Vratislav Holub Today, thanks to the Internet, we have access to practically all kinds of information, and we are only a few clicks away from finding it. However, this brings with it an interesting question. How to protect children from freely available content on the Internet, or how to limit their use of a phone or tablet? Fortunately, within iOS/iPadOS, the native Screen Time function works quite well, with the help of which you can set all sorts of limits and restrictions on content. But how does it actually work and how to set the function correctly? We looked at it together with Czech service, authorized Apple service.
Screen time
As the name suggests, this feature called Screen Time is primarily used to analyze in real time how much time a given user spends on their device. Thanks to this, the option does not necessarily only serve to set the mentioned limits, but it can also show how many hours a child spends on the phone per day, or in which applications. But let's now take a look in practice and show how to actually set everything up.
Activating Screen Time and its options
If you wish to use this function, you must of course first activate it. Fortunately, all you have to do is go to Settings > Screen Time and tap Turn on Screen Time. In this case, basic information about the capabilities of this gadget will be displayed. Specifically, we are talking about the so-called weekly reviews, sleep mode and application limits, content and privacy restrictions and setting the code for the function itself in the case of children.
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Settings for children
The next step is quite important. The operating system subsequently asks whether it is your device or your child's device. If you're setting up Screen Time for your child's iPhone, for example, tap “This is my child's iPhone.” Subsequently, it will be necessary to set the so-called idle time, i.e. the time during which the device will not be used. Here, use can be limited to, for example, the night - the choice is yours.
After setting the idle time, we move to the so-called limits for applications. In this case, you can set how many minutes or hours a day it will be possible to access certain applications. A huge advantage is that there is no need to set restrictions for individual applications, but directly for categories. Thanks to this, it is possible to limit, for example, social networks and games to a certain time, which saves you a lot of time. In the next step, the system also informs about the options for blocking content and privacy, which can be set retroactively after activating Screen Time.
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In the last step, all you have to do is set a four-digit code, which can then be used, for example, to enable additional time or manage the entire function. Subsequently, it is also necessary to enter your Apple iD for possible recovery of the aforementioned code, which will come in handy in cases where you unfortunately forget it. At the same time, it is possible to set it all up through family sharing, directly from your device. In this case, however, there must be a so-called child account on the second device.
Setting limitations
The best thing that the function brings is of course the possibility of certain limitations. Nowadays, it is quite difficult to monitor what children are doing on their phones or on the Internet. As we have already lightly outlined above, for example Application Limits allow you to limit the time spent in certain applications/categories of applications, which may be primarily social networks or games. In addition, different limits can be set for different days. For example, during the week, you can allow your child an hour on social networks, while on the weekend it can be, for example, three hours.
It is also an interesting possibility Communication restrictions. In this case, the function can be used to select contacts with whom the child can communicate during screen time or in idle mode. In the first option, for example, you can choose a trip without restrictions, while during downtime it can be nice to choose to communicate only with specific family members. These restrictions apply to the Phone, FaceTime and Messages apps, with emergency calls always available, of course.
In conclusion, let's shed some light on Content and privacy restrictions. This part of the Screen Time function brings a lot of additional options, with the help of which you can, for example, prevent the installation of new applications or their deletion, prohibit access to explicit music or books, set age limits for movies, prohibit the display of adult sites, and so on. At the same time, it is possible to preset certain settings and then lock them, making it impossible to change them further.
Family sharing
However, it should also be noted that if you want to manage Screen Time through family sharing and control all limits and quiet time remotely, directly from your device, you also need to have the appropriate tariff. For family sharing to work at all, you need to subscribe to 200GB or 2TB of iCloud. The tariff can be set in Settings > your Apple ID > iCloud > Manage storage. Here you can then choose the already mentioned tariff and activate its sharing with your family.
It could be interest you
Adam Kos Once you have everything ready, you can get straight to setting up Family Sharing. Simply open it Settings, tap your name at the top and select an option Family sharing. Now the system will automatically guide you through the family settings. All you need to do is invite up to five people (via Messages, Mail or AirDrop), and you can even create a so-called child account right away (instructions here). As we already mentioned above, in this section you can also set roles for individual members, manage approval options and more. Apple covers this topic in detail at your website.
Let the experts advise you
If you encounter various problems, you can contact Czech Service at any time. It is a renowned Czech company which, among other things, is an authorized service center for Apple products, which makes it practically the closest to apple products. Czech Service in addition to repairs of iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, Apple Watch and others, it also provides IT consulting and service for other brands of phones, computers and game consoles.
