🦉Young OWL
Current age mode: tween (Explorer)
Adults · Device Setup

Lock down every device in your home

Fifteen minutes per device. Work through them one Saturday morning with your child in the room — this is a family exercise, not surveillance.

iPhone / iPad (child under 13)

  1. Create a Child Apple ID via Family Sharing — do NOT use a shared adult account.
  2. Turn on Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions.
  3. Ask to Buy for every download over £0.
  4. Communication Safety: on. Blurs nudity in Messages / AirDrop.
  5. Location Sharing: family only.

Android (Google Family Link)

  1. Install Family Link on your phone, sign your child in on theirs.
  2. App approvals: require your permission for new installs.
  3. SafeSearch: strict. YouTube: Supervised Experience (age-appropriate).
  4. Bedtime and downtime schedules.
  5. Location: on. Web activity: review weekly together.

Xbox / PlayStation / Switch

  1. Xbox Family Settings app / PlayStation Family Management / Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app.
  2. Communication: friends only. No voice chat with strangers under 13.
  3. Purchases: require approval every time.
  4. Play-time limits and daily bedtime.
  5. Turn OFF cross-platform play until age 13+.

Home Wi-Fi (all devices)

  1. Change the default router password.
  2. Enable a family DNS filter: 1.1.1.3 (Cloudflare for Families) or NextDNS.
  3. Create a separate Kids network with schedule.
  4. Update router firmware — most routers now do this automatically; check yours.
  5. Guest network for smart TVs and visitors, so cameras / phones aren't on the same network.

The one setting everyone forgets

Photo cloud back-ups. Every embarrassing screenshot, every accidental selfie, every AirDropped meme syncs to iCloud / Google Photos by default. Review shared albums monthly. Turn off automatic uploads for kids' devices unless you actively want them.