How To Set Security Settings On Your Child’s Mobile Device

Most phones come equipped with a few ways to set up restrictions for your teens and their phone usage.

iOS for iPhone & iPad Parental Restriction Settings

1. Settings > General
2. Restrictions > Enable Restrictions
3. Create a parental passcode
4. Go through each setting type to enable the type of restrictions you’d like to put on your child’s phone. The settings allow you to customize which apps and content types the phone is allowed to access. You can also prevent your teen from changing the privacy settings on specific apps (e.g., Facebook) after you’ve set them up.

Android Tablet Parental Controls

[For Android 4.3 Jelly Bean or later.]

For Android phones, skip to the next set of  instructions.

1. Pull down the top menu and tap Settings
2. Users
3. Add user or profile
4. Create a restricted profile
5. Enter a parental PIN (If you already have a PIN you won’t see this step.)
6. Tap the Settings icon next to New Profile and give it a name (e.g., Teen)
7. Go through the list of apps and toggle off the apps you’d like to restrict.
8. Location sharing defaults to “OFF” unless it’s been turned on by your child.
9. You can also restrict access to the Google Play Store to prevent unauthorized purchases from your child’s phone.
   1. Launch the Play Store
   2. Tap the menu and select Settings
   3. Enable the feature called “Password – Use password to restrict purchases”
   4. Enter the password for your Google account

Android Phone Parental Controls

[For Android 5.0 Lollipop you have the options of limiting SMS & voice calls only. Additionally, earlier versions of Android don’t have parental controls.  In addition, some phones running Android 5.0 or newer still do not have the ability to create multiple users]

For Android tablets, see the previous set of instructions.

1. Tap the Profile icon (a white circle) in the notification bar
2. The Users menu appears
3. Tap Add User > OK
4. Tap Set Up Now
5. Tap the gear icon next to the User Name you just created
6. Slide the selector to the right to disallow SMS and phone calls
7. You can also restrict access to the Google Play Store to prevent unauthorized purchases from your child’s phone.
   1. Launch the Play Store
   2. Tap the menu and select Settings
   3. Enable the feature called “Password – Use password to restrict purchases”
   4. Enter the password for your Google account

Amazon Fire Phone Parental Controls

[For Amazon Fire tablets see below.]

1. From Settings > Applications & Parental Controls.
2. Enable Parental Controls.
3. Toggle the parental controls ON.
4. Enter a password, confirm your password again, and then tap Submit.
5. From here you can restrict almost anything about your child’s phone, including: browsing, email, social sharing, the camera, and purchases.

Amazon Fire Tablet Parental Controls

[For Amazon Fire phones, see above.]

1. Swipe down from the top of the screen to show Quick Settings, and then tap More.
2. Toggle the parental controls ON.
3. Enter a password, confirm your password, and then tap Finish.
4. From here you can restrict almost anything about the tablet, including: browsing, email, social sharing, the camera, and purchases.

Read The Parenting Safety Tips For Teens On Mobile Phones & Tablets – E-Book

1. Are Your Keeping Up With Your Teen & Mobile Technology?
2. What You Can Do To Protect Your Teen On Mobile Devices
3. Tips For Dealing With Common Dangers On Mobile Devices
4. How To Protect Your Teen On Specific Mobile Apps
5. Should You Monitor Your Teen’s Online Activity?
6. How To Set Security Settings On Your Child’s Mobile Device
7. More Internet & Mobile Safety Resources For Parents
8. The Parenting Safety Tips For Teens On Mobile Phones & Tablets – E-Book – PDF Download