New-device setup checklist

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Work through this sheet before the device is handed over, not after. Controls set on day one read to a child as how the device came; the same controls added three months later read as a punishment, and that difference decides whether they stick. The list covers accounts, screen time, purchases and location for iPhone, Android, Chromebook and consoles.

iPhone / iPad

• Create child Apple Account under Family Sharing.
• Turn on Screen Time. Set parent passcode.
• Age rating 4+, 9+, 13+, 16+ or 18+: Settings › Screen Time › Content & Privacy Restrictions › App Store, Media, Web & Games › Apps (iOS 27 updated Screen Time: Settings › Family › [child] › Content & Privacy Restrictions).
• Limit Adult Websites.
• Disable installing / deleting apps: Content & Privacy Restrictions › iTunes & App Store Purchases.
• Require password for every purchase.
• Turn on Communication Safety.
• Enable Find My.
• Disable Safari private browsing.
• Filter Unknown Senders in Messages.

Android

• Create supervised child Google account.
• Install Family Link on parent phone.
• Set content filters: Play Store (Family Link › [child] › Controls › Google Play), Search, Chrome, YouTube.
• Set daily screen time and bedtime.
• Approve-required for all Play Store installs.
• Turn on location sharing.
• Disable “Install unknown apps.”
• Remove other Google accounts from the device.

Chromebook

• Sign in only with supervised Google account.
• Family Link: block extensions if possible.
• Disable guest browsing.
• SafeSearch on; incognito off.

Gaming console

• Add child to family group (Xbox, PSN, Nintendo).
• Set age category and content filter.
• Voice chat: friends only or off.
• Purchase approval required.
• Screen time / daily play limit.

Router (do once for the whole house)

• Router admin panel › DNS › Cloudflare Families (1.1.1.3) or NextDNS.
• Save; reboot router.
• Test by visiting a blocked URL.

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