It’s called Assisted Access. Introduced with iOS 17, Apple designed it for people with cognitive disabilities. If you’ve never encountered it or stumbled upon it, it’s a distinctive iOS experience: fewer options, more focused features, and easier to navigate. The aesthetic is ideal for kids: large, app-friendly tiles replace the smaller icons of Apple’s “regular” interface.

Here’s how you set it up: Go to Settingstap Accessibilityscroll down to General section at the bottom and tap Assisted access. Now, play Set up assisted accessso Continue. It will then ask you to select your preferred appearance: rows or a grid. I suggest choosing a grid. This is how you get those super large tiles. Now the operating system will ask you to select the allowed apps – tap the green plus icon next to the apps you want to allow.

Crucially, this is where, unlike Apple’s standard child screen time restrictions, you can choose to block internet browsing completely by simply not allowing Safari, Chrome, or any other similar app. And unlike those screen time restrictions, if someone texts your child a link, it won’t work. Because? Assistive Access is designed to prevent accidental browsing, so the system restricts unexpected web browsing.

Although Assistive Access on Apple devices allows Internet access, it is highly restricted by design and is disabled by default. In this mode, the phone treats any link in a message as plain text, preventing the user from accidentally leaving the simplified interface.

Designed for caregivers or trusted followers, the user must specifically add internet-enabled applications such as Messages, Safari or third-party web applications to the Assistive Access interface. And once you add, say, Messages or Calls, you’ll be able to choose whether your child can contact or be contacted by everyone, just their contacts, or just their selected favorites.