iOS 27's new parental controls don't switch on with the update. Every family device needs version 27, then parents set up each child.

Here's one for every parent who tapped Update and figured the job was done. Apple overhauled its parental controls on iPhone, iPad and Mac with iOS 27 on Sept. 14, NotebookCheck reports, but installing the update doesn't turn any of it on. The new tools include Ask to Browse, which makes a child ask before opening a new website in Safari, Time Allowances for whole categories of apps, and a pause for school hours. The catch comes in two parts. First, every device in a Family Sharing group has to run version 27, including the shared iPad in the living room and a parent's Apple Watch. Devices that can't update go on a legacy list and keep the old Screen Time settings. Second, even with everything updated, parents have to run a short setup for each child, either transferring old settings or creating new ones. Some protections are on by default for Child Accounts. Apple's support page reads: "Ask to Browse is on by default for children under 13 and Limit Adult Websites is on by default for children under 18." But from 13, the adult content filter is the only web restriction left on by default, and contact management, which lets parents approve every new person a child messages or calls, stays off for older kids unless a parent enables it. The last step is a four-digit Screen Time passcode, one "that your child shouldn't be able to guess," in Apple's words. NotebookCheck adds that a child's birth year is a poor choice. On Android 17, parents can set controls on the device itself, but a forgotten PIN with no recovery account means a factory reset. My take: grade it App Shelf style. Usefulness: real, once it's set up. Cost: free with the update. Weak spot: the setup step nobody announces. It's a new fence with the gate propped open. Set aside twenty minutes this week and close it.