iPod touch Who Uses Parental Controls for their Children's iTouch?

well, as far as inappropriate things are concerned , i think that a 15 yr old guy should be mature enough to know insert concepts , but no, and the apps have to be approved by apple before going online so, there rly isn't going to be anything THAT inappropriate. anyways, who ever is getting the touch, congratulations.

Yeah the apps themselves are pretty much safe, Apple rarely lets even anything mildly inappropriate in. Personally if I had a 15 year old I would consider them mature enough to know whats right and whats wrong and I wouldn't worry about Parental Controls. Then again maturity varies from person too person no matter the age.

Hope he enjoys the gift

I just put on the parental controls allowing everything so that no1 screws with it and makes it so I can't use the internet or something, but I for got the passcode =]

And congrats to the soon to be new ipot tiouch owner

Zym

The problem with app store and itunes store on the Touch is not so much content as being an open temptation for impulse buying. Unless your child is extremely responsible, I'd disable the stores and allow them to purchase contents only on the computer under your supervision. Or set up an itunes account using gift cards and allow them a monthly allowance for buying apps/music. Otherwise, you could get a nasty surprise when your credit card bill comes in.

And I'm well aware that some teenagers are responsible enough to manage money on their own, by the time I was 15 I had my own bank account from which I could withdraw money when I wanted to, and it had a balance of a few thousand dollars -- but I promised my parents I'd use that responsibly, and I did. But then when I withdrew money, I could always see the remaining balance. With buying apps/songs, you spend a few dollars here, a few dollars there, and there's no way to see how much you've spent total, unless you religiously check your emailed receipts. So it's rather easy to run up a bigger bill than you meant to.

I'm mature enough to be 15 and own an iPhone. If he can't handle unrestricted access to the internet, then he should not be getting an iPod.

And believe me, I have not a doubt in my mind he can handle an iPod.

i believe you could have him set up his own apple account by using a giftcard so he couldnt download apps using your credit card

TheZimm said:

I just put on the parental controls allowing everything so that no1 screws with it and makes it so I can't use the internet or something, but I for got the passcode =]

And congrats to the soon to be new ipot tiouch owner

Zym

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wow and i thought i was the only 1 stupid enuf to forget the parental control pw. luckily nothing is blocked . but yeah at 15 he prly shuld no wut 2 and not 2 do. if you really dont want certain websites on there are some tools you can set up on a router 2 block sites from the network, but he might not like having that set up. but yeah im 14 and i dont go 2 those things on my touch, and my parents trust me, but i still would hate blocks.

I can understand the arguement for a teenager, but what about a 9 yr old?
Oh, and the "youtube" that comes with the touch has no parental controls...and YES I have found stuff my son has stumbled across!!!
1. Can you remove "youtube" from the touch? Either internally or by an external app?
2. Where are the parental controls? Can you get a stronger one in an external app?

Thanks,

You can disable the YouTube App. Go to Settings>General>Restrictions then Enable Restrictions and turn YouTube off.

Has he been know for this in the past?
And if you take off Safari you'll be taking away one of the iPod's main features.

I've been looking for an internet filtering software for the iPhone/iTouch that works like safe eyes from internetsafety.com. And they have just anounced that they have an app for the iPhone/iTouch and they are waiting for apple to aprove it. I can say that the mac app works pretty well, but with the latests Leopard updates the app just freezes sometimes, but it's the best app I found for internet filtering on mac and now it'll be on the iPhone as well.

You can check these links to view the webpage and a video of the app running on an iPhone:

http://www.internetsafety.com/safe-eyes-mobile-iphone.php

http://www.safeeyes.com/iphonedemo

Here is another one waiting on approval.

http://www.mobicip.com/

I"m starting to somewhat "worry" that Apple won't let them get approved. It's been long enough for Mobicip and it should be done by now. I"ve sent feedback to Apple that this type of stuff is needed....

What I can't understand is that with these two apps, the safari icon is still there, so you can surf the internet with safari without filtering although you have one of those apps installed? If that's true, what's the point on installing another browser that filters the internet for your kids, when they can choose safari without filtering?

