11 ms·

Buried Apple feature turns an iPhone into the perfect kids' dumb phone

393 points by PotatoNinja 3mo ago

https://archive.is/LV6Cw https://archive.is/LV6Cw

Brajeshwar 3mo ago
Archived https://archive.is/LV6Cw https://archive.is/LV6Cw Long back Xiaomi Phones used to have soemthing like this. That one feature was how I migrated my in-laws to Smartphones from their Nokias. The key content from the article; Here's how you set it up: Head into Settings, tap Accessibility, scroll down to the General section at the very bottom, and tap Assistive Access. Now, tap Set Up Assistive Access, then Continue. It will then ask you to select your preferred appearance: rows or a grid. I suggest choosing a grid. This is how you get those super-large tiles. Now the OS will ask you to select allowed apps—tap the green plus icon next to the apps you want to allow.
mvdwoord 3mo ago
"You must disable SIM PIN to enable Assistive Access..."
- 05 3mo ago
  Also refuses to activate with alphanumeric passcode enabled..
  - sbayg 3mo ago
    I could sort of imagine plausible reasons for that, but not allowing sim pin seems… nonobvious.
fma 3mo ago
>children have quickly found workarounds for such measures, such as asking friends to message them links, which can bypass restrictions when opened I was very surprised of this by my own kids find workarounds like l33t hackers. Apple's restrictions are a joke. The app store is full of things they can mess with. My daughter mentioned some way to get around screen time. I've ended up just taking the iPads away.
- flippyhead 3mo ago
  I found it such a hassle to keep locked down I gave up. Like, he'd be so aware that he'd find ways to watch me enter the PIN code when adjusting the settings. I'd have to be ever-vigilant and I got tired of it.
  - qup 3mo ago
    Try discipline
    - mplewis 3mo ago
      No one asked.
    - nielsbot 3mo ago
      curious kind of discipline you have in mind.
      - kelnos 3mo ago
        Time-honored punishment: revoke various privileges for periods of time until they get it. In this case, seems pretty topical to just take the phone away entirely for a few days.
      - qup 3mo ago
        When kids break the rules about screen time, there are consequences. Not Dad fiddling with the settings, but instead Dad teaching a lesson about respecting the rules, and doing what you said you would do (children agree to obey the time limits in order to have access to the device). How Dad should teach the lesson varies by family and by child.
        mc3301 3mo ago
        Is it okay if Mom teaches the lessons about respecting the rules?
m463 3mo ago
This seems like a much more comprehensive solution than screen time
- al_borland 3mo ago
  ScreenTime is for limiting and monitoring access to certain things for those who can otherwise handle a modern smartphone. Assistive Access is to remove the complexity for those who can't handle it. They are for different use cases, with some overlap in the venn diagram.
Cider9986 3mo ago
Mobile Device Management (MDM) is the only effective way to restrict idevices. All you need is a macbook and Apple Configurator. You can remove safari, blacklist or whitelist websites, block installing apps, block deleting apps. It's really customizable. Edit: expanded acronym.
- qup 3mo ago
  What does the acronym stand for
  - Dragging-Syrup 3mo ago
    mobile device management
  - wilcoooo 3mo ago
    Mobile Device Management
  - virgil_disgr4ce 3mo ago
    Monumental Deployment Mastermind
- sampton 3mo ago
  MDM is just parental control for adults.
- eigencoder 3mo ago
  I've used MDM to make my iPhone dumb. It's great! I wish there was an easy way to publish my configuration so others could use it / adapt it, but it's a little involved because you have to wipe your phone the first time you set it up with configurator.
  - Cider9986 3mo ago
    I did that when I had an iPhone, I agree it was excellent. More people should do it. Looking forward to MDM support on GrapheneOS.
citizenpaul 3mo ago
>Yes, it's odd that Apple doesn't train all its store staff on this laudable feature, but it's baffling that it doesn't shout about how good Assistive Access is for making a kid's dumb phone. My guess is that its a bad look for PR to essentially say that a feature designed for disability assistance = children.
- msftgreed 3mo ago
  Do you use curb cuts? Closed captions? Difficulty sliders in games? An electric toothbrush? Audible crosswalk signals? All of those have significant roots in accessibility for people with disabilities. I guarantee you that the people who invented them would be thrilled to see them have widespread adoption for all populations. If something finds use in addition to its use for disability amelioration, it becomes more widespread and normalized. When it's wider spread and normalized, it becomes easier for people with disabilities to know it's available and to use it without stigma. So no, you've got it entirely backwards I'm afraid. We do not think about assistive technology as something for people with disabilities. We think about it as something that helps people, and if it helps more people, even better.
  - citizenpaul 3mo ago
    Perhaps on HN. The general public.... I'm guessing you don't interact with average and below people very often if you believe that. Corporations are not known for "normalizing" something at risk of billions of dollars of profit. That is never going to change. Sure once something starts to get acceptance they have no problem shouting from the rooftop about how they were first but they never sound the trumpet. If you are not aware the CEO of Apple (Tim Cook). Lived most of his life as a closeted LGBQ due to discrimination. Even though he is CEO of one of the richest companies in the world Apple has not become a leading champing of LGBQIA+ rights. Because they are afraid it would not be profitable. That's how companies operate.
    - msftgreed 3mo ago
      I work in big tech in accessibility. I guarantee you that you are incorrect.
pugworthy 3mo ago
This might be just the thing for my elderly mother. She's used an iPhone for many many years, but struggles lately with motor dexterity, vision, and a bit of cognitive challenge making phone usage difficult. Lots of things I'd like to just hide she doesn't need to get to (like Settings).
- calgoo 3mo ago
  In the exact same boat with my mother in law at the moment. I was thinking of getting her one of those android for elderly phones but wanted to see if I could do something with her existing iphone first. At this point, anything that is recognizable is a plus so sticking with the iPhone will help there.
- hapticmonkey 3mo ago
  Just a reminder to anyone reading that accessibility features are not just for other people but they are for our future selves. Growing old, getting injured etc are things that will happen to us all. Going to go and give my mum a call now!
  - _carbyau_ 3mo ago
