© FMM 2017

How to turn your Smartphone into a Basic Phone

Does your child have a smartphone but you don’t want them to have internet access 24 hrs/day? Many parents are taking measures to get their kids back on track and using their phone more responsibility by converting their data phone to a non-data phone. Here’s how: Below are suggestions you can perform yourself or you can work with your provider to set up. 1. Enable Restrictions

• IPhone o Under settings, swipe down to see the Search Bar and type: RESTRICTIONS o Enable Restrictions and Select a password that ONLY YOU will know o Disable programs of your choosing (examples: camera, safari). This option allows you to turn on

and turn off features on your phone. For example, if you choose to restrict the camera, the camera icon will not show up on your phone screen. And under Music, and Siri, you can disconnect Explicit Language.

• Android o Depending on what you want to do, there are a couple of places to enable restrictions. o If you want to enable restrictions on your personal cell phone for your six-year-old to play with, you

need to set up a new User profile for them and restrict their profile. o If you want to restrict purchases, open the Google play store, open settings, and then adapt your

user controls.

2. Providers All providers have a variety of options that enable you as a parent, to have control over your child’s smartphone and safeguard your devices. There are multitudes of options that are offered by the providers and you can pick and choose what you like. Examples of these include, but are not limited to: blocking picture messages, time limitations, family locators, blocking calls and texts, family bases and roadside assistance. Call your provider and ask them about these services, below is a list of what exactly to ask for.

• Verizon: Verizon Family Safeguards & Controls • T-Mobile: Family Where • AT&T: AT&T Smart Limits • Sprint: Parental Controls & Family Safety Essentials • Kajeet: This is a provider that allows parents to bring their own device, but allows parents to set up

restriction on pre-paid plans.

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How to turn your Smartphone into a Basic Phone cont… 3. Passwords

You can set up different passwords on your device. For example, you can set up one password to unlock your phone and a separate one to enable/disable programs. Make sure that you don’t share it with your teens to maximize the security measures you have placed on your phone.

4. App Store

No matter what platform you are on, control what is downloaded onto the device by utilizing a password only you know.

• Iphone - This can be done once you Enable Restrictions under “Settings” – see #1 above. • Android - Open the App Store on your smart device and under user setting, make sure that passwords are

required to download applications.

5. Third Party Apps and Guided Access • You can utilize third party apps like Mobicip and App Lock that will restrict which apps are downloaded on

the phone. Download and install these apps from the App store. • Iphone

o Guided Access limits access to a single app. For example, if you only want your 4-year-old playing a certain app, you can limit your device to only utilize that app. Under Settings, select General, Accessibility, and then turn on Guided Access.

o Once you have toggled it on and set a password, open the app and triple-click the home key. This will enable Guided Access. To turn it off, you will need to re-enter the password. Once you have enabled Guided Access, you can open an app and triple click your home button to enable Guided Access again.

• Android o App Lock will restrict which apps are downloaded on the phone. You can download this app at

the store and choose which app to lock down on the device.