Apple Overhauls Child Safety Features in iOS 27
Apple announced several new child safety tools for iOS 27, responding to advocacy and legal pressure, including enhanced parental controls and communication safety updates.
At its Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Apple dedicated an unusual 10 minutes of its keynote to announcing new child safety features for its devices, arriving later this fall. The move surprised Sarah Gardner, founder of nonprofit Heat Initiative, who was protesting outside Apple Park at the time, calling for better child protection in Apple products. Gardner, who has been advocating for child safety for 15 years, considered this a significant step forward for a company that she says long avoided acknowledging its role in children's online experiences.
Apple is currently facing a lawsuit from West Virginia alleging its practices facilitate child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The company previously developed a photo-scanning tool to detect CSAM but abandoned it after privacy backlash. Gardner still urges Apple to implement such a tool, arguing it can balance safety and privacy.
During her June protest, Gardner also highlighted "nudify" apps in the App Store that use AI to remove clothing from photos. The Tech Transparency Project found 47 such apps in January. Apple says these violate its guidelines and it has proactively rejected and removed many, but Gardner points to inconsistency, noting the Grok app remains despite hosting deepfake content.
New features include a revamped child account setup requiring about six minutes, with restrictions for adult websites, age-appropriate content, and App Store limits. "Ask to Browse" lets kids request parental permission before visiting new websites in Safari—similar to Ask to Buy. "Approve New Contacts" sends parents a message for approval before a child saves or communicates with a new contact over Phone, FaceTime, or Messages.
Communication Safety, which already blurs nudity for users under 18, now also detects and blurs gore or graphic violent content, expanding to Shared Photo Albums, Contact Posters, and Contacts. Time Allowances, developed with the American Academy of Pediatrics, offers age-based screen time suggestions for app categories like games and social media. A redesigned Screen Time interface shows a child's average usage and most-used apps.
A new user reporting tool for CSAM or inappropriate material will be available first in Australia, Brazil, the US, and the UK, with more regions to follow. Apple has also launched a dedicated website with resources and FAQs about these child safety tools.