NintendoPlayer said:

What I can't understand is that with these two apps, the safari icon is still there, so you can surf the internet with safari without filtering although you have one of those apps installed? If that's true, what's the point on installing another browser that filters the internet for your kids, when they can choose safari without filtering?

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If you block safari thats all the internet they have

Zym

TheZimm said:

If you block safari thats all the internet they have

Zym

Click to expand...

Yes, that's true. But I still think that's not the way to go on internet filterning on the iPhone. I think that this can only be solved by Apple. There are lots of apps that you can use to view websites with the iPhone that are free, like searchme or google app. And other paid apps that also have a built-in web browser for downloading files to the app, like iSilo.

What I mean is that you will never be able to have a complete internet filtering with the actual state of the SDK. If Apple change it in order to let developers to interact with Safari, or ultimately with all the data that goes through the wifi then we will have the same internet safety level that we have with, for example, safe eyes in Mac's or PC's. No matter how you acces the net, Safari, another posible web browsers, apps with built-in web browser, the convenient app will block that site in that app.

Until then, I think that these apps are good, but not enough.

parental controls

I use the ultimate parental control - I don't buy it for them. They get iPod Nano's until they're working.

We also gave one to our 15 yr. old son for xmas, and I have no doubt that if we put controls on it he'd figure out how to undo that within a very short time. If the young man isn't mature enough to show some self-control then he probably needs to have his hand held for a while longer. If you treat a teen that age like a little kid it always has a way of backfiring in the end.

rulerofthemoon said:

Anyway, I use the ultimate parental control - I don't buy it for them. They get iPod Nano's until they're working.

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I agree. If you don't trust your kid, don't buy it. They have 3 other types of ipod. Taking away youtube/safari/apps is just making the ipod touch a regular ipod, why not just buy an ipod video or nano.

Besides, in today's generation 15 year old are well versed on adult issues. They have sex, drink smoke etc. While it is good to be cautious, you can't be over protective, because they'll go elsewhere to satisfy their curiosities. Teenagers are very curious about sex. It is a biological thing, you can't escape that. Talk to your kids openly about sexual issues. Teach them to value morals and good behavior, and then giving them an ipod touch wouldn't be an issue.

Blocking, hiding,restricting will just make your kids sneaky and some may developed shameful feelings about sexual things when it is a natural thing.

Sorry I didn't mean to lecture.

Honestly, the parental 'controls' on the iPod and iPhone are completely worthless. If you click "Reset home screen" the buttons reappear and work, without the parental controls having noticed (tested on ipod touch 2.2.0)

Even if you do block it on his ipod, it's not like he's never going to see any mature content if he wants to. What about your home PC's? Friend's PC's? Kid's like to do things that people tell them are wrong. Take away his access to internet and it's only going to want him to try harder and find what he's looking for somewhere else. When I was younger, my parents never restricted any of my internet access, but they did put restrictions on me regarding certain homework times and a curfew. When I went to college, it made me not want to do work and stay out later then I should. Eventually after the thrill of doing something "new and crazy" went out the window, I grew up and controlled my own life. Thankfully this was midway through college and I still had time to get control of my grades and land a good job. What I'm getting at is just let him do what he wants, because eventually he is going to do it anyways if he wants to. Put fewer restrictions on him and you're going to end up with a more mature, successful son that will appreciate you letting him figure out his life on his own. I know this is probably difficult and I wouldn't know because I do not have any kids of my own yet, but I do KNOW that this is the best thing to do.

Blocking Safari is totally useless now that Apple's allowed third party browsers into the App Store. It's a simple case of downloading the app from the computer (if it's blocked on the iPod), and installing it, and they instantly have their internet access back.

Im at 16 year old who owns an iphone, bought it myself cause it was sooo amazing! anyway, in answer to all your questions, teens ARE NOT mature enough! i know many kids my age who simply do stupid things on the internet or even though they are blocked easily hack their parents systems. In short for complete safety, youtube, app store, and safari would all have to be disabled! safe eyes mobile works, but not completely and its not completely as functional as safari.

some 15 yr olds may need controls

My 15 year old son stole my husband's credit card to use on a friend's computer to access some porn sites. So, he is not allowed any unsupervised internet use. Will the parental controls - enabling all restrictions work for us?