Apple is rolling out new child safety tools across its devices with the launch of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, visionOS 26, and tvOS 26, coming this fall.

These updates will give parents more control over who their kids can talk to and how they use apps.

One major change is that kids will now need parental approval to call new phone numbers. When a child tries to message someone new, parents will get a request in the Messages app and can approve or deny it with one tap.

Apple is also introducing “PermissionKit,” a tool that app developers can use to let kids send similar requests to parents—for example, to follow someone or become friends in an app.

For kids under 13, existing parental controls like app limits and web filters will stay in place. Apple says similar protections will now apply to teens aged 13 to 17 as well. The Communication Safety tool is also getting smarter—it can now detect and blur nudity in FaceTime and shared Photos albums.

Other updates include new App Store age categories (13+, 16+, and 18+), and a new way for apps to know a child’s age range without revealing their full date of birth. This is done through a tool called the Declared Age Range API.

These changes come as some states, including Utah and Texas, push for stricter age verification laws. While companies like Meta and Snap support these efforts, Apple has raised privacy concerns about such laws.

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