Smartphones, apps and social networks have become an integral part of the lives of children and teenagers. They use gadgets for studying, games, communication and entertainment, but along with this, the risks to safety, privacy and a healthy daily routine are also increasing. To better manage their child’s digital environment, parents should familiarise themselves with the basic settings and capabilities of modern phones.
Technology expert Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson, in a piece for Fox News, suggests five key areas to focus on: screen time limits, parental controls, location settings, managing private browsing mode, and understanding a child’s digital footprint.
Screen time limits help to establish a balance between being online and having rest. On an iPhone such limits can be set via the Screen Time section in “Settings”: select App Limits, choose categories or individual apps, and specify the allowed time. On Android the relevant items may be called differently depending on the manufacturer, but in general the functions are concentrated in the Digital Wellbeing & Parental Controls menu, where a daily limit is set for each app. Regularly reviewing usage reports together helps the child see this not as a punishment, but as a family rule.
Parental controls make it possible to restrict content, manage purchases and downloads, and set age limits. On an iPhone these parameters are available in the Content & Privacy Restrictions section of the Screen Time menu, where you can block certain apps, change the rules for the App Store and set content filters. On Android, parental control settings are offered in Digital Wellbeing & Parental Controls, with the option to create a supervised account via Google Family Link and remotely monitor how the child’s device is used. It is also worth separately adjusting profiles in services such as YouTube, Netflix or Disney+, which also have children’s modes.
Location services determine the real-time location of a device. They are convenient for navigation and “find my phone” features, but excessive access to location data by apps can create privacy risks. On an iPhone, location permission management is found under Location Services in the Privacy & Security menu, where for each app you can choose to grant access always, only while using the app, or to block it entirely. On Android the relevant settings are in the Location menu or in the permissions subsection, where you can change settings for each app individually. For younger children, the expert advises using the built-in Family Sharing or Google Family Link options instead of third-party trackers.
Private browsing mode (incognito) does not store history, cookies or logins on the device, but it can make it harder for parents to understand which sites their child is visiting. At the same time, activity may still be logged by the provider, school or Wi‑Fi network. On an iPhone, private browsing in Safari can be disabled via the web content settings in the Screen Time section – for example, choosing the Limit Adult Websites option effectively blocks access to private mode. On Android, restrictions for the Chrome browser are enabled through the Family Link app, where you can disable incognito mode and simultaneously switch on filtering of unwanted sites.
Digital footprint is the sum of all posts, comments, photos and accounts linked to a child’s name. Even deleted posts may persist as screenshots or in service archives, and in future educational institutions or employers may take notice of them. Parents are advised to periodically search for their child’s name on Google, review old profiles and outdated apps, make social media pages private and discuss with their teenager what is appropriate to publish. Additional tools can include Google Alerts for the child’s name and specialised services that remove personal data from people-search sites and databases, although they do not guarantee that information will be completely erased from the internet.
Kurt Knutsson stresses that open dialogue and trust between parents and children remain the most important factors: technological restrictions are only effective when a child understands their purpose and feels supported, rather than simply controlled.