Riverside Unified School District

Supporting your student’s safe and balanced use of smartphones and social media is important and can be difficult with the growing number of apps available to them. Here are some high-level tips and tools available to help you manage phone usage, downloads, and social media engagement.

Smartphones come with built-in parental controls that allow families to set healthy boundaries for phone usage. These controls help manage what apps your child can download, when they can use the phone, and how much time they spend on it.

Apple provides robust tools that allow you to control and monitor your child’s phone use:

• Screen Time: Track usage, set time limits for apps, and schedule downtime when your child’s phone is off-limits.
• Content and Privacy Restrictions: Restrict explicit content, purchases, and downloads from the App Store, and control what apps are allowed.
• Family Sharing: You can approve or decline your child’s app requests and monitor their app activity through this feature.

To get started, visit Parental controls: iPhone and iPad.

For Android devices, Google Family Link provides a free and powerful way to manage your child’s digital activity:

• Screen Time Limits: Set daily limits for apps and overall device usage.
• App Management: Approve or block app downloads, and receive alerts about new app installations.
• Location Tracking: Monitor your child’s location, giving you peace of mind when they are out and about.

To learn more, visit Parental Controls: Google Family Link.

As social media becomes a major part of your child's life, it's important to stay informed about the platforms they use. Each platform offers its own parental controls and privacy settings, allowing you to help your child navigate social media safely.

• Family Pairing Mode: Link your TikTok account with your child’s to set screen time limits, enable restricted content mode, and control direct messaging.
• Privacy Settings: Make sure your child’s account is set to private so only approved followers can see their content.
• Digital Wellbeing: Set daily time limits and mute notifications during certain hours to promote a healthy balance.

Read more in the Parents' Ultimate Guide to TikTok - Common Sense Media (updated 04-26-2024)

• Privacy Settings: By default, only friends can send messages, but you can further adjust who can see your child’s location and who can contact them.
• Snap Map: Disable Snap Map to prevent sharing your child's location in real-time with friends.
• Discover Content: Use filters to block inappropriate content on Snapchat’s Discover feed.

For more, check out the Parents' Ultimate Guide to Snapchat - Common Sense Media (updated 01-12-2024)

• Account Privacy: Set your child’s Instagram profile to private so only approved followers can view their content.
• Sensitive Content Control: Limit exposure to potentially harmful content using Instagram’s content filter.
• Time Limits: Instagram offers tools to help users set daily time limits and manage notifications to reduce screen time.

Find detailed tips in the Parents' Ultimate Guide to Instagram - Common Sense Media (updated 01-12-2024)