Set restrictions for older members in Apple Family Sharing

In this guide, we’ll look at what options you have if you want to set limits and restrictions on apps and media content on your older daughter’s iPhone or iPad.

First, the built-in Screen Time feature in iOS, iPadOS, and macOS allows parents and guardians to set parental limits on their children’s devices.

A parent can set daily app usage limits, define downtime (time when no apps are available for use except for a few essential communication services like phone and maps), enable contact restrictions (ie, who their child can call and text), set limits on what websites the child can visit, block graphic movies, music, books, TV shows, and much more.

All a parent has to do is add their child’s Apple Account to their Family group, then they can set and edit restrictions and monitor the child’s usage easily from their iPhone, iPad, or Mac by going to Settings > Screen Time > child’s name under The family the subject.

This all sounds good, and it really is.

Now, back to the main topic of this article.

In the eyes of a father or mother, their sons and daughters will always be ‘kids,’ but when it comes to Apple’s digital family setup, when a person turns 18+ (or is already 18+ and you’ve added them to your Family Sharing), all Screen Time tools to manage limits for them disappear.

A person aged 18+ is considered a person the oldest and it’s free to set Screen Time limits as you like. You (ie, a parent or guardian) can’t control their Screen Time on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, even if they’re part of your Apple Family group.

In fact, there is not even an option for an 18+ person to consent to parental control.

So, to sum it up, you can’t manage restrictions or limit the iPhone, iPad, and Mac where your adult/son’s or daughter’s Apple Account is logged in.

This leaves you with only three options

1) The best and recommended option: Talk to them beforehand, explain everything, and take their phone or ask them to set Screen Time limits in front of you.

2) Unfavorable option: If you know their device passcode, you can go back and set Screen Time limits without them knowing about it. When setting a Screen Time passcode, keep these tips in mind so they can’t reset the passcode and turn off restrictions (the only way they can reset the Screen Time passcode now is to wipe the device, which is a big step, and something not everyone will be willing to do).

3) Tricky option: Apple wants all users to use the correct birthday, so everything is designed for them. But if you want, you can change the date of birth of your son or daughter’s Apple Account to stay under 18 years old. This way, you should be able to manage parental restrictions for a while (but note that you may have to wait a while for the changes to take effect, or remove and re-add them to your Apple Family group if they continue to show up as ‘adult’ in your Family settings).

Aside from the three options above, there’s not much you can do to set and manage parental restrictions on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac for a family member over 18.

In our opinion, the best and only logical way is to talk to them and explain the pros and cons.

Also, check out: 20 simple but effective tips to reduce the use of your iPhone