Small children are often not ready for all the freedom an iPhone® affords. From R-rated movies and in-app purchases to that unfinished grocery list in your Notes®, there are some areas in your device that are better to keep kid-free. Also, it’s important to protect your iPhone from bumps, scratches, and other accidents. Safeguard your phone and your little one with the following tips.

3 Ways to Childproof an iPhone

1. Protect the Hardware

Before passing your iPhone off to someone who’s still honing their fine motor skills, have some physical protection in place. Invest in a damage-resistant case that won’t leave you with a shattered screen if your phone falls off the highchair tray. If you’d rather stick with a slimmer, more stylish case, supplement it with a tempered glass screen protector, which will absorb the shock of falls.

2. Block Purchases & Adult Content

Next, protect your toddler and your bank account. Head to the Settings app, then click Screen Time and Content & Privacy Restrictions. Click on Enable Restrictions, which includes purchases made in the App Store® or on iTunes®, app access, and adult content restrictions. From there, you can customize the settings according to your child’s maturity level. 

3. Set Up Guided Access

What happens when you’re comfortable allowing your child to use a certain app for a certain purpose but don’t want them to stray from that activity? For example, you may need to leave the room while calling Grandma on FaceTime® or watching a YouTube video, but you don’t want them to call your boss or subscribe to a channel. Head to Settings > General > Accessibility > Guided Access, and create a passcode or enable Face ID®. Then, return to Accessibility to turn on the shortcut.

To use this feature, open the application your child is about to enjoy, and use the shortcut (triple tapping the home button, or sliding down from the top right corner, depending on your iPhone) to customize the Guided Access feature. This allows you to grey-out areas of the screen that you don’t want your little one to press on, such as search boxes, comment bars, or ‘like’ buttons. 

If you’re confused about how these features work, head to Experimax North Tampa, located near the University of South Florida. If your child drops and damages your iPhone, you can also count on their repair services to get your device up and running again. You can purchase their pre-owned inventory to set up your son or daughter with an iPhone of their own. To learn more about their offerings, visit the website. Call (813) 280-2620 to speak with a staff member.