    When tech companies understand presbyopia is a thing then I will believe accessibility is given more than a token gesture. I'm not holding my breath. I plan on eye surgery. Presbyopia: https://www.aoa.org/healthy-eyes/eye-health-for-life/adult-vision-41-to-60-years-of-age https://www.aoa.org/healthy-eyes/eye-health-for-life/adult-v... Affected world population: "Whereas the presbyopic population is expected to increase from approximately 2.1 billion people currently2 to more than 4 billion people in 2050 (approximately 40% of the world’s population)3" https://presbyopia.worldcouncilofoptometry.info/standardofcare/ https://presbyopia.worldcouncilofoptometry.info/standardofca...
xbryanx 3mo ago
[dead]
turkeyboi 3mo ago
Assistive access is the feature being referred to by tfa
50208 3mo ago
His kid doesn't need a phone and doesn't need to be tracked to walk to school. Get over it.
- adrr 3mo ago
  Give your kid some quarters so they can call you on a pay phone like the old days.
  - MandieD 3mo ago
    That'd be fine if there were any payphones still around...
- abeyer 3mo ago
  Yup, came to say this. Kids have learned to walk places on their own without maps or satnav or tracking for hundreds of thousands of years. I believe everyone would benefit from that continuing. We don't teach kids that the only way to do arithmetic is with a calculator... they learn first, then get a tool that can support what they already know. Why do we think we should do it differently here, and train this learned helplessness without a phone glued to your hand. I suspect a lot of this is projection of the parents' own discomfort with being away from their phone.
  - philips 3mo ago
    As I parent I am downvoting this because I am quite tired of others judging parents and their technology choices- particularly when it comes to restrictions. Parenting is hard. Parenting when everything is changing so quickly is very difficult.
    - eigencoder 3mo ago
      Yeah, but your kid can also walk to school without a map, it's not a big deal.
    - littlecranky67 3mo ago
bawolff 3mo ago
> My son only gets Calls, Messages, Maps, Camera (so we can video call, but I've ruthlessly turned off selfies), Photos, and Music. Nothing else. I get that the internet is an addictive scary place with lots of content potentially dangerous to a young person. But why would you care if your child took a selfie? That seems pretty draconian.
- deleted 3mo ago
  [deleted]
- isomorphic 3mo ago
  I'm speculating that it's not the selfie; it's where that selfie ends up (or with whom).
  - kelnos 3mo ago
    OP apparently still hasn't learned that the kids today are taking selfies "blind" using the rear camera.
    - lemoncucumber 3mo ago
      I do this myself (albeit pretty rarely) since the rear camera is significantly better than the front camera, especially in low light.
    - robocat 3mo ago
      Your comment led me to the Insta360 device that makes it easy to take selfies with the main camera: https://www.theverge.com/tech/907670/insta360-snap-usb-c-magsafe-screen-selfies-smartphone-rear-camera https://www.theverge.com/tech/907670/insta360-snap-usb-c-mag... Second screen: provided by USB-C screencast and accessibility settings for to support touch. Image of device: https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/insta360_snap1_d982fb.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0 https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/202...
    - rescbr 3mo ago
      My first phone that had a (rear) camera 20 years ago also had a chrome-plated mirror thing to help us take selfies. I guess nobody called them selfies then. I guess point and shoot cameras also had those mirrors back then. Glad to know that kids rediscovered camera selfies.
morninglight 3mo ago
While living in Japan, our kid used a cellphone with 3 buttons. 1. Call mom, 2. Call dad. 3. Call Auntie. These kid's phones were very common, inexpensive and worked great.
- imp0cat 3mo ago
  There is an entire ecosystem of kid's watches which do exactly that. Pretty much just a miniature cellphone with restricted functions that goes on the wrist like some sort of a tracking collar.
bitwize 3mo ago
It's like At Ease for mobile. Neat!
xnx 3mo ago
Summary: Simplify the iPhone home screen with large icons for kids or seniors: Settings > Accessibility > General section at the very bottom > Assistive Access
- littlecranky67 3mo ago
  it is not just simplified, it lets you chose which apps to show in that "simplified" view. For the elderly, that removes a lot of clutter and ways to shot yourself in the foot.
  - jerlam 3mo ago
    The article doesn't emphasize it, but Assisted Access also adds back the home/back button, like older iPhones and Androids. There is no more swipe-up motion that I see my parents struggle with because they did it too slow or started from slightly too high on the screen. I completely understand why Apple and Google removed the buttons (gotta maximize that screen real estate), but the affordance for an obvious home/reset button is great for some people.
    - frollogaston 3mo ago
      I'm young and able-bodied, still have trouble swiping up. Especially after Liquid Glass glassed my phone.
    - anal_reactor 3mo ago
      > I completely understand why Apple and Google removed the buttons It was more of design decision than practical one. My phone has a taller screen than 16:9 so when I watch videos there are black bars on the sides anyway - although my previous phone had aspect ratio perfectly matching the cinema one, making movies truly full-screen (minus rounded corners and the front camera). When I'm doing literally anything else, the buttons are displayed on the bottom of the screen. Some of my friends use gestures and actually that does give them extra screen space, but IMO gestures are less convenient and totally not worth it. But when you show this on a demo it does look neat, especially with a game. Give me back physical buttons please.
1970-01-01 3mo ago
'Perfect' being used as a filler word in a headline is obscene to me.
Waterluvian 3mo ago
Sometimes I imagine that the mandate of one team (like those that build accessibility features) end up at direct odds with the mandate for other teams. And then there’s maybe an internal politicking where it’s like… okay you can have that feature that completely subverts a lot of how we want users to be behaving, but you can’t market it loudly. I have no clue how things are actually structured at Apple, though. But I’m sure at this level of product maturity, there’s going to be internal struggles between user friendliness and profitability.
philips 3mo ago
This looks perfect! I had been searching around for “feature phones” but the market seems dire. Lots of carrier locked devices or devices that still offer “a little bit of internet”. And then I started thinking about finding a repair shop when my kid inevitably breaks it and an old iPhone keeps looking better and better. Plus when my kids lose it in a bag somewhere I can use find my instead of wasting an hour digging around.
Triphibian 3mo ago
I keep observing that accessibility features often contain the tools we need to make our devices and apps more humane. This is one area that video games have been way ahead on.
