Apple Parental Controls for iPad: Setup & Safety Guide
Apple parental controls on iPad are built in. How to set up Screen Time and Family Sharing for your child: website filtering, Ask to Buy, contacts and time limits.
iPad is Apple's tablet, running iPadOS with the same Screen Time parental controls as iPhone for managing apps, content ratings, web filtering, and daily time limits.
Apple's parental controls are built into iPad: Screen Time comes with parental controls that help you manage the apps and websites your child can access, who they communicate with, and when they use their device. You set them up through the Family feature in Settings: add your child to Family Sharing, create their Apple Account as a Child Account, then manage Screen Time controls — Apps & Websites, Content & Privacy Restrictions, Allowed Contacts and Time Allowances — from Settings > Family > [child's name] on your own device. The iPad is a popular device for children of all ages, used for education, entertainment, and creative activities. The larger screen makes it particularly appealing to younger children, so proper setup is essential from the start. To use the updated parental controls described here, every device in your Family Sharing group needs iPadOS 27 (or iOS 27 on iPhone) and the parental controls need updating for the family group; if you can't update every device, you can keep using the previous version of Screen Time and parental controls, or adjust the controls directly on your child's device. In the UK, Apple also asks adults to confirm that they're 18 or older to use certain services or features on their Apple Account; our iPhone guide explains how this affects safety settings.
Main risks
- • Extended screen time due to the engaging, large-screen experience
- • Unmonitored YouTube and streaming app usage
- • In-app purchases in games designed to encourage spending
- • Unrestricted web browsing and access to social media
Initial setup steps
Create a Child Account through Family Sharing
If you haven't already, set up Family Sharing. On the Family Sharing organiser's device, go to Settings > Family, tap the Add Member button, then tap Create Child Account and Continue. Enter your child's name and correct date of birth, then follow the on-screen instructions to finish creating their Apple Account. Children under 13 need an Apple Account created for them by a parent or guardian through Family Sharing — they can't create one themselves (age requirements vary by country or region).
Update your family's devices to iPadOS 27 and update the parental controls
The steps below that start 'On iPadOS 27 or later' use Apple's updated parental controls, which need iPadOS 27 or later (or iOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27 or visionOS 27) on every device in your Family Sharing group. Update your own device first: go to Settings > General > Software Update and follow the onscreen instructions. Once it is on version 27 or later, go to Settings > Family > View Family Devices to see which devices in your family still need updating, and update them. Then go to Settings > Family and tap Get Started to transfer your existing parental controls or set up new ones. The Family Sharing organiser or a parent/guardian needs to update the parental controls for the family group. If a device can't be updated, see step 8.
Set a Screen Time passcode
On iPadOS 27 or later: on your own device, go to Settings > Family > [child's name]. Tap Manage Screen Time, then tap Lock Screen Time Settings. Enter a four-digit passcode, then enter it again to confirm it. Follow the onscreen instructions to set up passcode recovery with your Apple Account, so you can reset the passcode if you forget it. Apple suggests choosing a passcode your child won't guess and avoiding birthdays, phone numbers or common patterns like 1234; you can change it later under Manage Screen Time > Change Screen Time Passcode.
Set content ratings under Content & Privacy Restrictions
On iPadOS 27 or later: on your own device, go to Settings > Family > [child's name] > Content & Privacy Restrictions. Choose age-appropriate ratings under Content Restrictions for apps, films, books and music.
Filter websites and require app-purchase approval
On iPadOS 27 or later: go to Settings > Family > [child's name] > Apps & Websites > Restrictions. Under Websites, tap Filtering and choose 'Ask to Browse' for young children, or 'Limit Adult Websites' for older ones. Under Ask to Buy, turn on Require Purchase Approval. Ask to Browse and Ask to Buy are already on by default for children under 13 (ages may vary by country or region), so check they haven't been turned off.
Set Allowed Contacts and turn on Communication Safety
On iPadOS 27 or later: go to Settings > Family > [child's name] > Allowed Contacts. Set 'During Screen Time' to Contacts Only and choose an option under 'When Device Paused or Unavailable'. Turn on Manage Contacts to choose the contacts you approve; before you can manage your child's contacts, they need to approve your request, which appears in their Screen Time Settings or in their Notifications. Keep Allow Contact Editing off if you want your child to have to send you a request before they can add a new contact. Then go to Communication Safety and turn it on, so photos and videos with detected nudity sent or received in Messages or FaceTime are blurred and your child is warned. Detection of gore and violence needs iPadOS 27 or later and, in FaceTime, works for video messages but not live calls. Apple says Communication Safety is turned on by default for children under 18 on iPad with the latest software (the age varies by country or region), and in the UK it is also turned on automatically for adults who haven't confirmed their age.
Set Time Allowances and a Screen Time Schedule
On iPadOS 27 or later: go to Settings > Family > [child's name] > Time Allowances, tap the Add button and follow the on-screen instructions to set daily time budgets for categories like Games and Entertainment. Mark educational apps as Always Allowed so they remain accessible once other budgets run out. Then tap Screen Time Schedule, turn on Schedule, scroll down, tap Add Schedule and select the days it applies to.
