Apple iOS 13.3 To Launch With New Restrictive Feature

Apple continues the pre-release testing for iOS 13.3 and has made the beta version available for developers and brave iPhone users for three weeks now.

One of the new features expected to come with the full iOS 13.3 version when it goes public is the ability Screen Time has to allow parents to limit who their kids can communicate to. The restrictive feature, called Communication Limits, was originally promised when Screen Time was launched with iOS 12.

Communication Limits will let parents set who their kids can communicate with during specific times of day. The feature applies to the Phone, Messages and FaceTime apps, as well as with iCloud contacts, the International Business Times previous reported.

The new feature will give parents some peace of mind. It allows them to prevent their kids from communicating with people who aren't included in the Contacts app. Those who aren't included in the list of contacts in the Contacts app will be not be able to call, text, or communicate in whatever way to the devices the child uses.

Communication Limits also allows parents to limit who their kids can communicate with using their iPhones during a period Apple calls “downtime.” Kids will only be able to call, text or communicate with those who are included in a preset list of contacts once downtime is activated.

Screen Time allows parents to prevent their kids from editing the list of contacts in the contacts list. It can also either permit or prevent users from adding people to a group chat. Communication Limits, then will allow parents to effectively manage the contacts their kids can communicate with. This ensures better control over who their kids talk to, and assures them of improved security.

Communication Limits won't prohibit kids from contacting emergency numbers, whether the feature is active or not. Calling an emergency number while the restrictive feature is active disables it for 24 hours, effectively allowing anybody – including those not in the Contacts app – to communicate with the child.

The new Screen Time feature is expected to arrive with iOS 13.3, which is likely to bring a collection of fixes for plenty of bugs, Cult of Mac noted.