Apple has beefed up parental controls in iOS 26

With the release of iOS 26, Apple has introduced an expanded set of parental control features. The new tools are now available not only on iPhone, but also on iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Vision Pro.

New restrictions on communication

The major update — Communication Limits. Now kids won’t be able to add new contacts to Phone, FaceTime, Messages, or iCloud on their own: they’ll need permission from a parent’s account.

This feature is an evolution of Child Account built into Family Sharing. Parents can change the child’s age in the settings or set an existing account to child mode. For users between 13 and 17, content filters, app download restrictions, and Communication Safety, which warns of intimate images, blurs them in albums, and blocks nudity on FaceTime, are enabled by default.

Updated rules for the App Store

Apple has also updated the App Store’s age rating and download management system. These measures —re part of a broader initiative to tighten requirements for developers and strengthen protections for underage users.

Context and criticism

The launch of the new features coincided with criticism of the company. Children’s advocates protested at Apple’s annual product event, demanding tougher measures against the distribution of child sexual abuse material. Apple was sued in December for allegedly failing to comply with mandatory reporting standards and marketing devices as «safe» for children.

Apple was sued for allegedly failing to comply with mandatory reporting standards and marketing devices as «safe» for children.

Major technology companies, including Apple, are also coming under pressure over the growing number of mental health problems among teenagers whose lives are increasingly connected to digital services.