Tip, Tricks and Articles for iPad, iPhone, Mac
iCloud, Windows, Android, Office 365, Dropbox, Apps, and more

Many of you will already be aware that Apple's new set of iPhones will be announced this coming week, on Sept 12th. There are already lots of rumours about what these new iPhones will look like - here is just one article about this from The Age this week: Apple's iPhone Xs: What we know about the three new iPhone models expected next week.

Also arriving in the next week or two will be iOS 12, the upgraded operating system for our Apple Mobile devices. 

As has been previously mentioned in this blog, this new version of iOS is going to be a must-have for families with children on i-Devices, as it includes an amazing set of new Parental Controls - known as Screen Time - that will allow parents to take back some control of the devices in their children's lives!

What a great group of staff and parents at the Keeping kids safe on iPhone, iPad & iPod Touch workshop, held at Hartwell Primary School last week. Thank to everyone who came along.

We talked about the great new Parental Controls that will be released for Apple mobile devices in September (and lots of other essential information for parents).

We so regularly hear from parents who were left terrified by what they heard at a previous Cybersafety session, but came away from that session not knowing how implement the necessary controls on their child's device/s.

The feedback we get at the end of our workshop is always so positive - that the practical information provided fills the gap left by these other CyberSafety information sessions. 

The iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch have been around for many years now. As the years have gone by, the age of those who use these devices has become lower and lower.

In allowing younger (and not-so-young) children on these devices, many adults fail to consider just what they are putting into the hands of their kids. Many others know there are dangers, but are not sure how to make the device/s safer. It's just too hard.

These small devices are actually powerful computers that open up the whole, dangerous online world to our children. Without adequate protection and controls, children can so easily be exposed to terrible sites, images and people - putting both their mental and physical safety at risk.

So, what can you do to protect your child?

So often during the 'Keeping kids safe on iPad and iPhone' sessions that iTandCoffee runs for school parent groups, we get asked for advice about parenting in this sometimes daunting technology world - questions like

• how to deal with peer pressure that kids face in relation to apps,
  
• when is it appropriate to remove or reduce parental controls
• how to manage the time kids spend on technology

So, we sought some advice from a clinical psychologist and cyber expert named Tena Davies (tenadavies.com), who regularly presents to school parents about parenting and technology.

We have recorded three short videos in which Tena addresses each of these questions.

Handy Hints (for iTandCoffee Club members - find out more about our Club here)

• Restricting what websites kids can see on i-Devices
• Family fun with Pictionary - using an iPad and Apple TV
• How do I stop all my kids games from appearing on my iPad and iPhone?
• Setting up Parental Controls on an iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone
• How to retrieve a forgotten Restrictions passcode for an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch
• How your kids can by-pass the 'Ask to Buy' requirement of iCloud Family
• Hiding purchased apps in your App Store purchases - so that kids can't bypass 'Ask to Buy'

​​Blog Articles

• Worried about your young teen's online safety?  Here's a book they (and you) MUST read.  
• Local council promotes Instagram competition for 8-12 year olds             
• Are you the 'default parent' when it comes to the worrying about the kids and their online safety?               
• 10 smartphone rules for a 12-year-old - with one key rule missing!             
• Setting Parental Controls on YouTube - both in the App and in Safari             
• Here's a checklist for setting up your child's school iPad (and their iPhone!)             
• Why parental controls did not stop inappropriate content on my child's iPad.  Beware!  
• Parents - check your kids' devices for these dangerous apps
• Read this article - then make sure you block adult content on your child's (and your own) iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and computer    
• Why parental controls did not stop inappropriate content on my child's iPad.  Beware! 
• Can predators get to your kids through the games on their devices?
• An important warning about a new Snapchat feature that could put your child in danger
• Can your child 'hide' their web tracks using 'Private Browsing'?
• Some answers to questions from parents about Clash of Clans, Minecraft, Youtube, Netflix and other apps that kids use
• Parents, please check if your child is using this app!
• A checklist for setting up your child's iPad for school​
• Answering a parent question: Is there a way kids can 'hide' apps on their iPad, iPhone or iPod touch?
• Controlling whether apps automatically appear on your iPad or iPhone
• Cybersafety On Social Networks

Several weeks ago, I shared an article about Google's new accounts for under-13's.  These accounts allow parents to monitor and control their child's use of their Android device using something called Family Link.  Unfortunately, at that point, these accounts were not yet available in Australia.

The good news this week is that Family Link is now available in Australia. So, for those of you who are interested in exploring how you can keep an eye on the kids' activity and usage of their mobile devices, here is an article on the topic from the Sydney Morning Herald.

• Family Link: how Google's new accounts for under-13s work

Handy Hints (for iTandCoffee Club members)

• Restricting what websites kids can see on i-Devices
• Family fun with Pictionary - using an iPad and Apple TV
• How do I stop all my kids games from appearing on my iPad and iPhone?
• Setting up Parental Controls on an iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone
• How to retrieve a forgotten Restrictions passcode for an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch
• How your kids can by-pass the 'Ask to Buy' requirement of iCloud Family
• Hiding purchased apps in your App Store purchases - so that kids can't bypass 'Ask to Buy'

