Apple’s new parental iPhone feature doesn’t work that well – Apple is working on a fix

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Do you own a recently updated iPhone and want to start putting some parental controls on it? Well, in the new improvement to iOS 13.3, you can do that.

Dubbed Communication Limits, parents can manage who their children talk with on apps like FaceTime. For example, if the kids talk with someone who isn’t in their contacts, the feature will block them. Moms and dads can rest easy knowing that their children won’t accidentally call someone dubious and vice versa.

But, as CNBC reports that it’s not working as promised. If the contacts on the parent’s iPhone are not backed up into the cloud, then children can make and receive calls from all sorts of folks. Both suspicious and their friend down the street. Although, parents will obviously worry more about the former.

Another problem, and one that is arguably bigger, with this feature is that children can just ask Siri to call someone. With no blockage occurring at all.

The Communication Limits feature on your iPhone can be easily bypassed

Apple is aware of these ongoing problems and is looking to start implementing fixes as soon as possible.

This issue only occurs on devices set up with a non-standard configuration, and a workaround is available. We’re working on a complete fix and will release it in an upcoming software update.

As for parents who want to set up more restrictions through their Apple device, it can be done by forcing the device to sync with iCloud. This way, Communication Limits work closer to what is intended.

Here’s how to do that:

1. Go into your device’s Settings
2. In the Settings section, tap on Contacts
3. Select Default Account
4. Switch the account from whatever is set and switch it to iCloud

Until then, this is currently the ideal solution until Apple releases a new, more safe, update for children and parents.

What do you think? Surprised by the news regarding the new iPhone update? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Colin Barry

I like honey roasted peanuts because they are delicious. I also like the Metal Slug games and X-Men comics because they are awesome.