- Apple introduced ‘Child Account’ giving parents control over device usage.
- Mandatory for under-13s, it controls apps, browsing, and communications.
- Feature responds to global calls for child online safety.
iOS 27 Update: As governments worldwide debate how to protect children online, Apple has taken a step by introducing a new feature called “Child Account.” Announced at the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 8, the feature gives parents direct control over what their children can see, which apps and websites they can access, and who they can talk to on Apple devices.
The move comes as Big Tech faces growing pressure over how minors use social media, with several countries either banning it for children entirely or considering age-based restrictions.
How Does Apple’s Child Account Feature Actually Work?
Setting up a Child Account will soon be mandatory for children under 13 on Apple devices, including iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Parents will be prompted to create one when setting up a new device for their child. For users between 13 and 18, the feature will be available but optional.
The feature is not live yet. It was previewed at WWDC and will roll out later this year with the Screen Time update for iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27.
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Once active, parents can select which apps their child can access, either from Apple’s curated list or by making their own choices. Three controls sit at the centre of this system:
- Ask to Buy requires parental approval before a child downloads any app or makes in-app purchases.
- Ask to Browse requires approval before a child visits a new website on Safari.
- Ask to Approve lets parents control who their children can communicate with through Messages, FaceTime, and Phone. When a new contact reaches out, children must get parental approval before connecting.
Additionally, violent or graphic content will be automatically blocked in shared images and videos sent to Child Accounts. Nudity filters in Messages and FaceTime, already turned on by default for under-18 users, will continue to apply.
Why Child Safety Online Remains A Complicated Problem
Apple’s new feature arrives as countries including Australia, Denmark, Spain, and Greece have either banned social media for children or proposed legislation to do so. Sweden is reportedly considering a minimum age of 15 for social media access. India, a major market for Apple, is also working on tiered age-based restrictions for minors.
However, questions remain about whether such features can truly deliver on their promise, particularly in a country like India. India’s Digital Personal Data Protection law requires verifiable parental consent for processing data of users under 18. But children can bypass this by simply misrepresenting their age, a gap that Apple’s Child Account does not address either.
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At a recent MediaNama roundtable, participants pointed out that app-store-level age verification struggles in India’s shared-device reality, where children routinely access services through parents’ phones. Any age check in such cases would end up authenticating the parent rather than the child.
Facial age estimation tools have their own limitations, too. At the same roundtable, one incident was described where a facial recognition tool estimated the age of a Barbie doll as 102. Concerns were also raised about the broader implications of running facial recognition on children at all.
MediaNama’s founder Nikhil Pahwa warned at the May 15 roundtable in Bengaluru that age verification, once introduced, rarely stays limited in scope, and that social media would likely only be the beginning, with gaming and AI expected to follow.
