Pairing with device controls

iPad and iPhone: Screen Time restrictions

In short

Turn on Screen Time, set a passcode that is not the device passcode, then configure Content & Privacy Restrictions. The two settings that matter most for video are removing the YouTube app and limiting web content — after that, Watchly in the browser is what your child watches.

The setup

Turn on Screen Time
Settings → Screen Time. If the iPad is your child’s own device, choose that it is their device so the options are framed for a child rather than for you.
Set a Screen Time passcode
Make it different from the device unlock passcode. A child who knows the unlock code and finds it also opens Screen Time can undo every restriction in about thirty seconds.
Open Content & Privacy Restrictions
This is where the real controls live. Turn the master toggle on first — the individual settings underneath do nothing until it is enabled, which is a very common false start.
Handle the YouTube app
Under Allowed Apps and App Store restrictions, remove or disallow the YouTube app and require approval for new installs. Leaving the app installed while filtering the web is the most common configuration mistake on iOS.
Limit web content
Under Content Restrictions → Web Content, choose Limit Adult Websites — or Allowed Websites Only for a young child, which is the tightest option and lets you list exactly what is reachable.
Set Downtime and App Limits
Downtime schedules when only allowed apps work. App Limits caps daily use by category — applying one to Safari and to the Web category covers browsing as a group.

Allowed Websites Only, and where Watchly fits

For a child under about eight, Allowed Websites Only is the strongest setting iOS offers. Instead of blocking a category of bad sites, it restricts Safari to a list you write — which is the same inversion a curated library applies to video, one layer down.

Add Watchly to that allowed list and your child has a browser that reaches exactly one place, and a video library inside it containing exactly what you approved. There is no open web and no open catalogue. For young children this is about as tight as a general-purpose tablet gets.

For older children, Limit Adult Websites plus a removed YouTube app is usually the better balance, since Allowed Websites Only breaks homework the first time they need a site you did not anticipate.

Adding Watchly to the home screen is worth doing on either setup. It launches full-screen without an address bar, which removes the most obvious prompt to type a different site — though it is a convenience, not a lock, and the Screen Time settings are what actually enforce the boundary.

Settings worth knowing about

Allowed Apps: Hides built-in apps including Safari. Hiding Safari on a young child’s iPad, with Watchly on the home screen, is a very effective simple setup.
App Store → Installing Apps: Set to Don’t Allow, or require a password. Otherwise a removed YouTube app is one download from returning.
Downtime: Schedules when only allowed apps work. More effective than a daily total for bedtime, because it is tied to the clock rather than to usage.
Screen Time passcode recovery: Add your Apple ID during setup so you can reset the passcode if you forget it. Without it, recovery means erasing the device.

Common questions

My child changed the Screen Time settings — how?

They know the Screen Time passcode, and it is very often the same as the device unlock passcode. Change it to something unrelated they have not watched you type.

I turned on web restrictions but YouTube still works.

The YouTube app is almost certainly still installed. Web content restrictions apply to browsers, not to a native app. Remove the app under Allowed Apps and set Installing Apps to Don’t Allow.

Does Screen Time work on a shared family iPad?

Screen Time is per device rather than per user on iPad, so a shared iPad gets one configuration. Watchly profiles are per child regardless, so each child still gets their own library and daily video limit on the same device.

What is the tightest setup for a young child?

Hide Safari under Allowed Apps, or set Web Content to Allowed Websites Only with Watchly on the list. Remove the YouTube app, set Installing Apps to Don’t Allow, and add Watchly to the home screen.

Mac: child Apple ID and Screen Time

Child Apple ID, Family Sharing, and Screen Time on macOS.

Why Watchly has no device agent — and what to pair it with

The trade behind running in the browser, and how to cover the other half.

Devices and browsers

What it runs on, adding it to a home screen, and TV browsers.

Try it with your own kids

The free trial needs no card, and nothing installs — build a library, set a limit, and hand the device over.

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