(Contributed by Andrew Coulston)

So many kids have headed off to school this year with an iPhone (or perhaps even a iPad with cellular capability) in their pocket or school backpack. Whether that phone is on a pre-paid or monthly plan, or perhaps on a shared data plan, a key concern for most parents is that their child does not spent a fortune on mobile data.​

During term 2 of 2017, iTandCoffee is running free school information sessions for parents.  These sessions are on the topic "Keeping Kids Safe on the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch".   

We look at the specifics of how to use the in-build parental controls on these devices to restrict what kids can do and see. 

Each time we run this session, there are questions that arise about specific apps that kids are using.

Below are some answers to some of these questions.  (Thanks to the parents who have turned up for these sessions!)

There is such a long list of things to do when setting up your child's school iPad, and I always wonder how he average parent can possible complete this list of setup tasks without assistance!.

Last year, I put this list in writing while setting up my son's school iPad.  I am including it again here just in case others might find it useful at the start of another school year.

(Please note that this is intended as a checklist, and does not include the 'how to' of every step.  iTandCoffee can help with this if anyone gets stuck!)

Don't forget to do the same setup on their iPhone (and iPod touch) too.

First, get the iPad (or iPhone) up to the latest iOS

• The current version of iOS on the iPad and iPhone is iOS 10.2.1.  
• Check in Settings -> General -> About to see what Version the device is currently running.
• If it is not up to 10.2.1 go to Settings -> General -> Software Update and download and install the latest version.

Does your child have their own Apple ID:

• ​Each child MUST have their own Apple ID for iCloud - DO NOT set them up with your 'family' Apple ID, or any other 'shared' Apple iD.  This will create a major mess.
• If child does not already have an Apple ID and is under 13: Go to Family on parent's iPad or iPhone - Settings -> iCloud -> Family - and create a child's Apple ID
• If your child does not already have an Apple ID and is 13 or over: The child can create their own Apple ID from Settings -> iCloud.  (Or you can create this Apple ID for them from Family Sharing, by creating child's Apple ID).
• If your child already has an Apple ID of their own, there is no need to set up a new one.  They can continue using the existing Apple ID.

Set up Family Sharing and link the child's Apple ID

• Link each child's Apple ID to a parent's iCloud ID through iCloud -> Family 
• Put the parent in charge of authorising purchases 
• Turn on tracking of their devices, just in case they get lost.
• Make sure Mum has Find my iPhone set up so that she can locate 'mislaid' iPads (and iPhones)

Set up iCloud on each device

• Sign in to iCloud on each of the kids' iPads using the child's Apple ID (if they are not already signed in).
• Turn on iCloud Drive so that the kids' school work would saved to iCloud, and would be available at icloud.com if they leave their iPad at school!  (Note.  Each device they use will need to have the same settings turned on.)
• Don't turn on iCloud Photo Library and iCloud Keychain unless you really understand these features (won't go into why here, but I generally recommend leaving these off for the kids).

Sign in to iTunes and App Store on the child's device

• For iTunes and App Store, sign in using the child's Apple ID.
• Make sure that iTunes password and parental authorisation is required for every iTunes/App download and that In App Purchases is disabled.

Set up security and privacy

• Set up a strong Passcode on each device (preferably 6-digit) and, in the case of newer models, also set up fingerprints.  Consider setting up parent fingerprint as well.
• Make sure the parent knows each of the passcodes, in case of need to access the devices.
• In Privacy settings, make sure that Location Services is turned on for Find My iPhone and essential apps and features only - turned if off for Camera, so that the kids' photos would not include their location.
• Check all other Privacy settings to ensure child's privacy is protected

Do you want them messaging and video chatting?

• Decide on whether you want child to have access to iMessage and Facetime on these school-use devices.
• I personally don't want my early secondary child using the iPads for messaging/video chatting instead of studying
• Turn off iMessage and Facetime from Settings (if this is your choice).

​
Set up the Parental Controls

• Go to Restrictions area in Settings->General and set up Parental Controls for the device.  
• A couple of essential restrictions for younger kids are to 'Limit Adult Content' for websites and ensure only age-appropriate media and apps  is allowed.  ('Limit Adult Content' also ensures they can't clear their web browsing history, so you can do spot checks if needed.)
• Restrict 'explicit' language
• Lock down all Privacy and Account settings once they have been established, to prevent changes (deliberate or inadvertent) by the kids. (This stops them turning on iMessage, adding Facebook, adding email accounts, allowing apps to use their location, etc.
• Make sure that the 'Restrictions passcode' set by the parent is a code that the kids will never guess (and that Mum/Dad won't forget!)

Safely store all those passwords

• Make sure all of the ids and passwords for the kids devices are known by the parent/s and stored in a 'password safe' app on parent's iPhone
• I recommend using the iOS app 1Password for this - free from the App Store
• Get the kids to install this app as well, for storing all the passwords they generate over time.

Stop them destroying their hearing!

• Limit volume on i-Devices when the child uses earphones
• This is done by setting the maximum volume in Settings -> Music
• Then go to Restrictions and 'prevent changes' to music volume.

