by Maureen Cutajar

Created on: December 16, 2010   Last Updated: December 17, 2010

Apple’s iPhone is not just a Smartphone that appeals solely to business people who want to keep track of their calendar appointments and have access to their emails wherever they go. Although the iPhone can be used very efficiently for business it is also a portable gaming console, an iPod, an Internet browser, and a portable DVD viewer. All these features appeal to adults and children alike.

Via iTunes and the App Store, the iPhone provides ease of access to the latest music, films and TV shows. Its inbuilt Internet browser provides access to any website hosted on the Internet. As such, ensuring that children, in particular teenagers, are not accessing illicit material on the iPhone is a concern to most parents.

This article will show you how to set parental controls on the iPhone. Once the parental controls are properly set up, the iPhone will prompt the user for a password before allowing access to restricted content.

How to Enable Restrictions on the iPhone

1. To set up parental controls on the iPhone go to Settings and tap on General.
2. Browse down the General Menu until you find the item Restrictions.
3. Tap on Enable Restrictions and enter a 4-digit password to enable restrictions on your iPhone.

How to Enable or Disable Apps and Services

Now that you have enabled restrictions on the iPhone you can set the parental controls desired. The iPhone has several settings that you can tweak to your preference. The following parental control options can all be set up from the Restrictions Menu.

1. Turn on/off Safari
2. Turn on/off YouTube
3. Turn on/off iTunes
4. Allow/Disallow installing apps on the iPhone
5. Turn on/off the Camera
6. Allow/Disallow FaceTime
7. Enable/Disable Location Services

How to Allow and Disallow Content Based on Ratings

Few users want to disable an iPhone’s component entirely but several users benefit from allowing content based on ESRB ratings. To allow content on your iPhone based on its ratings go to the Restrictions Menu. From here you can choose which country’s ESRB ratings you would like to follow.

Once you have selected your country’s ESRB ratings you can select which content is allowed on your iPhone. You can set parental controls in relation to music and podcasts downloaded from iTunes, Movies, TV Shows and Apps.

The following are the ratings that apply for the United States:

Music & Podcasts: Allow Explicit Content On/Off
Movies: Allow Movies Rated G/PG/PG-13/R/NC-17
TV Shows: Allow TV Shows Rated TV-Y/TV-Y7/TV-G/TV-PG/TV-14/TV-MA
Apps: Allow Apps Rated 4+/9+/12+/17+

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