Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

Post by bawolff » Thu, Jul 09, 2026, 6:38 PM UTC

Grombobulous wrote: post #17

fma wrote: post #4

>children have quickly found workarounds for such measures, such as asking friends to message them links, which can bypass restrictions when opened I was very surprised of this by my own kids find workarounds like l33t hackers. Apple's restrictions are a joke. The app store is full of things they can mess with. My daughter mentioned some way to get around screen time. I've ended up just taking the iPads away.

When I was a kid my parents wouldn’t give me a cellphone. I wanted to call my girlfriend. Well, really, my girlfriend wanted me to call her. A lot. They didn’t give me one. I ended up finding a way to get my own through a more apathetic adult who I could pay cash to cover my bill (only an extra $10/month on a family plan). I certainly am not telling you to just cave in, but perhaps this story can be a reminder that t…

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jul 09, 2026, 6:41 PM UTC

bawolff wrote: post #20

> My son only gets Calls, Messages, Maps, Camera (so we can video call, but I've ruthlessly turned off selfies), Photos, and Music. Nothing else. I get that the internet is an addictive scary place with lots of content potentially dangerous to a young person. But why would you care if your child took a selfie? That seems pretty draconian.

Post by szundi » Thu, Jul 09, 2026, 6:42 PM UTC

bawolff wrote: post #21

Grombobulous wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was a kid my parents wouldn’t give me a cellphone. I wanted to call my girlfriend. Well, really, my girlfriend wanted me to call her. A lot. They didn’t give me one. I ended up finding a way to get my own through a more apathetic adult who I could pay cash to cover my bill (only an extra $10/month on a family plan). I certainly am not telling you to just cave in, but perhaps this story can be a reminder that t…

What age groups are we talking here, because if we're talking about a 7 year old, giving them unfettered screen time is probably bad parenting. However if we are talking about someone old enough to have gf/bf its probably also bad parenting to not let them develop their own self control around technology. They have to be an adult eventually.

Post by nielsbot » Thu, Jul 09, 2026, 6:43 PM UTC

qup wrote: post #9

flippyhead wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I found it such a hassle to keep locked down I gave up. Like, he'd be so aware that he'd find ways to watch me enter the PIN code when adjusting the settings. I'd have to be ever-vigilant and I got tired of it.

Try discipline

Post by adamwk » Thu, Jul 09, 2026, 6:49 PM UTC

fma wrote: post #4

>children have quickly found workarounds for such measures, such as asking friends to message them links, which can bypass restrictions when opened I was very surprised of this by my own kids find workarounds like l33t hackers. Apple's restrictions are a joke. The app store is full of things they can mess with. My daughter mentioned some way to get around screen time. I've ended up just taking the iPads away.