Ensure each device backs up to iCloud

• It is essential to ensure that the child's device is backed up
• The easiest way to ensure this occurs on a regular basis is to back up to iCloud
• Turn on iCloud Backup, and make sure they will enough storage in their iCloud for all their school work.
• This may mean purchasing additional storage - cost is $1.49 per month for 50GB of storage.

Who can be their friend in Game Centre?

• If you allow games on their school iPads, decide if you want them playing games with friends via Game Centre.
• In Restrictions, decide whether to restrict their ability to play 'multiplayer games' and add friends

Here are a couple of videos that show how to set up 'parental controls' to limit what websites kids can access on an iOS device and on a Mac.

These two videos are included in another blog article this week (Here's a word you should consider typing on any computer, tablet or smartphone your child (or grandchild) uses ...), but I figure it is worth pulling them out into their own article for those who don't read the other article.

It is really very quick and easy to make a simple change that can stop inappropriate content from popping up in Safari on your child's device.

iTandCoffee regularly comes across clients who do not know the passcode for the Restrictions area of their (or their child's) iPad, iPhone or iPod touch.  

The consequence of this is that it is not possible to change any Restrictions already established, and it is not possible to easily 'reset' the device to its factory settings - for example, when passing on the device to someone else.

So, what do you do if an i-Device has an unknown Restrictions passcode?

iTandCoffee can assist with this.  We have a special tool that allows the Restrictions passcode to be retrieved.

If you would like iTandCoffee to determine the Restrictions passcode of a device that you own, please contact us on 1300 885 420 or email bookings@itandcoffee.com.au to arrange an appointment time.  (iTandCoffee is in Glen Iris, Melbourne.)

I saw this article in The Age today (Sunday Feb 7th) that really made me think about how much more easily kids today can gain easy access to damaging material - perhaps causing lifelong damage, as described in this article.

The SMH.com.au article talks about how just one early contact with pornographic material (through the Playboy magazine) opened a child's eyes - far to early - to adult concepts and sexuality.  This was at a point where the child was too young to understand that what she saw was not representative of healthy male/female relationships. 

Back then, it was not quite so easy for a child to gain access to pornographic material, so less came in contact with such damaging material at an early age. 

These days, it can be as simple as opening their Safari app on an iPod Touch, iPad or iPhone - or perhaps on mum and dad's computer - and typing in some words.  

Perhaps these words have been heard and not understood at school.  Our kids are tech savvy at a young age, and can easily Google to gain the answers to questions they don't want to ask someone else.

What has been seen cannot be unseen.  This article really rams home this reality and the potential lifelong impacts of what has been seen at a too-young age.

At iTandCoffee, we are passionate about educating parents about how to keep kids safe on Apple technology - iPads, iPhones, iPod Touches and Macs.  We want to close that 'adult content' gate before the horse bolts - because it is too late then.

The 'Keeping kids safe on iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches' class is run on a regular basis at iTandCoffee (at 34 High St Glen Iris, Vic) and is next scheduled for Wednesday February 10th, 10am-12pm.

If you have not set up parental controls on your child's device, please come along and find out how easy it is to protect your own child, and any other children that might also use your family's device/s.

One of the mums who attended the iTandCoffee free morning tea this week found herself in an all too common situation.  

She could not get into the 'Parental Controls' area of her family iPad because no-one in the family could remember the passcode to that area that has already been put in place some time ago.

A forgotten Restrictions passcode makes it impossible to look at and set up/change the parental controls that have already been set.  

Depending on what restrictions are in place, inability to access and change restrictions can also greatly limit some capabilities of the iPad.  

When there have already been multiple failed attempts to guess the Restrictions passcode, each new guess that failed then sets a longer and longer delay on when the passcode can be re-attempted.

Even a normal reset of the device is disabled until the Restrictions passcode is entered.

Of course, an important message here is that it is essential that, before you set up any Restrictions on an Apple device, you must be sure that you are not going to forget the passcode that you use.

A forgotten Restrictions password is a real problem as the only way to clear it is to perform a 'factory reset' using iTunes on a computer - which will wipe its contents.   

Even if you have a backup of your device, you cannot just re-instate the device from backup if the backup itself also had the Restrictions passcode set at the time the backup was done!  

If you only just set up the Restrictions passcode and have a backup from before that passcode was set, you can restore that backup after the factory reset  (which will mean losing whatever was new in the time since that backup was done).

If you don't have a backup that is free of the Restrictions passcode, you have to do the factory reset and the set up your device again - re-download all of your apps and re-do all your settings.  

Any photos that you had on the device will be wiped when you do a factory reset, so make sure you import them to a computer before wiping the device.  After the reset, you could sync back any photos you want to put onto the device using iTunes (or perhaps the Photo Transfer app).  Any music would also need to be re-downloaded and re-sync'd.

Definitely not what most people will want to do - very drastic action to have to take when all you want to do is reset the Restrictions passcode!

If you find yourself in the situation where you don't know the Restrictions passcode (or perhaps where a child in your family might have set it and then forgotten the code), iTandCoffee has a tool that should be able to extract the restrictions passcode from an iTunes backup of the device.

In the case of the mum who attended the iTandCoffee morning tea this week, this solved the problem - to the great relief of the children in the family, who were at risk of losing some of their precious games data!

Contact iTandCoffee for more information if you find yourself in this situation and need to retrieve your Restrictions passcode - 1300 885 420.