Apple expands parental controls to include automatic image filtering

At WWDC '26, Apple announced changes to give parents more control over what their kids see and do. The company is broadening its "Ask" feature beyond simply giving adults a say about what apps their kids download. Kids will be able to petition their parents to visit a specific site which would otherwise be outside their filters. Similarly, if a child account user wants to initiate contact with an unknown person, a parent will need to approve before they chat.

As part of a raft of improvements to child safety, Apple will preemptively warn kids against potentially harmful photos. As part of this, any image sent to their device which the system thinks may contain inappropriate content will be automatically censored. This doesn't just extend to adult content, either, but images of gore and violence that may be disturbing. The company added this system will also work to censor potentially inappropriate material visible during live FaceTime calls.

In addition, Apple is redesigning Screen Time to offer far more comprehensive control than before. Parents and caregivers will have far more nuance to set their kids' device access with discrete time allowances for separate categories of experiences, like movies or games. These rules can also be adjusted depending on if its a weekday or weekend. 

Apple has also said it is collaborating with the American Academy of Pediatrics to create guidelines for healthy screen time. Given the global push for age verification and social media bans for teen users, it will be interesting to see how much of this work keeps Apple out of regulators' crosshairs.