment, or gaming. Custom categories can also be created, enabling more efficient management rather than handling numerous individual app limits.
The Ask to Browse feature grants parents oversight of Safari usage by requiring approval for accessing unapproved websites. Requests for approval are sent via Messages, allowing parents to review links without needing to navigate through a different app. The Communication Safety tool, which flags inappropriate content in messages, AirDrop, and FaceTime, has been expanded to also detect and blur images of graphic violence. There’s also a new feature called Ask to Add Contacts, making it necessary for children to obtain parental consent before they can communicate with new phone numbers.
Lastly, the Pause Devices function permits parents to instantly lock a child’s device with a single tap—perfect for situations where a child is distracted during dinner or homework. Collectively, these enhancements simplify the process of setting up Apple devices for children.
How to set up and modify parental controls
To get started, a Child Account must be set up for each child if they don’t already exist. First, ensure that you have a Family Sharing group established, then navigate to Settings > Family on your iPhone. If there are any devices that need updates, notifications will indicate what needs the latest version. To manage an existing child’s account, tap on their name to access their settings. Review the new features of iOS 27 to ensure they are configured as desired.
To add a new child, simply tap the Add button at the top-right and follow the prompts. Default settings are based on age; for example, features like Ask to Browse and Limit Adult Websites are enabled by default for children under 13. Communication Safety is activated for all users under 18. Many other restrictions become the responsibility of parents once the child turns 13, meaning features such as Ask to Browse and contact filtering are no longer automatically activated.
From this point, parents can set distinct schedules for weekdays and weekends, apply category-specific limits within an overall daily cap, and enable Ask to Buy for app purchases. The upgraded Screen Time dashboard provides a clear view of device usage, making it easier to monitor without navigating complex menus. Apple also suggests periodically reviewing settings according to the AAP’s guidelines as children age.
