iOS 27 Parental Controls - Make Your Kid’s iPhone Boring

iOS 27 parental controls are out, and in this video I go through what changed for parents and how I'd set up a kid's iPhone with them.

First, the new Screen Time features: suggested starting apps by age, Ask to Buy and Ask to Browse, contact requests, time allowances by app category, schedules, Pause Device, requests for more time, and sharing your child's age range with the App Store. Communication Safety, Apple's filter that tries to block nude photos in messages, now covers gore and violence too. I also explain why updating to iOS 27 may not give you the new controls yet, and how to tell which version your family has.

Then I go through the settings I suggest changing so a kid's iPhone gets used for a specific purpose and then put down: contacts, the internet, app installs, the camera, notifications, the Home Screen, grayscale and the AI features in Siri, plus a first aid app and maps and languages that work offline. I run grayscale on my own phone, and I suggest parents try it too. The details for each setting are in my iPhone Parental Controls Masterclass.

Chapters:

0:00 What's new in iOS 27

0:59 Suggested starting apps

1:46 Ask to Buy and Ask to Browse

3:24 Contact requests

3:57 Communication Safety now covers violence

5:09 Time allowances and schedules

6:43 Pause Device and requests for more time

7:34 Sharing your child's age range

8:43 Why you may not see the new controls

11:49 Why I'd wait for iOS 27.1

12:30 How I'd set up a kid's iPhone

13:32 Birthday and Screen Time passcode

14:37 Contacts and the internet

15:29 Blocking app installs

16:29 Turning off the camera

18:35 Screen Distance and locked settings

19:21 Offline tools: first aid, maps and Translate

21:23 An empty Home Screen and grayscale

22:52 Raise to Wake, Always On and StandBy

23:47 Notifications and badges

25:01 Siri Suggestions, keyboard clicks and Picture in Picture

25:40 App Store settings and stock apps

26:25 Turning off the AI features in Siri

27:26 Wrapping up

Sources:

Apple's June 2026 announcement of the new child safety features: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/06/apple-previews-new-child-safety-features/

Apple Support, setting up parental controls on a child's iPhone or iPad: https://support.apple.com/en-us/105121

Apple Support, blocking changes to settings on a child's device: https://support.apple.com/guide/child-safety/block-or-allow-access-and-changes-to-features-nzglr8yl0hwv/web

American Red Cross apps, including First Aid: https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/mobile-apps.html

Images in this video are from Apple Newsroom and Apple Support.

Family IT Guy helps parents protect their kids from the two biggest digital dangers: addictive algorithms and anonymous communication, and the ways AI is making both worse. Ben Gillenwater spent 30 years in cybersecurity, and he teaches this as a parent in the same trenches you are.

iPhone Parental Controls Masterclass:

https://www.familyitguy.com/iphone-masterclass

More help for parents:

https://www.familyitguy.com

Listen to the Family IT Guy Podcast:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/family-it-guy-podcast/id1831912044

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/72yZUVsOqdDk7en5FS9U8g

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