- msftgreed 3mo ago
  Videogames are generally lagging WAY behind the rest of software. I've worked professionally in accessibility and in AAA game studios. There's a lot of movement in games over the past 5-10 years, so there's a lot more visibility into a11y there, but in general that industry still has catching up to do. What you are seeing is higher interest and velocity there, and given some time they'll definitely catch up with the slower iteration cycles in mobile and web a11y, but I guarantee you the story is much richer on the web (in particular) than it is in games.
  - Triphibian 3mo ago
    You're the pro. But as a casual observer, games tend to have menus with lots of settings options. Every other bit of software I use has next to none. Totally anecdotal, so I totally understand that my view is probably skewed. Keep up the good work?
testerteert000a 3mo ago
[dead]
eigencoder 3mo ago
I like the feature, but I don't like the assumption at the beginning. > Come September, he will have to walk across town to school on his own. But if he's going to be walking around out in the world without me, then a tracking tag won't cut it. He is far too young to have unfettered access to the internet and social media platforms, but what if he gets lost? A classic Nokia, supplying just texts and calls, won't come to his aid. Maps and satnav require a web connection. What if he gets lost? With a classic Nokia, he could still call someone and get help. Or, he might (heaven forbid) just need to ask someone for help. Or walk around until he remembers where he is. These are all good skills to learn.
- wpm 3mo ago
  the idea of tagging my kid with a tracker like they're a wild bird being tracked is repugnant
  - moralestapia 3mo ago
    Just a suggestion, be more mindful when you make comments involving other people's kids. (which is generally a no-no unless you're invited to) On the internet is fine, but I've been to places around the world where a comment like that would result in black eyes, missing teeth, etc.
    - walt_grata 3mo ago
      What did they actually say about some's kida? Knocking out someones teeth would necessitate filing charges
      - moralestapia 3mo ago
        Oh, absolutely! I would just prefer to avoid all of that.
        wpm 3mo ago
        you should be having words with people who would turn to violence on such a short fuse then, not me and my comment that didn't even say anything about anyone elses kids
thatmf 3mo ago
For some reason when I opened this the sound of a helicopter hovering shook the walls. > Come September, he will have to walk across town to school on his own. *THE HORROR* > But if he's going to be walking around out in the world without me, then a tracking tag won't cut it. Uhhhhhhhhh. The way this is stated so plainly as if it were self-evident fact is telling. The author longs for the umbilical cord. > but what if he gets lost? What if he learns a life lesson, navigation and/or some form of self-reliance or independence? I just... no wonder Kids Today are so cooked.
butz 3mo ago
This is actually a really great feature for everyone else trying to reduce their phone use without switching to different "dumbphone". But why mandatory lock by passcode? I agree, that adding more friction would prevent user to switch back to standard UI, but still - it should be optional.
- jorisw 3mo ago
  Yeah I bailed out of this when it asked me to change my 8 digit passcode to a 4 to 6 digit passcode
kakacik 3mo ago
While all one needz in such case is new commodore (yes, that commodore) flip phone. Whatsapp, google maps, calls, sms. No browser, no store, no bullshit. Kids dont need more, if parents dont want to ruin (part of) their childhood. No need for restrictive apple ecosystem neither.
laweijfmvo 3mo ago
I discovered and tried to use this feature to turn an older iPhone into a dumb phone for myself, but hit several blockers 1. It’s incredibly slow to transition in and out of the mode, as mentioned in the article, which made setting it up (constant tweaks) very painful 2. For messages and calls, you were limited to select contacts only. So I couldn’t just text/call a number when I needed to. They may have polished the feature since then, but given that it’s an Accessibility feature and was never meant to receive much attention in this regard, it may always be half-baked.
- judge2020 3mo ago
  now that it has received attention, Apple might just throw another engineer at it :)
  - matthewfcarlson 3mo ago
    Eh I’ve filed a few bugs a few years ago and they seem to have been ignored. I tried it for a while and it crashed my phone frequently. My gut says it’s a hack, hence the performance issues.
- kspacewalk2 3mo ago
  #2 seems like a feature, not a bug. I certainly don't want my 11 year old texting/calling unapproved numbers, way too young for that.
  - subarctic 3mo ago
    Definitely a feature, but also ruins it for this person's use case
  - asdff 3mo ago
    The kids going to be driving a car in 3 years...
    - kspacewalk2 3mo ago
happyopossum 3mo ago
> Crucially, this is where, unlike with Apple’s standard child screen-time restrictions, you can choose to completely block internet browsing by simply not allowing Safari Very odd take given that you can block access to safari with iOS screen time as well...
Aboutplants 3mo ago
I really wish settings could be downloaded and implemented like transferring Bookmarks in browsers. That way I could take a setup of settings someone has created and simply mimic that by way of adopting all of the same settings in one fell swoop. It would break the anxiety barrier of having to finagle with a bunch of different settings which exists for a lot of people believe it or not.Or Apple could just make it easier to implement these types of features much easier.
- dewey 3mo ago
  That's exactly what configuration profiles are for. They work on macOS, iOS, tvOS etc. and you can configure them with a GUI app from Apple (https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/install-or-remove-configuration-profiles-iph6c493b19/ios https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/install-or-remove-con...)
turtlebits 3mo ago
It's still a smartphone. The perfect dumb phone is just a dumb phone. (Bonus, they're an order of magnitude cheaper than a decent smartphone).
- EdwinRobbins 3mo ago
  Similar initial thought, but in the article they say they want their kid to be able to use maps apps to be able to navigate if they get lost.
dwa3592 3mo ago
my iphone is already kind of dumb. i don't have any social media apps. i have all notifications turned off (except ringtone for call). i only use my phone for calling and texting. it feels very expensive for those 2 operations. but i have the choice of downloading whatever shit i want to download.
hans_castorp 3mo ago
> Maps and satnav require a web connection. No they don't require a network at all. The only drawback if there is no network is that the initial finding of the position takes longer. And maps can be downloaded so that they are available offline. GPS receiver have been working without a "web connection" for ages (e.g. Garmins outdoor devices). I use my smartphone in "airplane" mode but GPS enabled when hiking. No problems whatsoever.
