By Shawn Smith
Apple’s iOS 26 added some child-safety features, offering parents more peace of mind — perhaps more important than the snazzy liquid glass design added to its icons and live translation capabilities for the Messages app.
Parents want to know who their kids are talking to, especially in the age of online predators. With that in mind, Apple added a new feature that will alert parents if their child wants to call or text somebody not already in their contacts, and parents will have the option to accept or deny the message or call, which the Bark website called a “great way to help keep your child safe from strangers.”
Another feature in the iOS 26 update is the setting that automatically blurs any explicit images or videos that night be sent or delivered via FaceTime video. The feature gives the option to “Message A Grown up,” “View Ways to Get Help,” “Block Contact” or “Cancel.”
This is an extension from previous OS versions that allowed for content filtering on Messages, AirDrop and contact posters.
Related: Apple Launches Safety Feature That Blurs iMessage Nudity
There are more safeguards for children under 13. For example, they have to enter a passcode before proceeding with any explicit message (which was available for versions iOS18 and iPadOS 18), but Bark mentioned the new feature has one flaw.
“Unfortunately, they’ll be able to view it if they choose to, which sort of defeats the purpose of this feature,” per the website.
Hopefully future updates will have similar safeguards for older children.
These changes come in response to the growing dangers facing users, especially children, in the ever-evolving digital age.
CNBC reported that 600,000+ accounts between Facebook and Instagram were shut down due to predatory behavior, around 135,000 of those accounts, ran by adults, involved children, where sexually-inappropriate content was sent or requested.
Another upcoming change is the age rating for the app store. The current rating system is: 4+, 9+,12+ and 17+ and will change to 4+, 9+, 13+, 16+ and 18+.
This update takes place towards the end of the year and might seem like a slight change, but “for children it can be an enormous jump,” Bark wrote.
A new feature to the iOS 26 update will be a safety feature for both kids and adults, as well as a way to avoid annoying spam calls.
The feature will automatically screen calls from unknown numbers and ask the caller’s name and purpose for the call, then allowing the receiver the option whether to accept the call or not. Robocallers beware.
Hopefully parents take advantage of these features as Apple and other tech companies work towards keeping kids safer, while using discernment about how much social media usage is appropriate and at what age, as well as the age should children have mobile devices to begin with.
Read Next: Snapchat Makes Surprising Move to Improve Teen Online Safety
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