iOS 13.3 Beta Includes Screen Time Communication Limits

Apple today released an iOS 13.3 beta to developers for testing purposes, and the new update introduces Communication Limits for Screen Time, a feature Apple promised was coming to iOS 13 in a future update.

With Communication Limits, parents can control who their children are able to contact. Communication Limits apply to the Phone, FaceTime, and Messages apps, along with iCloud contacts.

ios13communicationlimits
There are settings to control communication during Screen Time, with options to allow just contacts or everyone to be contacted. There's also a toggle that either allows or disallows users to be added to a group chat when a contact or family member is in the group.

There's also a separate setting for communication limits during downtime, which is also able to be set to everyone or just specific contacts.

Finally, there's a toggle for allowing or disallowing contact editing, which can change some of the contact settings.

Regardless of Communication Limits settings, calls to emergency numbers are always allowed and will turn off communication limits for 24 hours when placed.

With the Communication Limits feature, parents will be able to better control who their children are contacting during different periods of the day, cutting off access to friends during school, for example.

There are other smaller tweaks in iOS 13.3, including an option to disable Memoji and Animoji stickers from showing up on the emoji keyboard and a change to the Apple Watch app that shifts the Digital Crown on the icon from black to gray.

Related Forum: iOS 13

Top Rated Comments

TheSkywalker77 Avatar
51 months ago

Regardless of Communication Limits settings, calls to emergency numbers are always allowed and will turn off communication limits for 24 hours when placed.
Seems like some kids are going to learn this and try calling emergency services now to get around the limits, not realising it’s a bad idea to do that.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DTphonehome Avatar
51 months ago

Now lets out multiple down time options
Yes, this is important. I want to be able to limit usage during school hours or homework time. I'm glad Apple is paying attention to Screen Time, and hope they will continue to flesh out the features.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
crawfish963 Avatar
51 months ago
Unless Snapchat and Instagram are included in this somehow, it's pretty pointless. Those are the two platforms 99% of teenagers are using these days. Snapchat is scary as hell.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wdaniels Avatar
51 months ago
Now lets out multiple down time options
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
paulbart Avatar
51 months ago

Seems like some kids are going to learn this and try calling emergency services now to get around the limits, not realising it’s a bad idea to do that.
That was my first thought.

My second thought: what if the kid (for example) dials "999" in the US? Would that unlock things, since it's an emergency service number outside the US? I suspect/hope that Apple have it localized (so only "911" would unlock the limits in the US), but for liability reasons, they may have a whitelist of all possible emergency numbers.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Lineup Feature

iPhone 15 Models Feature New Setting to Strictly Prevent Charging Beyond 80%

Tuesday September 19, 2023 2:04 pm PDT by
All of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models feature a new battery health setting that prevents the devices from charging beyond 80% at all times when enabled, as confirmed by The Verge's Allison Johnson during a Q&A session today. The new setting is separate from the pre-existing Optimized Battery Charging feature on iPhones, which intelligently delays charging past 80% until a more...
iOS 17 and iPhones Feature

iOS 17: 10 New Features That Just Launched

Sunday September 17, 2023 12:35 pm PDT by
In June, Apple announced iOS 17 with a wide range of new features and changes for the iPhone. Following over three months of beta testing, the free software update will be released this Monday, September 18 for the iPhone XS and newer. Below, we have recapped 10 key features coming to the iPhone with iOS 17, with additional features coming later this year. The update should be released to...
iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 With Bug Fixes, Plus iOS 17.0.2 for iPhone 15 Models

Thursday September 21, 2023 10:28 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 updates for the iPhone and the iPad, adding bug fixes to the new software. The iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 updates come just a few days after Apple launched iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. The software, which is build 21A340, can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. There is a...
emojipedia 15 1 emoji

Emoji Coming to Future iOS 17 Update Include Shaking Head, Brown Mushroom, Lime, Phoenix and More

Tuesday September 19, 2023 12:43 pm PDT by
As Apple was announcing new iPhone models last week, the Unicode Consortium was officially approving new emoji characters that are set to be added to smartphones starting in 2024. Mockup of new emoji from Emojipedia Approved Unicode 15.1 emoji include phoenix, lime, an edible mushroom, shaking head vertically (as in a "yes" nod), shaking head horizontally (a "no" head shake), and broken...