iPhone 3.0: Using Parental Controls

iPhone 3.0: Using Parental Controls
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Setting Restrictions

Now that the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3Gs are the smart phone of the youth generation it is not uncommon to see young children brandishing their own around schools. With this popularity, many parents have demanded even more control over this new form of media and communication consumption. With the iPhone 3.0 update there are even more parental controls available to limit what users can do on their device.

Settings and Passcode

If you want to get to the parental controls setting in the iPhone 3.0 firmware you start by going to the Settings icon. From here you go to General, which is directly above the Mail, Contacts, Calendars option. Once in General you go down to Restrictions, which is right below the useful Passcode Lock. This is where you are going to see all of the possible restrictions that you can use. At the very top of the Restrictions screen you have to push the Enable Restrictions button to be able to set these restrictions. Once you press the Enable Restrictions button, you will be asked to set a four-digit restrictions passcode, and then reset it.

Parental Controls 3.0

From here, you have two different sections for restrictions. You have the built-in functions, which include Safari, YouTube, iTunes, Installing Apps, Camera and Location. The Safari restrictions work similar to most web filters and the YouTube one usually just makes it unable to access mature content features. Restrictions to iTunes are usually used to disallow users from purchasing and downloading certain music and movies. Installing Applications restrictions is probably the best one because it can prevent the users from purchasing expensive iPhone 3.0 applications without parental consent.

Below the top Allow restrictions are the Allowed Content restrictions. This is where you can actually set restrictions not for access to outside services but to content on the iPhone. You can set restrictions according to movie rating, television show rating, application age rating, and explicit lyrical content in music. You can also set a restriction on purchases within applications, such as Amazon and eBay.

The majority of the restrictions simply require you to set an On/Off button for allowance. This includes all the top Allow services, as well as the in-App Purchases option. The ones for specific media content on your iPhone are set according to ratings. If you want to turn off the restrictions all together you can just press the Disable Restrictions button at the top of the Restrictions screen. You will then be asked to enter the passcode you set earlier.

This post is part of the series: iPhone 3.0

Here are articles with details about the features in iPhone 3.0, and tips and guides for working with it effectively.

  1. iPhone 3.0: New Phone Features
  2. iPhone 3.0: Using Parental Controls
  3. iPhone 3.0: Tips for Using Voice Memos
  4. iPhone 3.0: Tips for Typing
  5. iPhone 3.0: Sending Photo Emails