The Limits of iPod touch/iPhone Restrictions

By Christopher Breen mailto:cbreen@macworld.com

I recently got an e-mail from a reader asking if he could place parental control restrictions on an iPod touch's Web browsing functionality with Safari. Yes, and here's how it works.

On an iPhone or iPod touch, you go to Settings: General: Restrictions, tap on Enable Restrictions, and enter and confirm a four-digit code. With this done, you have the option to switch off these features: Explicit iPod Content, Safari, YouTube, iTunes, and Installing Apps (the iPhone adds Camera as a final option). When you slide the On/Off toggle for Explicit iPod Content, any tracks marked Explicit become invisible. They're still on the device, you just can't access them. Toggle off Safari, YouTube, iTunes and/or Installing Apps and the associated applications on the iPhone or iPod touch are hidden.

But then, how difficult would it be for someone to work around these restrictions? As it turns out, not difficult at all. All a kid has to do is restore the iPod touch or iPhone in iTunes. This removes the restrictions. The person could then restore from a backup and then enable restrictions on his or her own--using a new passcode instead of yours. That way, should you eyeball the thing and see Safari and YouTube missing from the Home screen, you might think your restrictions were still in place. Of course, if you're sneaky you'd then grab hold of the device and test restrictions to see if it works with your passcode.

"Ah, but wait," you think, "all I have to do is switch on Parental Controls on my Mac and disable access to iTunes. That way they can't restore the thing!"

And that would be great if your family lives in the middle of the Australian Outback and your next nearest neighbor is 400 kilometers away. You can restore an iPod touch or iPhone on any computer running iTunes. If your kid has a single friend with access to a computer, say goodbye to restrictions.

In other words, yes, parental controls are built-in, but those controls are about as sturdy as a damp piece of bathroom tissue. Technological parental controls have their place, but communication and trust between parent and child remain the most effect tools available.

Get all the latest iTunes and iPod news at http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/ipodblog.html?lsrc=mwipod.