Set Communication Limits for Children in macOS 13

Managing who your child interacts with is an essential part of digital safety. In macOS 13 Ventura, Apple integrates Communication Limits directly into Screen Time, allowing parents to control who their children can communicate with via Phone, FaceTime, and Messages during regular screen time and during scheduled Downtime. This guide outlines the exact steps to configure these limits using macOS 13 System Settings.

Prerequisites

Before setting limits, ensure that:

  • You have set up Family Sharing and created an Apple ID for your child.
  • The child's account is logged into their Mac, or you are managing their account remotely from your own Mac signed in with your Family Organizer Apple ID.

Step 1: Open Screen Time Settings

  1. Click the Apple menu () in the top-left corner of the screen.
  2. Select System Settings.
  3. In the left sidebar, click Screen Time.
  4. If you are using Family Sharing, click the Family Member drop-down menu on the right and select your child’s account.

Step 2: Access Communication Limits

  1. In the main Screen Time pane, scroll down to the Restrictions section.
  2. Click on Communication Limits.
  3. Turn on the toggle switch to enable Communication Limits if it is not already active.

Step 3: Configure Allowed Communication

You can set two separate tiers of communication boundaries:

1. During Screen Time

This setting applies whenever Downtime is not active.

  • Click the menu next to During Screen Time.
  • Choose between:
    • Contacts Only: Allows communication exclusively with people in the child's contacts list.
    • Contacts & Groups with at least one Contact: Allows one-on-one communication with contacts and group messages where at least one participant is a known contact.
    • Everyone: Allows open communication with anyone, including unknown numbers.

2. During Downtime

This setting restricts communication to emergency or essential contacts during scheduled Downtime.

  • Click the menu next to During Downtime.
  • Choose between:
    • Contacts Only: Allows conversations with anyone in their address book.
    • Specific Contacts: Restricts contact exclusively to pre-selected individuals (such as parents, guardians, or emergency contacts).
  • If you select Specific Contacts, click Choose Contacts to select allowed individuals from your child's contact list or add new ones.

Step 4: Manage Contact Creation and Editing

To prevent your child from bypassing these restrictions:

  1. Look for the Allow Contact Editing option.
  2. Turn this off to prevent your child from creating new contacts or editing existing contact details without parental approval.
  3. Turn on Manage [Child's Name]'s Contacts if you want to remotely oversee and approve additions to their address book from your own Apple device.

Once configured, these restrictions apply immediately across all supported Apple communication apps on the Mac. Emergency services calls (such as 911) will always bypass these restrictions.