Automatically and Remotely Restrict a Kid's iPhone
Automatically restrict a child's iPhone usage in a way that can't be bypassed. Control iPhone restrictions remotely.
If you are a parent who wants to ensure that it's possible to remotely disable your child's iPhone, there are a few built-in parental control features you could consider using to ensure full remote control over your child's iPhone or iPad.
To disable your child's iPhone remotely, it's possible to block access to most apps and the internet to essentially make your child's iPhone unusable.
It's possible to remotely disable an iPhone, either on a recurring schedule or as needed when you catch problematic behavior.
Catch problematic behavior on your child's iPhone remotely
In order to catch and prevent problematic behavior, we recommend remotely monitoring your child's iPhone . This ensures you can see exactly what your child sees and catch any activity that might be problematic and remotely disable the iPhone or iPad.
The best way to do this is with the LivingRoom for Families screen monitoring app.
As your child browses on their iPhone or iPad, they'll see a clear recording indicator overlayed on the top corner of the screen, reminding them to use the device responsibly.
In the LivingRoom parents dashboard , you'll see screenshots of all activity on your child's iPhone. You can use this to see if you child is currently using the device and monitor for any concerning behavior.
However, screen monitoring tends to prevent most problematic behavior, greatly reducing the chances that you'll need to remotely turn off an iPhone.
Using Downtime to disable a child's iPhone or iPad remotely
In order to have full remote control over your child's iPhone or iPad, a parent should have set up Managed Screen Time for their child and leverage the Downtime feature to disable the device. To do this properly, here's what you'll need:
- Separate devices for both you and your child
- Separate Apple accounts for both you and your child
- You (the parent) should add or invite your child to your Family Group using Apple Family Sharing
For instructions on how to set up you and your child's iPhone to use Manage Screen Time properly, see our dedicated guide for setting up a child's iPhone with parental controls .
Disable a child's iPhone automatically on a recurring schedule
After your child is added to your Family Group and has Managed Screen Time enabled, you can use Screen Time's downtime feature to schedule when the device is disabled so that it is disabled automatically.
Here are the steps you'll want to follow on your (the parent) iPhone:
You should see a menu like this:
Remotely disable your child's iPhone as needed
If you caught problematic behavior using a screen monitoring app like LivingRoom for Families and need to ensure your child stop using the device, you can follow these instructions:
Your child will immediately see a notification like this:
In 5 minutes, your child's iPhone will be almost completely disabled.
Exclude some apps from being disabled during downtime
Using managed Screen Time, you can exclude certain apps from being disabled during downtime.
Use the Always Allowed section of screen time settings for your child to indicate which apps should never be blocked while the phone is disabled.
Using a DNS Content Policy to turn off the internet on a child's iPhone
Another option you can consider alongside Screen Time downtime is to use a DNS Content Policy to schedule when the internet is available on your child's device.
You can use a DNS Content Policy to block millions of websites and apps on your child's devices. It can also be used to disable the internet on your child's device.
Simply add an internet downtime rule with a schedule.
This disables most apps on the child's iPhone since they tend to require a connection to the internet to function properly. Furthermore, your child won't be able to browse websites in Safari or other web browsers.
The content policy approach is an additional layer that works great alongside Screen Time's downtime feature.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can't the Find My app be used to remotely disable iPhone or iPad devices?
It can, but we don't recommend using Find My if you're a parent. This is because when "Lost Mode" is enabled, your child would still be able to unlock and use their iPhone.
Is it possible to block my child's internet connection on their iPhone immediately?
If you catch problematic behavior on a child's iPhone and need to quickly disable it outside of the normal downtime schedule, you can expect a 5 minute delay before downtime takes effect.
While there isn't a way for parents to get around this limitation, there are some clever workarounds you could try instead, depending on what exactly you're trying to do:
- If you want to prevent Safari from being used, you can set Allowed-Only mode for websites
- If you want to immediately restrict a specific app, this can be done with app limits fairly reliably.
Check out our dedicated guide for monitoring your child's iPhone for more examples.
Can my child still access content while their iPhone is disabled?
Downtime blocks iPhone apps that aren't on the always allowed list. Your child cannot use the App Store, Safari, or other browsing or apps by default. You can customize this behavior by setting up the Always Allowed section on your child's Screen Time settings page.
The Settings app will always be accessible to your child, but all apps not allowed by your child's Always Allowed will be blocked.
When an app is blocked, this is how it will look from the child's perspective:
Why does it take 5 minutes to lock my Child's iPhone?
This is a restriction set by Apple that can't be worked around directly.