Facebook implies an age restriction of 13 years for its users, but still, you’ll find a lot of children using it and often falling victim to online abuse and other potential dangers.
So, as a responsible parent, you must learn about parental controls on Facebook and how to implement them. Whether it’s about keeping your child away from suspicious people on the platform or putting a bar on the information they share on FB, they help you with everything.
To learn how, proceed further with this blog.
How to Set Up Parental Controls on Facebook?
Facebook provides more than enough options to restrict access to certain types of content. Making a few changes to the settings would be enough to ensure your kid’s safety while scrolling through the feed.
That said, let’s take a look at the methods to set up Facebook parental controls on iPhone or Android.
Take a Privacy Checkup
The primary concern is always the security of social media apps. To restrict who can see the posts and stories your kid is posting, you can simply make a few changes.
Open the FB app.
Tap the profile icon present at the top right.
Scroll down and tap Settings and privacy.
Then, tap Privacy shortcuts.
Tap “Take a Privacy Checkup” under the Privacy section.
Tap the first option, i.e., Who can see what you share.
Tap Continue.
In the first section, you’ll see the personal information. It includes the email ID, phone number, birthday, and relationship status. You can make changes if you want to restrict who can see it or who can’t.
Tap Next, and you’ll see “Posts and Stories.”
Here, you can make changes to who can see your kid’s “Future posts” and Stories.”
Once you make the changes, you can proceed further by tapping “Next” (present at the bottom), and the updates will be saved automatically.
Monitor News Feed
It is better to keep an eye on your child’s newsfeed and activities on the app. From the videos they see on Facebook Watch, to the stuff they download on Facebook, everything is suggested by the algorithm based on user interaction.
Notes
It seems obvious, but you must know the login ID and password to your children’s account before you make any changes to their profile.
So, if you see any inappropriate stories from accounts, don’t wait a second longer to unfollow or report them. Just tap the three-dot menu along the post, and you’ll get the option to “Unfollow” or “Report” the account.
Block Annoying Accounts
You can block any annoying accounts that may catch the attention of your child or interact with them. Follow these steps:
Tap the “Magnifying glass icon” at the top of the homepage.
Type the person’s name in the search box.
Now, tap the three-dot menu from the profile and choose Block from the list of options.
That’s it, your child won’t be able to see any content shared by this specific account and not be able to interact with it as well.
Limit Friend Requests
One of the best Facebook features is that you can add any person to your friend list, whether you know them personally or not. Fortunately, there’s an option to limit the friend requests. Meaning, you can decide who can send requests to your child or to whom they can send the requests.
Follow these steps:
Open the Privacy Checkup Tool.
Tap “How people can find you on Facebook.”
Tap Continue.
At the top, you’ll see the option to choose who can send you friend requests. Tap the box next to it and make changes accordingly.
Now, choose the Audience and set the current settings to “Friends of friends” so that no stranger can send your child a friend request.
Manage Screen Time
If your child has downloaded Facebook to mobile, there are parental controls for screen time. This option helps you decide how much time your children will spend on this social media platform. All you need to do is:
Open the Settings & privacy option.
Tap “Your Time on Facebook” present there.
Now, tap “See tools” under the Manage your time section.
Then, turn on the toggle for the Daily time reminder option present at the bottom.
Once you turn on the toggle, you’ll see a section from which you can set a daily reminder. For example, if you choose 20 minutes, FB will remind you that your daily limit of using the app is over. To confirm, tap “Set reminder.”
Change the Ad Preferences
There’s a high possibility that your child may come across an inappropriate ad while scrolling through the feed or when Facebook is live. Unfortunately, there’s no direct option to turn off the ads, but you can change the types of ads shown. For that:
Go to Take a Privacy Check.
Tap the last option, i.e. Your ad preferences on Facebook.
Tap Continue to proceed further.
Now, FB will give you some info on the ads that you see. Once you go through all of it, tap “Next” at the bottom right.
Then, in the next section, turn off the toggle for all the personal information given that sets the basis for the ads shown.
Tap Next when done, and FB will not show any ads based on personal information.
Restrict Access to Apps and Games
Facebook offers its access to several apps and games for signup and other purposes like media download to Facebook. Most of them are online games and third-party apps like a video downloader to Facebook.
However, most of them are usually inappropriate for children. So, it is better to restrict access to such apps by following these steps:
Open Settings & privacy >> Settings >> Apps and websites
Now, choose any website or app, tap on it, and remove its access by tapping on Remove.
Turn Off Location
When sharing posts and stories, you allow FB to share your live location. If you feel like you must turn off the location access, follow these steps.
For Android
Go to: Settings >> Apps >> App management >> Facebook >> Permissions >> Location >> Don’t Allow
For iOS
Go to: Settings >> Open Facebook from the search bar >> Toggle on Allow Tracking
So, these are the most effective ways through which you can set parental controls on Facebook.
Did You Know?
If you’re the parent of a teenager, Meta allows you to support and supervise them on Facebook and Messenger. However, they need to accept your invitation before the supervision begins, and the invite can be sent through any messaging app. To send the invitation, go to: Settings and privacy >> Settings >> Supervision >> Create Invite
Why is Facebook Parental Control Important?
Facebook allows your children to connect with friends and family and stay updated with the latest trends, but it comes with a few risks too. Hence, parental control acts effectively here and protects the young ones from potential threats like:
Inappropriate Content: Facebook is used all over the world and different types of people share different types of content. So, it is possible that your children may come across any images, videos, or language inappropriate for them.
Cyberbullying: Online harassment and cyberbullying are common on Facebook. Some users like to spread unnecessary rumors and post insensitive comments on posts regularly. Hence, it is essential to monitor your kid’s online activities.
Online Predators: Social media sites can also attract sexual predators, and despite safety measures taken by Facebook, they can still contact your children. So, parental controls ensure that your children don’t engage with them at any cost.
Identity Risks: As you can share your personal info on FB, it paves path for identity theft. Hence, you must tell your children not to post any personal information or connect with strangers. Instead, engage with only the ones they know in real life.
Considering the reasons mentioned above, you must ensure your child’s safety on Facebook and use parental controls to restrict their actions.
Are Facebook Parental Controls Worth it? – Try Third Party Apps
Facebook allows you to modify its settings as a parent and keep away the potential risks from the children. However, taking such a step could prove to be uneffective if your child knows how to revert those settings.
In that case, relying upon third-party apps is a viable option. Some third-party apps for Facebook you can consider are:
mSpy
EyeZy
uMobix
Cocospy
Spyic
Hoverwatch
Wrapping Up – Ensure Your Kid’s Safety First!
Nothing seems more important than your child’s safety on a social media platform. When it comes to FB, you can set parental controls, use a third-party app, and even try the Facebook parent-child account settings.
Best of all, if you know how to set up parental controls on Facebook, you can surely keep your child away form many online threats. Apart from that, educating your children about potential threats is also a suggested method.
FAQ
How to put parental control on Facebook?
You can easily open the Take a Privacy Setup option and make changes to who can see the content shared and can send friend requests.
Can parental controls see everything?
Changing a few settings may not help in this case, but installing an app can help you monitor everything that your kid does on their phone.
Can parental controls see messages?
Yes, parental control apps can help you monitor the messages on your child’s phone with ease.
Does Facebook have parental controls?
There are no built-in parental controls available on Facebook, but you can make some relevant changes to the settings to ensure security.