- walrus01 3mo ago
  At least on Android there's a fair number of apps like "osmand" which can download an entire state, province or country vector/map data, in their own semi-proprietary data format derived from public openstreetmap, for truly offline use anywhere you have a GPS signal. It'll even work on a phone that has no SIM card in it.
  - habi 3mo ago
    OsmAnd is also available on iOS: https://apps.apple.com/ch/app/osmand-maps-travel-navigate/id934850257 https://apps.apple.com/ch/app/osmand-maps-travel-navigate/id... CoMap also offers offline access to OpenStreetMap data: https://apps.apple.com/ch/app/comaps/id6747180809 https://apps.apple.com/ch/app/comaps/id6747180809
  - ivlad 3mo ago
    Native Apple Maps allow downloading map regions for offline use.
whycome 3mo ago
There are so many features under “accessibility” that have wider usages.
- cmrx64 3mo ago
  i consider it the root menu of the phone
- 650REDHAIR 3mo ago
  I use the back tap feature for shortcuts and have my iPad auto-answer FaceTime calls when I’m out so I can check in on the dogs. Lots of neat features hiding beneath the surface!
  - whycome 3mo ago
    I have the back tap trigger a shortcut to give me a list of my most used things. I’ve used gestures to let me use a remote keyboard turn the pages on an ebook and I’ve also used it to let me remotely swipe short videos. I’ve used the vehicle motion cues. I’ve set an action to bring up the TTS reader. I even had the eye tracking do stuff for me.
    - 650REDHAIR 3mo ago
      Eye tracking is not something I’ve considered! Neat!
  - whycome 3mo ago
    I didn’t know auto answer was a thing until now
    - 650REDHAIR 3mo ago
      It’s great, but there’s really no way that I’ve figured out for granular control. So it’ll just auto-answer everyone. I forgot to turn it off and it auto-answered an AI spam bot and apparently they had a 10m conversation with my TV yesterday.
SlavikCA 3mo ago
Does Android have this feature?
- Cider9986 3mo ago
  On Androids with Google Play Serivces, I assume you can use an MDM tool to achieve a similar effect.
mdavidn 3mo ago
Wow. I was reading this article on a iPhone when the heavy ads crashed my Safari tab. After it auto-reloaded, the paywall claimed I had used all of my free articles. Thanks, Wired.
msftgreed 3mo ago
This is a great example of the curb cut effect -- a system designed for accessibility needs turns out to be useful in other contexts. Curb cuts were designed for people with disabilities, particularly veterans, and over time have become more and more standard. They help people who use wheelchairs, yes, but also people without disabilities like those with strollers, bikes, luggage, or small kids. We love to see accessibility features find uses outside their original intent.
- airstrafer 3mo ago
  Agreed. I like the framing that there are three kinds of disability: permanent (I lost my arm in a motorcycle crash), temporal (I broke my arm and can’t use it for a while), and situational (I’m walking my dog so I can only use one arm for other things). Generally we only refer to someone with a permanent disability as “disabled” but in reality we are all disabled in various categories at different times of our lives. Accessibility is important to all three groups (you need to be able to use your phone with one hand), therefore accessibility is important to everyone.
  - msftgreed 3mo ago
    And furthermore, ~15% of us are permanently disabled. So the percentages for temporary or situational disability rise even higher than that.
    - rmunn 3mo ago
      Where does that 15% number come from? Because I would have to assume it is using a very broad definition of disabled, which would include invisible disabilities. Certainly it's not true that 15% of the people I see are in a wheelchair, on crutches, missing a limb, obviously blind (e.g. walking with a cane), and so on. Even allowing for the fact that many people with disabilities stay home (often by necessity, sometimes by choice) rather than go out to run errands, still I doubt the number would get anywhere close to 15% if the definition only included the kinds of disabilities that are immediately obvious to anyone looking.
phyzome 3mo ago
That's a bad use of a very expensive phone. Get an actual dumb phone that's vastly cheaper. > what if he gets lost? Then he can look at street signs, ask someone nearby for directions, or (and this is an option I didn't have as a kid)... call someone. On the phone. That he has.
- jorisw 3mo ago
  A dumb phone wouldn't offer Find My (kid)
wewewedxfgdf 3mo ago
Looks good for old people too. My mom can no longer grasp anything but the most simple tech, and even then...
propter_hoc 3mo ago
Idk, Google Family Link seems much more powerful and easy to manage to me. I guess it doesn't have the six giant icons launcher, but my seven-year-old has no issues with normal sized icons or text.
throwaway81523 3mo ago
I've wanted for quite a long time to write an Android app like that. Use Kiosk mode (basically a locked down home screen) to turn the Android phone into a dumb phone.
sgerenser 3mo ago
Is anyone who was in grade school in the 1990s reminded of Apple’s “simplified” MacOS shell called At Ease? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_Ease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_Ease
- halper 3mo ago
  My favourite feature was using TTS to learn how to read very very long numbers …
  - jorisw 3mo ago
    TTS meaning...
    - LadyCailin 3mo ago
      Text to speech
    - me_vinayakakv 3mo ago
      Text to Speech
  - Cthulhu_ 3mo ago
    Fun times, we had a TTS exe that came with our Sound Blaster, also letting it read out very, very long numbers.
ThePowerOfFuet 3mo ago
>Maps and satnav require a web connection. Comaps sure doesn't.
jorisw 3mo ago
Apple's docs on this feature: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/assistive-access-iphone/welcome/ios https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/assistive-access-iphon...
jorisw 3mo ago
From the docs, looks like you can't use third party apps with this, meaning WhatsApp, Signal, etc can't work. With pre-existing use of those apps, that's kind of a deal breaker for elderly, who I was hoping to use this for. https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/assistive-access-iphone/welcome/ios https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/assistive-access-iphon...
- txr 3mo ago
  No, you can add any app you want. It’s just that the app will not change and has no simplified UI like the first-party apps.
j45 3mo ago
This is a great use of a feature. Still a touch screen, those aren't always the best for kids to tap away furiously on.
canbus 3mo ago
Does anyone know how to turn on the flashlight without a third-party app in AA mode?
mixmastamyk 3mo ago
How does this intersect with screen time, which is quite convoluted and buggy. Should I have used this instead?

