“Apple Inc. defended its record of providing parental controls and other protections for children who use its iPhones and other devices, after a pair of prominent investors called on the tech giant to take more steps to curb the ill effects of smartphones,” Tripp Mickle reports for The Wall Street Journal. “‘We think deeply about how our products are used and the impact they have on users and the people around them,’ Apple said [today in a] statement. ‘e take this responsibility very seriously and we are committed to meeting and exceeding our customers’ expectations, especially when it comes to protecting kids.'”
“Apple pointed to controls it provides in the Settings section of each iPhone, allowing parents to install and delete apps, control in-app purchases and restrict website access,” Mickle reports. “The company added that it is ‘constantly looking’ for ways to improve its devices and said that it plans new features that will make the tools it provides parents ‘even more robust.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Again, making it easy and intuitive for parents to set up usage limits is a no-brainer and Apple most certainly would be smart to do so.
That said, good parenting is good parenting.
For even more proof that Steve Jobs was an unparalleled visionary (as if we needed any), from The New York Times, September 10, 2014, Nick Bilton recounts a conversation he had with Steve Jobs in late 2010:
Bilton: So, your kids must love the iPad?
Jobs: They haven’t used it. We limit how much technology our kids use at home.“Since then, I’ve met a number of technology chief executives and venture capitalists who say similar things: they strictly limit their children’s screen time, often banning all gadgets on school nights, and allocating ascetic time limits on weekends,” Bilton reported. “I was perplexed by this parenting style. After all, most parents seem to take the opposite approach, letting their children bathe in the glow of tablets, smartphones and computers, day and night.”
Bilton reported, “Yet these tech C.E.O.’s seem to know something that the rest of us don’t.”
Read more in the full article here.
Note: Currently in iOS, you can use Restrictions, also known as parental controls, to block or limit specific apps and features on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. More info here.
SEE ALSO:
Two major Apple shareholders push for study of iPhone addiction in children – January 8, 2018
Has Steve Jobs’ iPhone destroyed a generation? – August 3, 2017
Steve Jobs was a low-tech parent – September 11, 2014
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz” and “Tom R.” for the heads up.]
It still comes down to the parents. Too many parents have no clue or don’t care and use electronic devices as baby sitters.
Same argument could be made with candy. Too much is bad for anyone. Learn to say no.
For every hour on video devices spend the same outside without. Not that hard.
Nobody disputes this. That doesn’t excuse Apple for offering meagre parental controls. Parents deserve much better help in managing these complicated devices. Obviously Apple knows all this, they are just hesitant to give up profitable screen time. Under Cook, money always comes first.
Most people would agree that social media companies who turn users into the product are even worse. Still Apple has a long way to go at device and household network parental management options.
My issue is with the ADULT controls…
Parental controls on iOS are dismal to use. I think they are the weakest part of the os.