How to Set Up Parental Control on Mac in macOS Catalina

First introduced in iOS 12 last year, “Screen Time” has traveled to Mac with the new macOS Catalina update. As part of Apple’s digital health push, Screen Time helps you keep a track of how you spend time on your Mac and other connected devices like iPhone and iPad. With comprehensive reports, it offers better insight into your app usage, how often you pick up your device, and the number of alerts you receive – which can go a long way in getting rid of Mac addiction or cutting down unnecessary usage. What’s more, you can also set up Screen Time for a child on your Mac so that you can keep an eye on the movies your little champ watches, the websites that he/she visits or even the games they play. With that said, in this complete guide, we are going to show how you can enable Screen Time to set up parental controls on Mac in macOS Catalina to bolster your digital health or reign in your smart kid.

Use Screen Time to Set Up Parental Controls on Mac in macOS Catalina

With the introduction of macOS Catalina, Apple has replaced “Parental Controls” in System Preferences as those features have been included in Screen Time settings. Therefore, do not get confused if you don’t see the erstwhile Parental Controls icon in the System Preferences. So, first we will start by enabling Screen Time on macOS Catalina and then see how you can use it to set up parental control on your Mac.

Enable Screen Time in macOS Catalina and Set Up Parental Controls

1. OpenSystem Preferenceson your Mac by clicking on the Apple menu at the top left corner of the screen and choosing System Preferences.

2. Now, select theScreen Time icon.

3.Next, you will see information about what this feature does. Click onContinueto proceed.

Note:If you have enabled Family Sharing on your Mac, click on the pop-menu in the sidebar and select the profile. If you aren’t using Family Sharing on your device, the pop-up menu won’t appear in the sidebar.

4. Next, chooseOptionsin the bottom left corner of the screen and thenclickTurn Onin the top right corner.

5. Now, based on your preference, you can customize the Screen Time settings on your macOS device.

6. Up next, configure all the following options in line with your requirements:

To set app limits, simply click on theplus buttonand then choose aparticular app categorylike games, social networking, entertainment, etc. Then, click onDoneto finish.

Track Screen Time Usage on Mac

Once you have set up everything, tracking Screen Time usage on macOS Catalina becomes quite straightforward. You can use theApp Usage, Notifications, and Pickupsfeatures located in the sidebar to check the respective information.

Restricting Content in Apple Music and Apple TV

That’s it for the parental controls part. As you can see, you can use Screen Time to control your child’s device usage quite minutely. However, what if you want to restrict not just the time but also the type of content your child can access. Well, in this section, we will show you how you can restrict explicit content based on rating in Apple Music and Apple TV.

Set Up Content Restrictions in Music App on Mac

1. LaunchMusicapp on your Mac. Then, click onthe Musicmenu at the top left of the screen andchoose Preferences.

2. Next, click onthe Restrictionstab.After that, you may need to click on theLock buttonon the bottom left corner of the screen and then enter your username and password.

3. Next up, select the items you wish to prevent anyone from accessing without your permission.

Disable:In this section, you have the option to restrict access to many things like Music Profiles, Apple Music, iTunes Store, and Shared Libraries. To do so, simply check the box for each option.

Ratings for:macOS automatically selects the rating as per your country or region. But you have the option to make changes depending on your needs. Simply click on the drop-down menu next to the “Ratings for” section and choose your preferred country or region.

Restrict:In this section, you can prevent access to explicit content. You can also block films as well as TV programs with specific ratings. Simply check the box for explicit content. Then, use the drop-down menu to choose a particular rating for films and TV programs. Do note that the restrictions will apply to playback, sharing, iTunes purchases, and the iTunes Store.

Once you have customized everything in line with your needs, make sure to click the Lock button to prevent anyone from making changes without your consent. After that, click onOKto finish.

Enable Content Restrictions in Apple TV App on macOS Catalina

1. Open theApple TVapp on your Mac. Then click on theTV menu >Preferences >Restrictions tab. After that,click on the Lock button on the bottom left corner of the screen and then enter your username and password.

2. Next up, go ahead and customize the content restrictions.

Disabled:Check the respective boxes to disable purchasing/ subscribing and shared libraries.

Ratings for:The rating is already selected as per your country or region. But you can make changes to it.

Restrict:It allows you to restrict movies and TV shows of a specific rating. Click the drop-down menu and choose the particular rating.

When you have made the desired changes, do not forget to click on the Lock button again to keep the unauthorized access at bay. After that, hitOKto confirm the changes.

SEE ALSO:How to Sync iPhone and iPad with Mac in macOS Catalina without iTunes

Set Up Parental Control on Mac with Ease

There you go! That’s how you can take advantage of Screen Time to set up parental control on Mac and prevent your kid from overusing the macOS device. With many customization options, macOS ensures you can fine-tune the settings to suit your needs better. We have also mentioned how you can set up content restrictions so you have complete control over the content you child can access. Have any questions regarding this new macOS feature? Shoot it in the comments below.

Rajesh Mishra

An old school bibliophile who turned a tech nerd out of obsession. When he is not digging into hacks and tracking down stories that are breaking the internet, you may find him reciting poems.

Add new comment

Name

Email ID

Δ

01

02

03

04

05