393 points by PotatoNinja 3mo ago

https://archive.is/LV6Cw https://archive.is/LV6Cw

Archived https://archive.is/LV6Cw https://archive.is/LV6Cw Long back Xiaomi Phones used to have soemthing like this. That one feature was how I migrated my in-laws to Smartphones from their Nokias. The key content from the article; Here's how you set it up: Head into Settings, tap Accessibility, scroll down to the General section at the very bottom, and tap Assistive Access. Now, tap Set Up Assistive Access, then Continue. It will then ask you to select your preferred appearance: rows or a grid. I suggest choosing a grid. This is how you get those super-large tiles. Now the OS will ask you to select allowed apps—tap the green plus icon next to the apps you want to allow.

mvdwoord 3mo ago

"You must disable SIM PIN to enable Assistive Access..."

05 3mo ago
Also refuses to activate with alphanumeric passcode enabled..
- sbayg 3mo ago
  I could sort of imagine plausible reasons for that, but not allowing sim pin seems… nonobvious.

fma 3mo ago

>children have quickly found workarounds for such measures, such as asking friends to message them links, which can bypass restrictions when opened I was very surprised of this by my own kids find workarounds like l33t hackers. Apple's restrictions are a joke. The app store is full of things they can mess with. My daughter mentioned some way to get around screen time. I've ended up just taking the iPads away.

flippyhead 3mo ago
I found it such a hassle to keep locked down I gave up. Like, he'd be so aware that he'd find ways to watch me enter the PIN code when adjusting the settings. I'd have to be ever-vigilant and I got tired of it.
- qup 3mo ago
  Try discipline
  - mplewis 3mo ago
    No one asked.
  - nielsbot 3mo ago
    curious kind of discipline you have in mind.
    - kelnos 3mo ago
      Time-honored punishment: revoke various privileges for periods of time until they get it. In this case, seems pretty topical to just take the phone away entirely for a few days.
    - qup 3mo ago
      When kids break the rules about screen time, there are consequences. Not Dad fiddling with the settings, but instead Dad teaching a lesson about respecting the rules, and doing what you said you would do (children agree to obey the time limits in order to have access to the device). How Dad should teach the lesson varies by family and by child.
      - mc3301 3mo ago
        Is it okay if Mom teaches the lessons about respecting the rules?

m463 3mo ago

This seems like a much more comprehensive solution than screen time

al_borland 3mo ago
ScreenTime is for limiting and monitoring access to certain things for those who can otherwise handle a modern smartphone. Assistive Access is to remove the complexity for those who can't handle it. They are for different use cases, with some overlap in the venn diagram.

Cider9986 3mo ago

Mobile Device Management (MDM) is the only effective way to restrict idevices. All you need is a macbook and Apple Configurator. You can remove safari, blacklist or whitelist websites, block installing apps, block deleting apps. It's really customizable. Edit: expanded acronym.

qup 3mo ago
What does the acronym stand for
- Dragging-Syrup 3mo ago
  mobile device management
- wilcoooo 3mo ago
  Mobile Device Management
- virgil_disgr4ce 3mo ago
  Monumental Deployment Mastermind
sampton 3mo ago
MDM is just parental control for adults.
eigencoder 3mo ago
I've used MDM to make my iPhone dumb. It's great! I wish there was an easy way to publish my configuration so others could use it / adapt it, but it's a little involved because you have to wipe your phone the first time you set it up with configurator.
- Cider9986 3mo ago
  I did that when I had an iPhone, I agree it was excellent. More people should do it. Looking forward to MDM support on GrapheneOS.

citizenpaul 3mo ago

>Yes, it's odd that Apple doesn't train all its store staff on this laudable feature, but it's baffling that it doesn't shout about how good Assistive Access is for making a kid's dumb phone. My guess is that its a bad look for PR to essentially say that a feature designed for disability assistance = children.

msftgreed 3mo ago
Do you use curb cuts? Closed captions? Difficulty sliders in games? An electric toothbrush? Audible crosswalk signals? All of those have significant roots in accessibility for people with disabilities. I guarantee you that the people who invented them would be thrilled to see them have widespread adoption for all populations. If something finds use in addition to its use for disability amelioration, it becomes more widespread and normalized. When it's wider spread and normalized, it becomes easier for people with disabilities to know it's available and to use it without stigma. So no, you've got it entirely backwards I'm afraid. We do not think about assistive technology as something for people with disabilities. We think about it as something that helps people, and if it helps more people, even better.
- citizenpaul 3mo ago
  Perhaps on HN. The general public.... I'm guessing you don't interact with average and below people very often if you believe that. Corporations are not known for "normalizing" something at risk of billions of dollars of profit. That is never going to change. Sure once something starts to get acceptance they have no problem shouting from the rooftop about how they were first but they never sound the trumpet. If you are not aware the CEO of Apple (Tim Cook). Lived most of his life as a closeted LGBQ due to discrimination. Even though he is CEO of one of the richest companies in the world Apple has not become a leading champing of LGBQIA+ rights. Because they are afraid it would not be profitable. That's how companies operate.
  - msftgreed 3mo ago
    I work in big tech in accessibility. I guarantee you that you are incorrect.

pugworthy 3mo ago

This might be just the thing for my elderly mother. She's used an iPhone for many many years, but struggles lately with motor dexterity, vision, and a bit of cognitive challenge making phone usage difficult. Lots of things I'd like to just hide she doesn't need to get to (like Settings).