​​Blog Articles

• Worried about your young teen's online safety?  Here's a book they (and you) MUST read.  
• Local council promotes Instagram competition for 8-12 year olds             
• Are you the 'default parent' when it comes to the worrying about the kids and their online safety?               
• 10 smartphone rules for a 12-year-old - with one key rule missing!             
• Setting Parental Controls on YouTube - both in the App and in Safari             
• Here's a checklist for setting up your child's school iPad (and their iPhone!)             
• Why parental controls did not stop inappropriate content on my child's iPad.  Beware!  
• Parents - check your kids' devices for these dangerous apps
• Read this article - then make sure you block adult content on your child's (and your own) iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and computer    
• Why parental controls did not stop inappropriate content on my child's iPad.  Beware! 
• Can predators get to your kids through the games on their devices?
• An important warning about a new Snapchat feature that could put your child in danger
• Can your child 'hide' their web tracks using 'Private Browsing'?
• Some answers to questions from parents about Clash of Clans, Minecraft, Youtube, Netflix and other apps that kids use
• Parents, please check if your child is using this app!
• A checklist for setting up your child's iPad for school​
• Answering a parent question: Is there a way kids can 'hide' apps on their iPad, iPhone or iPod touch?
• Controlling whether apps automatically appear on your iPad or iPhone
• Cybersafety On Social Networks

When we run our 'Keeping kids safe on the iPad and iPhone' information sessions in local schools - where we look at how to set up parental controls on iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches - we are often asked whether similar parental controls can be set up on Android devices.

For those parents whose children have Android devices, here is an interesting article that appeared online in the past week or so - about a  Google app that allows parents to control what kids can do and see on their Android device/s, and to even limit the time they spend on these screens.

• Google opens up 'Family Link' parental controls for Android

The article does mention that the app is available in the US - but I am assuming it is also available in Australia.  

If you are an Android user interested in this app, let me know in the comments below if you are able to install and use it!
​                                                              ​

iTandCoffee ran another two 'Keeping Kids Safe on the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch' sessions at local primary schools this week, at St Rochs in Glen Iris and at Ashburton Primary.

A question asked at one of these session was about whether there is an app that allows kids to hide apps that they don't want parents to see.  One of the parents had heard about an app that looks like a calculator, but that  actually hides things the child doesn't want parents to see.

Apps that can hide photos and videos

There are apps available in the App Store that do allow for the hiding of photos and videos that the device owner doesn't want others to see.

Here is an article about such apps:

• Vault Apps - Apps that can look & function like a Calculator

​
Method for hiding Apps

However, these apps do not allow for hiding of other apps - and there is no such app available in the App Store.  (On Android, it is possible to get an app that locks other apps - but this is not possible on Apple devices.)

Instead, anyone wanting to 'hide' apps on an Apple i-Device can use 'app groups'.  

By getting apps into the 'wiggle' mode (holding your finger on an app until it wiggles), one app can be dragged on top of another app to create an app group.

Apps within that group can then be 'hidden' on second and third screens of that app group, so that the App does not appear as a little icon in the group that is on the Home Screen.

Need further information on this?

For those who need to understand this area better - just how one would achieve this 'hiding' in groups, we have recorded a short tutorial and made it available to iTandCoffee Club members, and added it to our library of iPad and iPhone Handy Hints.

Not yet a member of our iTandCoffee Club?  Find out more here » 

While assisting a client to set up Parental Controls on her 12yo child's new iPhone this week, discussion turned to the topic of the 'Ask to Buy' setting  in the Family setup of iCloud.  

This setting allows a parent to remotely authorise (or not) a request from a child who is a member of their iCloud Family, to purchase/download content (even free apps).

In this particular client's case, her child was very keen to get onto the social media platforms that her friends were already on.  

This mum was considering allowing her child on Instagram (as a Private account of course), so we installed it and set up the app so that it is a Private account.  

She was happy that she had control over what other social media Apps her child could download, through the Ask to Buy setting.

But there is a catch to this setting that meant her child could have downloaded Apps or other content without having to ask for permission.  

All parents need to be aware of this 'back door'.

How your child can bypass 'Ask to Buy'

If another member of your iCloud Family has already purchased/downloaded an app, any member of the family (even a child who normally has to Ask to Buy) can also download that same app - without the usual parent authorisation.

This means that, if you as parent have already downloaded Facebook, Instagram or any other app, your children can download the same apps without your permission.  If your older teenager uses Snapchat, the younger members of the family could also download that app without your permission.

How to prevent downloads of apps purchased by others in family

You can prevent your kids from downloading apps purchased by others in the family by 'hiding' those apps in the Purchased area of the App Store.  The person who purchased/downloaded the app must do this 'hiding'.

If you are a club member, you will find further instructions on how 'hide' apps here.

• Hiding purchased apps in your App Store purchases - so that kids can't bypass 'Ask to Buy'

Preventing kids from downloading/viewing iBooks purchased/downloaded by others in family

Annoyingly, it is not possible to do the same sort of 'hiding' of iBooks just using your iPad or iPhone.  

This means that, if you have a heap of trashy romantic novels in your own iBooks library, the kids can see these books in the 'Purchased' area of iBooks. They can even download them without you being 'asked to buy'.

The only way to 'hide' iBooks that you don't want others to see is using the iBooks app on a Mac, or iTunes on Windows.   

See the above handy hint (for iTandCoffee Club members) for details of how to do this.

Not yet a member of our iTandCoffee Club?

The iTandCoffee Club is a paid subscription service that unlocks access to all sorts of handy hints, videos, guides, special offers, free sessions and more.    

Find out more about The iTandCoffee Club here » 

At a recent Keeping Kids Safe on the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch information session run for parents at a local school, one of the parents asked if parental controls can be set up on an Android device.

For those of you with such devices (or with kids using these devices), here are some articles that discuss how to set up parental controls on these devices.
​

• Get control of what your kids can see on their Android tablet or smartphone
• Set up parental controls on Google Play - Google Play Help