Screen Time is Apple’s built-in parental control on iPhone and iPad. It is free, already on every device, and you can set it up in about ten minutes. This guide is for parents of children aged roughly 8 to 16. Do it on your child’s device, with them or on your own.
Settings › Screen Time. If it is not already on, tap to turn it on. The exact wording shifts a little between iOS versions, but the path is the same.
If asked, choose that this is your child’s device. If your family uses Family Sharing, you can also set this up from your own phone and manage it from there.
Choose a four-digit code that is different from the device unlock code, and do not share it. You will need it to change these settings later, and so will anyone trying to undo them. When prompted, add your Apple Account so you can reset the code if you forget it.
Screen Time › Content & Privacy Restrictions, then turn the switch on. This is the section that does most of the work.
Content & Privacy Restrictions › Content Restrictions › Web Content, then choose Limit Adult Websites. This filters the web in Safari.
Still under Content Restrictions, set the limits for apps, music, films, TV shows and books to suit your child’s age. For an 8 year old and a 15 year old these will look quite different, so set each child’s device to match.
Under Content & Privacy Restrictions, set Account Changes and Passcode Changes to Don’t Allow. If you want the set of apps to stay put, you can also stop app installs and deletions here.
Optional. Screen Time › Downtime sets hours the device winds down, and App Limits caps time on categories such as games or social apps.
Open Safari on your child’s device and try to visit an adult site: it should be blocked. Then try to change a locked setting: it should ask for the Screen Time passcode. If both happen, you are done.
Shieldora builds on these same iOS controls and adds what Screen Time leaves out: if protection stops or the phone goes quiet, you will hear about it, so a switched-off setting does not pass unnoticed. It is not released yet. You can join the waitlist on the home page.