Your child's phone, properly set up.

We walk you through it one step at a time, tell you what each setting actually stops, and what it won't. No sign-up. No scare stories.

Tonight, on an iPhone 3 of 8 steps, about 9 minutes

Stop new apps being installed Every download needs your approval, free ones included. Approve who can message them New numbers and accounts come to you first. Lock the settings behind a code The step most parents skip, and the one that undoes everything.

First guide, in draft. We're checking it on a real device now.

Start with Apple devices

Android, Roblox and more are coming. See what's ready.

Guides

Apple parental controls Draft 8 steps, about 25 minutes. Roblox parental controls Draft 8 steps, about 30 minutes.

Google parental controls Family Link on an Android phone or tablet. Coming soon

Nintendo parental controls Play time, communication, eShop spending. Coming soon

AI chatbot settings ChatGPT, Gemini, Character.ai. Coming soon

Why trust us

Some of the UK's best-known online safety advice is funded by the companies it reviews. We take no money from Apple, Google, Meta, TikTok, Snap or any broadband provider, and we never will.

That means we can tell you when a control is weak. App age ratings are set by the developer, not tested by Apple. A content filter does nothing about what another child types in a group chat. You will not read that on a page the platform helped pay for.

Every guide shows whether it has been checked on a real device, and when. Drafts say so at the top. Apple moved most of these settings in September.