calgoo 3mo ago
In the exact same boat with my mother in law at the moment. I was thinking of getting her one of those android for elderly phones but wanted to see if I could do something with her existing iphone first. At this point, anything that is recognizable is a plus so sticking with the iPhone will help there.
hapticmonkey 3mo ago
Just a reminder to anyone reading that accessibility features are not just for other people but they are for our future selves. Growing old, getting injured etc are things that will happen to us all. Going to go and give my mum a call now!
- _carbyau_ 3mo ago
  When tech companies understand presbyopia is a thing then I will believe accessibility is given more than a token gesture. I'm not holding my breath. I plan on eye surgery. Presbyopia: https://www.aoa.org/healthy-eyes/eye-health-for-life/adult-vision-41-to-60-years-of-age https://www.aoa.org/healthy-eyes/eye-health-for-life/adult-v... Affected world population: "Whereas the presbyopic population is expected to increase from approximately 2.1 billion people currently2 to more than 4 billion people in 2050 (approximately 40% of the world’s population)3" https://presbyopia.worldcouncilofoptometry.info/standardofcare/ https://presbyopia.worldcouncilofoptometry.info/standardofca...

xbryanx 3mo ago

[dead]

turkeyboi 3mo ago

Assistive access is the feature being referred to by tfa

50208 3mo ago

His kid doesn't need a phone and doesn't need to be tracked to walk to school. Get over it.

adrr 3mo ago
Give your kid some quarters so they can call you on a pay phone like the old days.
- MandieD 3mo ago
  That'd be fine if there were any payphones still around...
abeyer 3mo ago
Yup, came to say this. Kids have learned to walk places on their own without maps or satnav or tracking for hundreds of thousands of years. I believe everyone would benefit from that continuing. We don't teach kids that the only way to do arithmetic is with a calculator... they learn first, then get a tool that can support what they already know. Why do we think we should do it differently here, and train this learned helplessness without a phone glued to your hand. I suspect a lot of this is projection of the parents' own discomfort with being away from their phone.
- philips 3mo ago
  As I parent I am downvoting this because I am quite tired of others judging parents and their technology choices- particularly when it comes to restrictions. Parenting is hard. Parenting when everything is changing so quickly is very difficult.
  - eigencoder 3mo ago
    Yeah, but your kid can also walk to school without a map, it's not a big deal.
  - littlecranky67 3mo ago

bawolff 3mo ago

> My son only gets Calls, Messages, Maps, Camera (so we can video call, but I've ruthlessly turned off selfies), Photos, and Music. Nothing else. I get that the internet is an addictive scary place with lots of content potentially dangerous to a young person. But why would you care if your child took a selfie? That seems pretty draconian.

deleted 3mo ago
[deleted]
isomorphic 3mo ago
I'm speculating that it's not the selfie; it's where that selfie ends up (or with whom).
- kelnos 3mo ago
  OP apparently still hasn't learned that the kids today are taking selfies "blind" using the rear camera.
  - lemoncucumber 3mo ago
    I do this myself (albeit pretty rarely) since the rear camera is significantly better than the front camera, especially in low light.
  - robocat 3mo ago
    Your comment led me to the Insta360 device that makes it easy to take selfies with the main camera: https://www.theverge.com/tech/907670/insta360-snap-usb-c-magsafe-screen-selfies-smartphone-rear-camera https://www.theverge.com/tech/907670/insta360-snap-usb-c-mag... Second screen: provided by USB-C screencast and accessibility settings for to support touch. Image of device: https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/insta360_snap1_d982fb.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0 https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/202...
  - rescbr 3mo ago
    My first phone that had a (rear) camera 20 years ago also had a chrome-plated mirror thing to help us take selfies. I guess nobody called them selfies then. I guess point and shoot cameras also had those mirrors back then. Glad to know that kids rediscovered camera selfies.

morninglight 3mo ago

While living in Japan, our kid used a cellphone with 3 buttons. 1. Call mom, 2. Call dad. 3. Call Auntie. These kid's phones were very common, inexpensive and worked great.

imp0cat 3mo ago
There is an entire ecosystem of kid's watches which do exactly that. Pretty much just a miniature cellphone with restricted functions that goes on the wrist like some sort of a tracking collar.

bitwize 3mo ago

It's like At Ease for mobile. Neat!

xnx 3mo ago

Summary: Simplify the iPhone home screen with large icons for kids or seniors: Settings > Accessibility > General section at the very bottom > Assistive Access

littlecranky67 3mo ago
it is not just simplified, it lets you chose which apps to show in that "simplified" view. For the elderly, that removes a lot of clutter and ways to shot yourself in the foot.
- jerlam 3mo ago
  The article doesn't emphasize it, but Assisted Access also adds back the home/back button, like older iPhones and Androids. There is no more swipe-up motion that I see my parents struggle with because they did it too slow or started from slightly too high on the screen. I completely understand why Apple and Google removed the buttons (gotta maximize that screen real estate), but the affordance for an obvious home/reset button is great for some people.
  - frollogaston 3mo ago
    I'm young and able-bodied, still have trouble swiping up. Especially after Liquid Glass glassed my phone.
  - anal_reactor 3mo ago
    > I completely understand why Apple and Google removed the buttons It was more of design decision than practical one. My phone has a taller screen than 16:9 so when I watch videos there are black bars on the sides anyway - although my previous phone had aspect ratio perfectly matching the cinema one, making movies truly full-screen (minus rounded corners and the front camera). When I'm doing literally anything else, the buttons are displayed on the bottom of the screen. Some of my friends use gestures and actually that does give them extra screen space, but IMO gestures are less convenient and totally not worth it. But when you show this on a demo it does look neat, especially with a game. Give me back physical buttons please.

1970-01-01 3mo ago

'Perfect' being used as a filler word in a headline is obscene to me.

Waterluvian 3mo ago

Sometimes I imagine that the mandate of one team (like those that build accessibility features) end up at direct odds with the mandate for other teams. And then there’s maybe an internal politicking where it’s like… okay you can have that feature that completely subverts a lot of how we want users to be behaving, but you can’t market it loudly. I have no clue how things are actually structured at Apple, though. But I’m sure at this level of product maturity, there’s going to be internal struggles between user friendliness and profitability.

philips 3mo ago

This looks perfect! I had been searching around for “feature phones” but the market seems dire. Lots of carrier locked devices or devices that still offer “a little bit of internet”. And then I started thinking about finding a repair shop when my kid inevitably breaks it and an old iPhone keeps looking better and better. Plus when my kids lose it in a bag somewhere I can use find my instead of wasting an hour digging around.

