Setting Up Parental Controls and Privacy on Your Child's Device

You don't need to be a technical expert to put reasonable protections in place for a child's device. Most of what matters is a handful of settings, plus an ongoing conversation, not a one-time lockdown.

Start with the basics

• Use a shared family account or supervised profile where available (such as Google Family Link for Android, or Apple's Family Sharing/Screen Time for iOS). These let you approve app downloads, set time limits, and see what's installed, from your own phone.
• Set app store restrictions by age so apps and games above the child's age rating can't be installed without your approval.
• Review app permissions together. A game has no real reason to access contacts, location, or the camera. Turn off permissions that aren't needed for the app to work.
• Keep the device's operating system and apps updated. Updates often close safety and security gaps, not just add features.

Social media and messaging

• Check the platform's real minimum age. Most major social platforms require users to be at least 13, and some content is genuinely unsuitable below that regardless of what a child claims their age is.
• Set accounts to private so only approved followers/contacts can see posts, photos, or message the child directly.
• Turn off precise location sharing on social apps and photos. Location metadata can reveal a child's school, home, or routine to strangers.
• Agree on which apps are allowed together as a family, rather than a child installing anything freely, and revisit this as they get older.

Talk about it, don't just lock it down

• Explain why limits exist, in terms a child can understand. Frame it not as an arbitrary rule, but as the same care you'd give crossing a busy road.
• Make clear that they can always come to you if something online worries, confuses, or scares them, without fear of losing their device as punishment for reporting it. Fear of losing access is the biggest reason kids hide problems instead of asking for help.
• Revisit settings as your child grows. A 9-year-old and a 15-year-old need very different levels of independence, and controls that are too tight for an older teen often just get quietly bypassed.

A quick starting checklist

1. Is there a screen lock (PIN/pattern) on the device?
2. Is a family/supervised account set up, where the platform offers one?
3. Are social media accounts set to private, with location sharing off?
4. Does the child know they can tell you about anything uncomfortable without losing device access?
5. Are apps and the operating system kept up to date?

See also Cyberbullying and Healthy Screen Time and Recognizing Grooming and Online Predators.