How kids get around in-device, iPhone parental controls - and how to stop them
Buying your child a smartphone? Set all the controls and think you’re covered? Maybe not. Not all kids will try to get around controls, but most will to some degree. Assume your child will at some point!
This article applies to iPhones. Here’s what you need to know.
Never share your Apple ID password or Screen Time passcode with your children. If they know the passcode they can change any settings on their phone.
Screen recording. Your child can secretly record the screen – and therefore the password you are tapping in – by turning on Screen recording in the control centre. Go to Settings > Content and Privacy restrictions > Content restrictions > Game Center – Screen Recording > Don’t allow.
Software updates: fix known hacks. Make sure your child’s device is running the latest system software. Old devices, unsupported by the latest software, might well be unsafe.
Go to Settings > General > Software Update and make sure the Automatic Updates option is on. Check that the new software actually loaded.Kids change time zones to fool Downtime settings. Apple has apparently fixed this but the trick can still work on some iPhones and iPads. Again upgrade the software.
Toggle on Block at Downtime after setting downtime hours. If you forget to, your child can tap ‘Ignore Limit’ and keep going.
When children reach their time limit on an app, they can remove it from their device and download again it without parental approval. It’s then accessible until the next downtime period. Reason being, once you’ve downloaded an app to a child’s phone you can’t stop them from re-downloading it again. You can also get around on iPhone by going to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy > iTunes & App Store Purchases > Deleting Apps > Don’t Allow.
‘Sideloading’ Apps. This means using alternative sites to download apps. Because these sites aren’t managed by Apple or Google, they’re unaffected by any restrictions you might have set on what can be downloaded. These app websites offer free, i.e. hacked versions of many popular apps.
How do kids do this? They download software that tells their phone to trust the website in question to add software to their device. In theory, kids can then download anything without any restrictions.
Is your teen sideloading?
Check screen time to see what apps your child is using. If you see any missing app icons or unknown app names, they might be sideloading – so investigate further or have a conversation.Bypassing parental controls with VPNs
Check all the apps on their phone and remove any VPN apps. Then go to Screentime settings (as in this video) to restrict their ability to download apps. Also keep an eye on their Screen Time reporting to see if they’re using any unfamiliar or missing apps.Using a Browser instead of Apps. If you’ve blocked certain apps like Instagram or Snapchat, your child might log in and use them via a browser. So if you’ve blocked an app, remember to block the URL too in content restrictions.
If you don’t want them online, block ALL apps.
TikTok and YouTube are full of tutorials on how to download programs for Macs and PCs that promise to bypass Screen Time limits without a passcode. Often they require users to make an unencrypted backup of their phone. Kids might clear a computer’s browser history after installing this software so parents don’t know they went to the website. There seems to be no proper way to tell if your children have downloaded these sorts of applications if they have deleted all traces.
Generally concerned? Check if they’re spending a lot of time in ‘settings’.
If you’ve set a phone to restrict messaging after a certain hour, kids can bypass this by opening a photo in the camera roll, and hitting forward. From there they can type a message, delete the photo, and send. This also works with screen shots and via the ‘Files’ app using ‘share with.’ Prevent this particular by blocking files, photos and camera during downtime as well as messaging.
Using Private browsers
If your child has an iPhone and you’ve set up web restrictions, they won’t be able to use Chrome to visit restricted sites. But if your child switches to Chrome in incognito mode, all the restrictions and monitoring will be removed. Uninstall Chrome from your child’s device, then block access to the App Store so they can’t re-download it.
Restricting the amount of data a child can use monthly is another way to restrict usage - but they can get round this if you allow them wifi access at home.
So despite parental controls, some children will get around them. Decide at what age you want your child to have a smartphone, inform yourself as best you can and speak to your child about clear boundaries and consequences.
Try to agree “tech hygiene” with your child before you give them a smartphone, to include - no phones at mealtimes, in bedrooms or after a certain amount of time / hour.
You might like to agree that while you’re paying for a phone, you have the right to pick it up and look through apps and messages. Educating your child about potential risks from scammers and predators is essential as soon as they get a phone.