Triphibian 3mo ago

I keep observing that accessibility features often contain the tools we need to make our devices and apps more humane. This is one area that video games have been way ahead on.

msftgreed 3mo ago
Videogames are generally lagging WAY behind the rest of software. I've worked professionally in accessibility and in AAA game studios. There's a lot of movement in games over the past 5-10 years, so there's a lot more visibility into a11y there, but in general that industry still has catching up to do. What you are seeing is higher interest and velocity there, and given some time they'll definitely catch up with the slower iteration cycles in mobile and web a11y, but I guarantee you the story is much richer on the web (in particular) than it is in games.
- Triphibian 3mo ago
  You're the pro. But as a casual observer, games tend to have menus with lots of settings options. Every other bit of software I use has next to none. Totally anecdotal, so I totally understand that my view is probably skewed. Keep up the good work?

testerteert000a 3mo ago

[dead]

eigencoder 3mo ago

I like the feature, but I don't like the assumption at the beginning. > Come September, he will have to walk across town to school on his own. But if he's going to be walking around out in the world without me, then a tracking tag won't cut it. He is far too young to have unfettered access to the internet and social media platforms, but what if he gets lost? A classic Nokia, supplying just texts and calls, won't come to his aid. Maps and satnav require a web connection. What if he gets lost? With a classic Nokia, he could still call someone and get help. Or, he might (heaven forbid) just need to ask someone for help. Or walk around until he remembers where he is. These are all good skills to learn.

wpm 3mo ago
the idea of tagging my kid with a tracker like they're a wild bird being tracked is repugnant
- moralestapia 3mo ago
  Just a suggestion, be more mindful when you make comments involving other people's kids. (which is generally a no-no unless you're invited to) On the internet is fine, but I've been to places around the world where a comment like that would result in black eyes, missing teeth, etc.
  - walt_grata 3mo ago
    What did they actually say about some's kida? Knocking out someones teeth would necessitate filing charges
    - moralestapia 3mo ago
      Oh, absolutely! I would just prefer to avoid all of that.
      - wpm 3mo ago
        you should be having words with people who would turn to violence on such a short fuse then, not me and my comment that didn't even say anything about anyone elses kids

thatmf 3mo ago

For some reason when I opened this the sound of a helicopter hovering shook the walls. > Come September, he will have to walk across town to school on his own. *THE HORROR* > But if he's going to be walking around out in the world without me, then a tracking tag won't cut it. Uhhhhhhhhh. The way this is stated so plainly as if it were self-evident fact is telling. The author longs for the umbilical cord. > but what if he gets lost? What if he learns a life lesson, navigation and/or some form of self-reliance or independence? I just... no wonder Kids Today are so cooked.

butz 3mo ago

This is actually a really great feature for everyone else trying to reduce their phone use without switching to different "dumbphone". But why mandatory lock by passcode? I agree, that adding more friction would prevent user to switch back to standard UI, but still - it should be optional.

jorisw 3mo ago
Yeah I bailed out of this when it asked me to change my 8 digit passcode to a 4 to 6 digit passcode

kakacik 3mo ago

While all one needz in such case is new commodore (yes, that commodore) flip phone. Whatsapp, google maps, calls, sms. No browser, no store, no bullshit. Kids dont need more, if parents dont want to ruin (part of) their childhood. No need for restrictive apple ecosystem neither.

laweijfmvo 3mo ago

I discovered and tried to use this feature to turn an older iPhone into a dumb phone for myself, but hit several blockers 1. It’s incredibly slow to transition in and out of the mode, as mentioned in the article, which made setting it up (constant tweaks) very painful 2. For messages and calls, you were limited to select contacts only. So I couldn’t just text/call a number when I needed to. They may have polished the feature since then, but given that it’s an Accessibility feature and was never meant to receive much attention in this regard, it may always be half-baked.

judge2020 3mo ago
now that it has received attention, Apple might just throw another engineer at it :)
- matthewfcarlson 3mo ago
  Eh I’ve filed a few bugs a few years ago and they seem to have been ignored. I tried it for a while and it crashed my phone frequently. My gut says it’s a hack, hence the performance issues.
kspacewalk2 3mo ago
#2 seems like a feature, not a bug. I certainly don't want my 11 year old texting/calling unapproved numbers, way too young for that.
- subarctic 3mo ago
  Definitely a feature, but also ruins it for this person's use case
- asdff 3mo ago
  The kids going to be driving a car in 3 years...
  - kspacewalk2 3mo ago

happyopossum 3mo ago

> Crucially, this is where, unlike with Apple’s standard child screen-time restrictions, you can choose to completely block internet browsing by simply not allowing Safari Very odd take given that you can block access to safari with iOS screen time as well...

Aboutplants 3mo ago

I really wish settings could be downloaded and implemented like transferring Bookmarks in browsers. That way I could take a setup of settings someone has created and simply mimic that by way of adopting all of the same settings in one fell swoop. It would break the anxiety barrier of having to finagle with a bunch of different settings which exists for a lot of people believe it or not.Or Apple could just make it easier to implement these types of features much easier.

dewey 3mo ago
That's exactly what configuration profiles are for. They work on macOS, iOS, tvOS etc. and you can configure them with a GUI app from Apple (https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/install-or-remove-configuration-profiles-iph6c493b19/ios https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/install-or-remove-con...)

turtlebits 3mo ago

It's still a smartphone. The perfect dumb phone is just a dumb phone. (Bonus, they're an order of magnitude cheaper than a decent smartphone).

