askST: What parental controls are available on my child’s phone and apps? How do I activate them?

SINGAPORE – The familiar sight of secondary school students huddled over smartphones during recess has largely vanished following new Ministry of Education (MOE) guidelines, with devices now stowed in lockers or left at home.

The Government has also mandated age assurance on app stores by March 31 and set a 10.30pm default sleep time for school laptops. But even so, the “heavy lifting” of digital parenting continues at home.

For parents, the challenge is to navigate a complex ecosystem of telco filters, device locks and screen-time limits. How do these parental controls work, and how can parents find and select from the many controls offered?

The Straits Times spoke to Mr Shem Yao, head of TOUCH Cyber Wellness, and Associate Professor Jiow Hee Jhee from the Singapore Institute of Technology, who is also a member of the Media Literacy Council.

Q: What kinds of parental controls are available?

A: According to experts and research done by The Straits Times, parental controls serve three functions – restricting harmful content, managing screen time and monitoring activity.

At the device level, controls such as screen-time limits and location tracking are built into the operating system – Screen Time for Apple and Google Family Link for Android.

Popular apps such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube also have controls that can be enabled to monitor a child’s social media activity and filter content.

Singapore’s local telco providers – Singtel, StarHub and M1 – also have plans that can block entire categories of content, such as gambling, pornography or extreme violence, across various devices, from iPhones to laptops.

Q: Which filters are available on digital devices, and how do I access them?

A: Mr Yao recommends using the built-in parental controls on each device as they are the most effective and cost-efficient.

These include settings such as daily screen-time limits, downtime schedules and restrictions on app downloads, he said.

For Apple users, users can find the “screen time” controls in the settings app. Parents should use “family sharing” to link their child’s Apple account to theirs, which will allow them to manage the child’s phone from their device.

Key features to turn on here include “content and privacy” restrictions to block adult websites, which can be found under the “screen time” sub-section. These restrictions cover a wide range, including preventing app store purchases, blocking inappropriate web content, and the ability to change privacy settings.

For Android users, parents can use the Google Family Link app to link to the child’s account. The features are largely similar, and include others such as the ability to remotely lock the child’s device.

Q: How do I access parental controls in applications?

A: Mr Yao said the most common digital habits of children aged between eight and 12 involve social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok, messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram, and mobile gaming apps such as Minecraft and Roblox.

While device-based parental control tools can help to manage these apps, each platform also has its own internal safety settings, he added.

TikTok, for example, allows for family pairing that can be activated through the settings function in the app. It links a parent’s account to the child’s, and the parent can then filter keywords, manage privacy, and even disable the comments function.

On Instagram, the supervision function allows parents to see who their child follows and vice versa, Prof Jiow said. Other social media apps have similar features.

As for gaming applications like Roblox, parents can use in-built game settings like “account restriction” to set limits on the games their child can access, and to allow only age-appropriate games vetted by Roblox.

Prof Jiow said parents should also watch out for safety features such as chat privacy and spending limits.

Q: What are the offerings from the telcos? How much do they cost?

A: In Singapore, the major telco providers offer a broad layer of security known as network-level protection, which effectively filters the internet “at the tap” before it even reaches a household device.

This method is particularly useful for managing hardware that may not have its own sophisticated internal settings, such as gaming consoles or smart TVs.

Singtel offers a subscription-based parental control app at about $6 a month that allows parents to manage and supervise various devices for things like screen time, adult content and apps.

Meanwhile, StarHub offers its CyberProtect service at a monthly rate of approximately $5 a month. It provides both antivirus software and parental controls across multiple devices. Other features include VPN for privacy protection and secure browsing that detects harmful sites.

M1 provides a more budget-conscious alternative with its Cyber Guardian service, priced at roughly $2.75 per month, which allows parents to customise what their child sees by blocking undesirable content such as gambling, gore or extreme violence.

Q: What about my child’s personal learning device (PLD)?

A: Parents of students using MOE’s PLD should review the device management application settings provided by the school, said Mr Yao.

MOE offers three levels of control for after-school hours. The default option keeps school settings including strict web filtering and screen-time restrictions, while the enhanced controls allow parents to apply additional filters, install applications and modify screen-time limits. The last option is to disable settings, removing content filtering and limits on screen time.

Since January, the default sleep time is 10.30pm to 6.30am, during which the device will be deactivated. For the other options, parents can opt to change the sleep hours or let the device remain activated.

Mr Yao suggests that parents start with the strictest option if they are unsure, and gradually make adjustments as desired or needed.

Q: At what age should I start or stop using these controls, and how do I explain the installation of a monitoring app or controls to my child?

A: Prof Jiow said parents should exercise the strictest control when a child first begins using devices, which is typically in primary school. However, there is no single “magic number” or fixed age for implementing or removing parental controls.

Instead, he suggests a process where restrictions are adjusted based on a child’s demonstrated maturity.

He suggests explaining to the child that these measures are in place to help them grow into the responsibility of ownership, and that they need to prove they are capable and responsible.

“One of the things I advise parents is to give their children a chance to prove that they are responsible,” Prof Jiow said.

“Sometimes, kids find it frustrating when parents just take their game away from them, so instead of that, parents can give them a time limit of 10 minutes and this will give the child a chance to demonstrate responsibility.”

He added: “If the child has proven to be responsible with the little things, you can slowly allow the child to experience more things. In a sense, you scaffold the child’s growth process in his or her digital journey.”

Mr Yao notes that while pushback on controls is expected, parents should stay calm and emphasise that these boundaries are necessary for the child’s safety.

“It is therefore essential to enter into these conversations prepared: Stay calm, be consistent, and avoid negotiating in the heat of the moment,” he said. “Most importantly, approach the discussion from a place of care.”

Q: My kids are very tech-savvy. Can they bypass these controls?

A: Mr Yao cautioned that sometimes, parental controls for applications may exist only within the app themselves, and if the child can access the same service through a mobile web browser, the restrictions may not apply in the same way.

“For example, a time limit set within an app may not always work if the platform is accessed via a browser instead,” he said.

To address this, parents should combine app-level controls with device-level controls, Mr Yao said.

But no system is completely foolproof, he added, and the most vital safeguard is still active parenting and having open and ongoing conversations about what is allowed online, what to do if a child encounters inappropriate or uncomfortable content, and when to seek help.

“Crucially, parents should communicate trust, and be upfront about the boundaries and consequences if that trust is broken,” he said. “While controls can support good habits, it is the relationship between parent and child that builds lasting digital safety.”