By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Apple launches new Families page. Heres why parents will want to log on
9c844fe7fa908e2bb0dc88c760a17e77306e3b8e40402ddd72c6cdf9973aa9a3
Apple unveiled a new page on its website Thursday called Families, which collects all information about the companys family features and parental controls. - photo by Herb Scribner
Apple has built a new page on its website that helps families access all parental controls in one place.

The new page, which was unveiled on Thursday, is called Families. The page collects all information about the companys family features and parental controls.

The page includes details about an Ask to Buy tool, which requires parents to accept or deny app purchases made on their phone, as well as instructions on how parents can block their children from seeing adult content on iOS devices.

You know your kids better than anyone. Thats why weve put a lot of thought into helping parents choose what their kids can do with their devices, the website states.

As The Verge reported, the website also shares options on how to access health, privacy and family sharing information.

While none of these features are new, the page does pull all of Apples safety and privacy features into one place, according to The Verge.

Apple previously announced in January that it would add new features to help protect children while using iOS devices, according to the Deseret News.

We have new features and enhancements planned for the future, to add functionality and make these tools even more robust, the company said in a news release.

The company made that announcement after two shareholders penned an open letter to Apple about how the company needed to take a stance against phone addiction.

The shareholders, California State Teachers' Retirement System and Jana Partners, who own about $2 billion combined in Apple stock, said Apple should play a defining role in signaling to the industry that paying special attention to the health and development of the next generation is both good business and the right thing to do," the letter read.

The open letter called on Apple to improve its parental controls.

It would defy common sense to argue that this level of usage, by children whose brains are still developing, is not having at least some impact, or that the maker of such a powerful product has no role to play in helping parents to ensure it is being used optimally, the letter read.

In response, Apple said in a statement sent to CNNMoney that it was committed to meeting and exceeding our customers' expectations, especially when it comes to protecting kids.

Apple still has room to grow to catch up to competitors. According to Axios, Amazon has arguably done more to create kid-friendly environments within their mobile devices by allowing parents to create separate profiles for children and its FreeTime Unlimited service that bundles approved apps and videos.

Similarly, Microsoft had a Kids Corner mode for parents to use on their now-defunct Windows Phone, and Google has similarly explored expanding parental controls on Android devices, Axios reported.
Sign up for our e-newsletters