iOS 18 update

 Apple has been a long time "go to" for all things cell phone related for a very long time. Adults everywhere are familiar with their products, if not because they have one, then because they have seen them advertised and used by their friends and businesses. 

When the iPhone first came out, it was very basic, but touted a faster experience, better access to the internet, and knowledge at your fingertips. Adults used this to help their work and home relationships.

But notice I've only mentioned adults. Not children.

Children are a completely different human being than adults. Their frontal cortexes aren't developed until they are 25. They react instead of plan. They are children in an adult world. 

This means they are not ready for adult content.

And that brings me to my post today: iOS 18 update.

This was released on September 16, 2024. In the past week, there have been numerous reports of iPhone users under the age of 18 having unlimited access to anything they can get their thumbs on. iPhone users were already battling poor parental controls on Apple devices and now with this new update, there are so many more hurdles a parent has to jump in order to keep their child safe on an iPhone.

Some of the most recent issues surrounding iOS 18 are:

  • Kids can now lock and hide apps in an hidden folder
  • Screen sharing is allowed with a shared party to have access to change controls in the users phone
  • App limits have been removed and will need to be reset
  • New app called Passwords allows access to the internet to circumvent the browser
  • Send Later option for texts
  • Screen time date and time is no longer locked and users can extend their screen time without asking a parent
  • Downtime is automatically disabled

And there are so many more!

We can only hope that this update is just a bug-filled update and that a patch will be coming out to allow parents to regain control and access to their children's devices. Unfortunately for those of us who are avid Apple users, we will have to manually check in with our children, make sure all of those parental controls we rely on are set, and hope that the next patch or update doesn't throw us under the bus!

I recommend reading this post for more information:

And check out the Facebook group Parenting in a Tech World to see what other parents are doing to help their children navigate this new update. If you are on our school network, the link will not work. You need to be outside of school or on LTE. 

No matter what you decide to do with iOS 18 or any Apple product updates, the best and most effective protection for your child is you. Open communication, including them in the conversation about why you want to protect them, and overall involvement is the absolute best protection for your child in a world that seems like its out to get them for monetary gains.

You trust your kid, but you don't trust the millions of people trying to get to them.

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