EdwinRobbins 3mo ago
Similar initial thought, but in the article they say they want their kid to be able to use maps apps to be able to navigate if they get lost.

dwa3592 3mo ago

my iphone is already kind of dumb. i don't have any social media apps. i have all notifications turned off (except ringtone for call). i only use my phone for calling and texting. it feels very expensive for those 2 operations. but i have the choice of downloading whatever shit i want to download.

hans_castorp 3mo ago

> Maps and satnav require a web connection. No they don't require a network at all. The only drawback if there is no network is that the initial finding of the position takes longer. And maps can be downloaded so that they are available offline. GPS receiver have been working without a "web connection" for ages (e.g. Garmins outdoor devices). I use my smartphone in "airplane" mode but GPS enabled when hiking. No problems whatsoever.

walrus01 3mo ago
At least on Android there's a fair number of apps like "osmand" which can download an entire state, province or country vector/map data, in their own semi-proprietary data format derived from public openstreetmap, for truly offline use anywhere you have a GPS signal. It'll even work on a phone that has no SIM card in it.
- habi 3mo ago
  OsmAnd is also available on iOS: https://apps.apple.com/ch/app/osmand-maps-travel-navigate/id934850257 https://apps.apple.com/ch/app/osmand-maps-travel-navigate/id... CoMap also offers offline access to OpenStreetMap data: https://apps.apple.com/ch/app/comaps/id6747180809 https://apps.apple.com/ch/app/comaps/id6747180809
- ivlad 3mo ago
  Native Apple Maps allow downloading map regions for offline use.

whycome 3mo ago

There are so many features under “accessibility” that have wider usages.

cmrx64 3mo ago
i consider it the root menu of the phone
650REDHAIR 3mo ago
I use the back tap feature for shortcuts and have my iPad auto-answer FaceTime calls when I’m out so I can check in on the dogs. Lots of neat features hiding beneath the surface!
- whycome 3mo ago
  I have the back tap trigger a shortcut to give me a list of my most used things. I’ve used gestures to let me use a remote keyboard turn the pages on an ebook and I’ve also used it to let me remotely swipe short videos. I’ve used the vehicle motion cues. I’ve set an action to bring up the TTS reader. I even had the eye tracking do stuff for me.
  - 650REDHAIR 3mo ago
    Eye tracking is not something I’ve considered! Neat!
- whycome 3mo ago
  I didn’t know auto answer was a thing until now
  - 650REDHAIR 3mo ago
    It’s great, but there’s really no way that I’ve figured out for granular control. So it’ll just auto-answer everyone. I forgot to turn it off and it auto-answered an AI spam bot and apparently they had a 10m conversation with my TV yesterday.

SlavikCA 3mo ago

Does Android have this feature?

Cider9986 3mo ago
On Androids with Google Play Serivces, I assume you can use an MDM tool to achieve a similar effect.

mdavidn 3mo ago

Wow. I was reading this article on a iPhone when the heavy ads crashed my Safari tab. After it auto-reloaded, the paywall claimed I had used all of my free articles. Thanks, Wired.

msftgreed 3mo ago

This is a great example of the curb cut effect -- a system designed for accessibility needs turns out to be useful in other contexts. Curb cuts were designed for people with disabilities, particularly veterans, and over time have become more and more standard. They help people who use wheelchairs, yes, but also people without disabilities like those with strollers, bikes, luggage, or small kids. We love to see accessibility features find uses outside their original intent.

airstrafer 3mo ago
Agreed. I like the framing that there are three kinds of disability: permanent (I lost my arm in a motorcycle crash), temporal (I broke my arm and can’t use it for a while), and situational (I’m walking my dog so I can only use one arm for other things). Generally we only refer to someone with a permanent disability as “disabled” but in reality we are all disabled in various categories at different times of our lives. Accessibility is important to all three groups (you need to be able to use your phone with one hand), therefore accessibility is important to everyone.
- msftgreed 3mo ago
  And furthermore, ~15% of us are permanently disabled. So the percentages for temporary or situational disability rise even higher than that.
  - rmunn 3mo ago
    Where does that 15% number come from? Because I would have to assume it is using a very broad definition of disabled, which would include invisible disabilities. Certainly it's not true that 15% of the people I see are in a wheelchair, on crutches, missing a limb, obviously blind (e.g. walking with a cane), and so on. Even allowing for the fact that many people with disabilities stay home (often by necessity, sometimes by choice) rather than go out to run errands, still I doubt the number would get anywhere close to 15% if the definition only included the kinds of disabilities that are immediately obvious to anyone looking.

phyzome 3mo ago

That's a bad use of a very expensive phone. Get an actual dumb phone that's vastly cheaper. > what if he gets lost? Then he can look at street signs, ask someone nearby for directions, or (and this is an option I didn't have as a kid)... call someone. On the phone. That he has.

jorisw 3mo ago
A dumb phone wouldn't offer Find My (kid)

wewewedxfgdf 3mo ago

Looks good for old people too. My mom can no longer grasp anything but the most simple tech, and even then...

propter_hoc 3mo ago

Idk, Google Family Link seems much more powerful and easy to manage to me. I guess it doesn't have the six giant icons launcher, but my seven-year-old has no issues with normal sized icons or text.

throwaway81523 3mo ago

I've wanted for quite a long time to write an Android app like that. Use Kiosk mode (basically a locked down home screen) to turn the Android phone into a dumb phone.

sgerenser 3mo ago

Is anyone who was in grade school in the 1990s reminded of Apple’s “simplified” MacOS shell called At Ease? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_Ease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_Ease

halper 3mo ago
My favourite feature was using TTS to learn how to read very very long numbers …
- jorisw 3mo ago
  TTS meaning...
  - LadyCailin 3mo ago
    Text to speech
  - me_vinayakakv 3mo ago
    Text to Speech
- Cthulhu_ 3mo ago
  Fun times, we had a TTS exe that came with our Sound Blaster, also letting it read out very, very long numbers.

ThePowerOfFuet 3mo ago

>Maps and satnav require a web connection. Comaps sure doesn't.

jorisw 3mo ago

Apple's docs on this feature: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/assistive-access-iphone/welcome/ios https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/assistive-access-iphon...

jorisw 3mo ago

From the docs, looks like you can't use third party apps with this, meaning WhatsApp, Signal, etc can't work. With pre-existing use of those apps, that's kind of a deal breaker for elderly, who I was hoping to use this for. https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/assistive-access-iphone/welcome/ios https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/assistive-access-iphon...

txr 3mo ago
No, you can add any app you want. It’s just that the app will not change and has no simplified UI like the first-party apps.

j45 3mo ago

This is a great use of a feature. Still a touch screen, those aren't always the best for kids to tap away furiously on.

canbus 3mo ago

Does anyone know how to turn on the flashlight without a third-party app in AA mode?

mixmastamyk 3mo ago

How does this intersect with screen time, which is quite convoluted and buggy. Should I have used this instead?