If your child's iPad is on iPadOS 26 or earlier
Apple says devices that can't be updated can still use Screen Time and Family Sharing settings from iPadOS 26 or earlier. To see which of your family's devices can't be updated, go to Settings > Family > View Family Devices > Legacy Devices (View Family Devices appears once your own device is on version 27 or later). For a child's iPad that is on iPadOS 26 or earlier, use this earlier path from Apple's App Store guidance instead of steps 3 to 7, because the menus differ: open Settings and tap Screen Time; if it isn't set up, tap Turn on Screen Time, tap it again and choose 'This is My Child's iPad', then follow the on-screen instructions. Next tap Content & Privacy Restrictions, enter your passcode if asked, and turn Content & Privacy Restrictions on.
Parental control settings
Screen Time Passcode
Location: Settings > Family > [child's name] > Manage Screen Time > Lock Screen Time Settings (on your own device)
Recommended: Enabled with a four-digit passcode your child can't guess
A Screen Time passcode locks your child's Screen Time settings so they can't change them on their own, and it's separate from the device passcode your child uses to unlock their device. Once it's set, your child sees a passcode prompt whenever they try to change Screen Time settings; they can still view their Screen Time activity and settings.
Guided Access
Location: Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access
Recommended: Enabled for younger children to lock them into a single app, with a Guided Access passcode your child doesn't know
Guided Access restricts the iPad to a single app and lets you turn off touch, disable hardware buttons or set a time limit. Ideal for young children who should only use one approved app at a time.
Content & Privacy Restrictions
Location: Settings > Family > [child's name] > Content & Privacy Restrictions
Recommended: Enabled, with age-appropriate ratings for apps, films, books and music
Sets age-based content ratings across Apple content and apps, and lets you restrict Siri, Game Center and privacy settings. Many of these are applied automatically based on your child's age, but you can adjust them at any time.
Website Filtering (Ask to Browse / Limit Adult Websites)
Location: Settings > Family > [child's name] > Apps & Websites > Restrictions > Filtering, under Websites
Recommended: Set to 'Ask to Browse' for younger children so every new website needs your approval; use 'Limit Adult Websites' for older children
Ask to Browse requires your approval before your child can visit a new website in Safari and other supported browsers, and is on by default for children under 13. Limit Adult Websites filters explicit sites automatically and is on by default for children under 18 (ages may vary by country or region).
Ask to Buy
Location: Settings > Family > [child's name] > Apps & Websites > Restrictions > Ask to Buy > Require Purchase Approval
Recommended: Keep enabled for all children
Sends you a request whenever your child tries to download an app or make a purchase. Apple says Ask to Buy is on by default for children under 13 (ages may vary by country or region).
Allowed Contacts
Location: Settings > Family > [child's name] > Allowed Contacts
Recommended: Set 'During Screen Time' to 'Contacts Only', choose an option under 'When Device Paused or Unavailable', turn on Manage Contacts, and keep Allow Contact Editing off if you want your child to send you a request before adding a new contact
Controls who your child can have phone calls, FaceTime calls and messages with, either at all times or only during certain hours (During Screen Time and When Device Paused or Unavailable). If your child receives a message from someone new, they can't see it until you or another parent or guardian in the Family Sharing group approves. Before you can manage your child's contacts, they need to approve your request, and for Allowed Contacts to work, Contacts needs to be turned on in iCloud on your child's device.
Time Allowances
Location: Settings > Family > [child's name] > Time Allowances
Recommended: Set daily time budgets for categories like Entertainment and Games
Sets a time budget across app categories; once the allowance is used, apps in that category are blocked until the next day unless marked Always Allowed.
Screen Time Schedule
Location: Settings > Family > [child's name] > Screen Time Schedule
Recommended: Turn on Schedule and add separate schedules for school days and weekends
Lets you choose which apps your child can access at different times of the day, such as before, during and after school, with separate routines for weekdays and weekends.
Age recommendations
Use Guided Access to lock the iPad to a single approved app at a time. Set website filtering to 'Ask to Browse' so every new site needs your approval, and strictly limit daily Time Allowances.
Allow a small selection of approved apps with Time Allowances in place. Apple turns Ask to Browse on by default for children under 13 (ages may vary by country or region), so check it hasn't been turned off; Limit Adult Websites is on by default for children under 18. Keep Ask to Buy on and set Allowed Contacts to Contacts Only. Supervise use where possible.
Expand app access with ongoing oversight. Maintain Content & Privacy Restrictions and Time Allowances, and turn on Communication Safety. Discuss online safety regularly as your child begins using more social and communication apps.
Related device guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Resources
Sources
- Apple — Set up parental controls to manage your child's iPhone or iPad
- Apple — Create an Apple Account for your child
- Apple — Use Guided Access on iPhone or iPad
- Apple — Set, change, and manage a Screen Time passcode on your child's device
- Apple — Choose who your child can communicate with on their device
- Apple — Approve what your child can purchase and download with Ask to Buy
- Apple — Use Ask to Browse to approve the websites your child can access
- Apple — About Communication Safety on your child's Apple device