Apple’s Screen Time updates are too little, too late

Apple used part of its WWDC keynote to promote new Screen Time parental controls, including Ask to Browse and a redesigned interface. The Verge argues that most announced features are either already available or incremental upgrades, leaving longstanding Screen Time frustrations unresolved.

The emphasis appears aimed at showing regulators, parents, and critics that Apple is taking child safety seriously amid mounting scrutiny of tech platforms. But if the tools remain unreliable or hard to use, Apple risks looking reactive rather than leading on digital parenting safeguards.

Ask to Browse is one of the new features coming to Screen Time. | Screenshot The Verge

Apple spending a big chunk of its WWDC keynote on parental controls was surprising for several reasons. But the biggest is that, despite all the airtime, it didn't announce much new beyond a redesigned interface. Almost all the features touted already exist or are upgrades to current options. Why Apple chose to do this isn't a mystery. You can trace the threads from the recent landmark social media trials against Meta and Google to the protesters outside the Cupertino HQ today: Apple is trying to show the world it's being responsible when it comes to your children. Only it's really not. Screen Time sucks. As a mother of two whose children h … Read the full story at The Verge.