There is a lot of content online that is not made or designed for children. These contents usually contain pornography, strong language, or drug use. Being exposed to these materials can have adverse effects on a child’s brain and cause mental illnesses. Since most children and teens are using Apple devices, parents have started looking for different methods to restrict their children’s internet access. Throughout this article, we will teach you how to block websites on iOS devices and why you need to do so. Keep reading to learn the different methods of restricting internet access on iOS devices. 

How to Block Websites on iOS Devices 

There are two main methods you can use to block websites on iOS devices. One is using the device’s built-in settings, and the other is using third-party apps. The built-in settings on iOS devices allow you to manually enter the websites you don’t want your child to see. Additionally, you can automatically restrict access to adult websites. Keep in mind that this feature only restricts access to the most popular adult websites and might not work for less-known websites. Keep reading the rest of this section to learn how to block certain websites on iPhone. 

Built-in Settings 

Apple devices allow you to restrict website access on Safari, whether you’re on a mac, iPad, or iPhone. Follow the steps below to learn how to block websites on iPhones with a password. 

1. Go to Settings 
2. Select Screen Time 
3. Select Content and Privacy Restrictions 
4. Enter your Screen Time password 
5. Select Content Restrictions 
6. Tap Web Content 
7. Choose one of the three website restriction settings. 

Unrestricted: This option does not limit any websites. 

Limit Adult Websites: This option automatically websites that are known to have adult content. 

Allowed Websites: This option only allows access to websites that you have entered manually. 

If you or your child wants to change these settings, they will have to enter the Screen Time password, so you don’t have to worry about the settings being changed or removed. 

Third-party Apps 

There is a multitude of parental control apps that help parents block website access on iOS devices, such as Safes, Bark, Qustudio, and FamiSafe. To keep this article short, we will focus on Safes parental control app. Let’s see how Safes can help you restrict website access on iOS devices.  

Block Websites on iOS Devices using Safes parental control app

Safes offers various features such as URL blocking, Live Location, and Geofence. These features will help parents set parental controls on their child’s devices so as to keep them safe from online threats. However, this article will only focus on the URL Blocking feature. You can block websites on your child’s iOS device by either putting in the website’s URL manually or by blocking certain categories. The categorical URL blocking features allows you to choose the category you want to be blocked, such as pornography, gambling, and strong language. Using this feature can save you a lot of time since you won’t have to put in every website’s URL manually. But manual URL blocking can also come in handy if you have a specific website in mind that you need to be blocked. Either way, if you’re looking for premium features when trying to block websites on your child’s device, third-party apps such as Safes are the way to go. 

You might be wondering whether or not blocking websites on your child’s device is even necessary. Well, it is, and the next section will explain why parents should restrict adult content on their children’s devices. 

Reasons for Setting Parental Controls on Children’s Devices 

Being exposed to age-inappropriate content at a young age will severely damage your child’s mental health. Throughout this section, we will explain why you should keep your child away from inappropriate content based on scientific data and various studies. 

Impact of Pornography on Children 

Being exposed to pornographic content at a young age can impact the development of children’s prefrontal cortex which is in charge of conditional thinking, attention, and impulse control. If your child’s prefrontal cortex is not fully developed by the time they’re in their mid-20s, they are bound to come across neurological problems. Whether your child accidentally comes across porn or decides to watch it, 4 different chemicals will be released in their brain. These chemicals are Oxytocin, Norepinephrine, Dopamine, and Serotonin. Too much of any of these chemicals will result in lifelong mental health issues; now, imagine what happens when your child gets too much of all these chemicals at once while watching porn. 

Additionally, starting to watch porn at a young age will result in porn-induced erectile dysfunction (PIED). Watching porn on a daily basis makes people have unrealistic expectations of real-world romance and makes it dissatisfactory. However, this effect can be avoided by blocking websites with adult content on your child’s phone. 

The next issue with inappropriate media is violent content. Although certain video games that have some violence are great for kids as they teach them valuable lessons in the form of games, most of them aren’t healthy. Children who are exposed to violence, whether on TV, video games, or websites, end up developing antisocial behavior and become more aggressive as they grow up. This can be extra problematic if they end up committing crimes that will impact their life as adults. Websites with violent content are a category on Safes’s Categorical URL Blocking that you can use to restrict this kind of media from your child’s device.