Apple highlights parental management tools in new 'Families' webpage

Posted:
in General Discussion edited March 2018
Apple posted a new page to its website on Wednesday highlighting the parental guidance, security, and content management features built into its products and services, from iPhone to Apple TV.




Aptly titled "Families," the new mini-site provides a broad overview of the protections offered by Apple's various computing platforms, including iOS, Mac, Apple TV and online services like the App Store.

Apple breaks the page into five major sections -- six if you include a brief mention of the company's education program -- offering parents tips and ideas on how to best leverage tools already in place on iOS, macOS and beyond.

Starting things off is a primer on the App Store. Apple touts its strict content curation policies while reminding parents that they can keep watch over their kids' activities by enabling restrictions like Ask to Buy. Other management functions include the ability to block in-app purchases.

Also included is a mention of Safari's restriction mechanism, which allows parents or guardians to limit adult content or force the browser to only open those websites they deem appropriate.

A second section deals with location sharing via Find My Friends. Apple notes the app provides positioning data for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and AirPods. Device owners can play sounds to find misplaced items like AirPods, or erase a lost device's data remotely.

Family Sharing is the topic of Apple's next section, which reminds parents that family members can gain access to the same apps, movies, TV shows, music and books. A brief mention of Apple Music's family plan is also included, as is the company's iCloud storage sharing which enables use of family calendars, photo albums and more.

Apple throws a spotlight on its health products and services in a third section that offers tips on avoiding blue light, using the Bedtime function to get a better night's sleep and reducing distractions with Do Not Disturb. As for the latter feature, Apple says teens can benefit from the new Do Not Disturb While Driving feature, which turns off messages, calls and notifications while an iPhone determines its owner is driving.

Emergency SOS and Medical ID are also included in the health section, as is a link to Apple's Accessibility webpage.

Finally, Apple highlights its commitment to user privacy, from Touch ID and Face ID to software-based controls and restrictions, in a fifth section.

Apple consistently advertises its products and services as family friendly, and has taken significant steps to ensure the protection not only of children, but of all device owners. From built-in hardware technologies like Face ID to parental controls and strong encryption, Apple's product lineup boasts one of the most robust set of user protections available.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    Kudos to Apple for their efforts, though I think their could be an improvement or two.. One thing I believe many people would be happy to see is “Kid Mode.” I would really like if it my daughter could not delete some of my apps when I let her use it (after giving in to a three year old). PLEASE! Also, it would be nice if “Kid Mode” only allowed her to use the apps I deem kid friendly.
    edited March 2018 beowulfschmidt
  • Reply 2 of 12
    mac_dogmac_dog Posts: 1,069member
    rainmaker said:
    Kudos to Apple for their efforts, though I think their could be an improvement or two.. One thing I believe many people would be happy to see is “Kid Mode.” I would really like if it my daughter could not delete some of my apps when I let her use it (after giving in to a three year old). PLEASE! Also, it would be nice if “Kid Mode” only allowed her to use the apps I deem kid friendly.
    Hmmm...giving in to a three year old? Who’s the parent here? 
    racerhomie3Rayz2016gutengeljony0
  • Reply 3 of 12
    mattinozmattinoz Posts: 2,299member
    Will these tools help me manage my Parents?
    dewmeGeorgeBMacjony0
  • Reply 4 of 12
    rainmaker said:
    Kudos to Apple for their efforts, though I think their could be an improvement or two.. One thing I believe many people would be happy to see is “Kid Mode.” I would really like if it my daughter could not delete some of my apps when I let her use it (after giving in to a three year old). PLEASE! Also, it would be nice if “Kid Mode” only allowed her to use the apps I deem kid friendly.
    Guided Access limits phone's usage only to one app, say "YouTube Kids", so you let your kid watch cartoons safely.
    Rayz2016
  • Reply 5 of 12
    Apple was correctly ripped about the depth of parental controls by institutional investors - just creating an informational web page about existing parental controls is insufficient in my view. As a parent I can tell you what is needed is the ability to set usage-limits with granular control - which Apple will never implement because it affects their bottom line. 
    GeorgeBMacshrave10
  • Reply 6 of 12
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,335member
    mattinoz said:
    Will these tools help me manage my Parents?
    Here's hoping! This article's title "parental management" gave me hope that finally I'd have some tools to keep those old farts in line. As funny as that sounds it's actually not too far off the mark. At all.
    mattinoz
  • Reply 7 of 12
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    Apple was correctly ripped about the depth of parental controls by institutional investors - just creating an informational web page about existing parental controls is insufficient in my view. As a parent I can tell you what is needed is the ability to set usage-limits with granular control - which Apple will never implement because it affects their bottom line. 
    Yes, Apple was ripped on by investors for the weakness of their parental controls
    No, there is no reason to say that they will never do so (unless you're Droidee).  
    ...  In fact, Apple did say quite the opposite and are supposedly working on it as part of iOS12
    StrangeDaysshrave10
  • Reply 8 of 12
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    mac_dog said:
    rainmaker said:
    Kudos to Apple for their efforts, though I think their could be an improvement or two.. One thing I believe many people would be happy to see is “Kid Mode.” I would really like if it my daughter could not delete some of my apps when I let her use it (after giving in to a three year old). PLEASE! Also, it would be nice if “Kid Mode” only allowed her to use the apps I deem kid friendly.
    Hmmm...giving in to a three year old? Who’s the parent here? 
    Oh boy!   Here we go...  
    ... Ideology vs Common sense
  • Reply 9 of 12
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    rainmaker said:
    Kudos to Apple for their efforts, though I think their could be an improvement or two.. One thing I believe many people would be happy to see is “Kid Mode.” I would really like if it my daughter could not delete some of my apps when I let her use it (after giving in to a three year old). PLEASE! Also, it would be nice if “Kid Mode” only allowed her to use the apps I deem kid friendly.
    The Restrictions control panel option allows you to prevent deletion of apps.
    GeorgeBMacjony0
  • Reply 10 of 12
    Craingry Craingry Posts: 5unconfirmed, member
    Wish I could get rid of the Private Browsing on my iMac Safari! Had to lock the computer cause I don’t trust it...
  • Reply 11 of 12
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    Apple was correctly ripped about the depth of parental controls by institutional investors - just creating an informational web page about existing parental controls is insufficient in my view. As a parent I can tell you what is needed is the ability to set usage-limits with granular control - which Apple will never implement because it affects their bottom line. 
    Wrong. First, because Apple does lots of things that aren’t about the bottom line. And second, because parental controls won’t affect the bottom line anyway. 
  • Reply 12 of 12
    mattinozmattinoz Posts: 2,299member
    dewme said:
    mattinoz said:
    Will these tools help me manage my Parents?
    Here's hoping! This article's title "parental management" gave me hope that finally I'd have some tools to keep those old farts in line. As funny as that sounds it's actually not too far off the mark. At all.
    Yes hoping, comments was written just after mum on the phone with a printer issue.
    Even if it was just making Back to Mac work reliably. Better still being able set up a temp Admin account. Last time they had admin rights they got talked in to installing spyware and didn't think it odd till towards the end of the call.

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