Tip: Review Your Child's App Permissions Every Month
Spend ten minutes once a month checking which apps can use your child's location, camera and microphone, and switch off anything that is not needed.
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Spend ten minutes once a month checking which apps can use your child's location, camera and microphone, and switch off anything that is not needed.
Most apps ask for permission once, the first time they open, and then keep that access forever. A game that asked for your child's location six months ago may still be tracking it today, even though it never needed it. That is why a quick monthly check is one of the easiest wins in digital parenting.
Start with a ten-minute date
Pick one day each month, the first Saturday works well, and sit with your child for ten minutes. Open the phone together and go through the permissions app by app. Making it a shared habit, not a surprise inspection, teaches your child to think about privacy for themselves.
On iPhone
Apple Support explains the path: go to Settings, then Privacy & Security, then tap a category such as Location Services, Camera or Microphone. Each screen lists the apps that asked for access, and you can switch any of them off. Location deserves the closest look. Most apps work fine on "While Using the App" instead of "Always". While you are in there, run our app time audit together to see which apps your child actually uses most, so the permission check focuses on the apps that matter.
On Android
Google's Android help gives the route: open Settings, tap Apps, choose an app, then tap Permissions and pick Allow or Don't allow. You can also review by permission type, so you can see every app with microphone access in one list.
The one question to ask
For each permission, ask together: does this app need this to do its job? A maps app needs location. A drawing app does not need the microphone. If the answer is no, switch it off. The app will ask again if it ever truly needs it.
Do it monthly, because new apps arrive all the time, and each one brings a fresh permission request. Ten minutes a month keeps your child's digital footprint small and their privacy under your control.