Assistive Access: an iPhone with only the essentials

A mode built into every iPhone that shows the apps you chose and nothing else. Free, and it takes nine minutes to get going.

The problem

A smartphone is overwhelming for younger children and pre-teens. Everything is there, all the time, and most of it is built to hold on to attention. We were looking for a way to limit the phone to the necessary: calls, texts, the payment app, the transit app and the map. And to combine that with time limits, as in our Screen Time guide.

The solution

With Assistive Access we found a good solution for iPhone, and it is free. The mode locks the phone to the apps you chose. No access to settings, no other functions, nothing except what you decided together. Apps like Swish, SL and BankID work inside it. It also works on top of Screen Time: a time limit on, say, Messages applies inside the mode too. So the night lock and time limits are set in Screen Time, and Assistive Access removes everything else.

Good to know first

Some things work differently in the mode. We list them openly so you can weigh them before you start.

• Your child cannot switch the phone off without the passcode. And if it does go off, say the battery runs out, it boots straight back into the mode.
• Emergency calls always work, without the passcode: triple-click the side button. An emergency app like 112 can also be added to the mode.
• No Airplane Mode, and no Bluetooth setting except inside an app. Coverage isn't shown, but the battery is.
• iOS updates are done outside the mode. You leave with the passcode, update, and start it again.
• The mode has no schedule of its own. It is on until someone with the passcode turns it off. Times and the night lock are handled by Screen Time.
• The look is built for simplicity, with big buttons. A young teenager may find it childish, so it fits best before the teens.
• Most important of all is still the conversation: that your child understands why the phone doesn't have everything. A mode can carry the boundaries, but not explain them.

Want to try?

It takes about nine minutes, and we'll walk through it together, step by step. You need your child's iPhone. Assistive Access is available from iOS 17.

1. 1
   Open Assistive Access

   Open Settings on your child's phone and go to Accessibility. Scroll down to the General section, where you'll find Assistive Access. Tap it and choose Set Up Assistive Access.

   The path: Settings, Accessibility, Assistive Access, Start Assistive Access.

   Done, next step
2. 2
   Choose the apps

   Under Manage Apps you choose what the phone will do. Start narrow: Calls and Messages go a long way, then add what your everyday needs, like the payment, transit and bank apps.

   The Optimised for Assistive Access list shows apps redesigned with big clear buttons, like Camera, Music and Photos. Under More Apps you find all the others, which look as usual inside the mode. You can always add more later, so start with too few rather than too many.

   Selected apps at the top; more are added from the lists below.

   Done, next step
3. 3
   Set up each app

   This is where much of the value sits. For every app you add, you choose upfront what it may do inside the mode, mostly privacy but also a few features. Here is how we think about the choices:

   Calls. Receive Calls From and Make Calls To: choose between Favourites, Contacts and Everyone. Contacts is right for most families: your child reaches everyone you added, and unknown numbers don't get through. To keep it really narrow, choose Favourites and add them with Select Contact. Under In-Call Options: leave Keypad off, so no numbers outside the list can be dialled. Speaker as you like, Show Recents on.

   Messages. Receive Messages From and Send Messages To: the same three choices, Contacts is right for most. Under Message Input you choose how your child can write: Keyboard and Emoji go a long way. Photo and Video Selfie can stay off if you want to keep it to text. Tap to Hear Message and Conversation Details can stay off.

   Camera. Modes: Photo, Photo Selfie, Video, Video Selfie. Photo is often enough. Video off keeps the camera simple and the phone unfilled.

   Music. You select playlists, not the whole library. Make a couple of playlists together first, so there is something to play.

   Apps that aren't adapted, like a payment, transit or health app: when they're added, iOS asks the privacy questions right away, about Location, Camera and Microphone. Our advice: Location While Using the App only where it earns its place, like a transit app for journey suggestions, otherwise Never. Precise Location off unless the app needs it. Camera on for payment and bank apps, it's needed for QR codes and identification. Microphone off unless you know why it's needed. If you answer wrong, everything can be changed later under the app's row.

   Which contacts are available to pick is managed from Screen Time, see our Screen Time guide.

   The contact scopes for Calls. Favourites keeps the list short; Contacts opens it to everyone you added.

   Done, next step
4. 4
   Choose the look

   Under Options you choose how the apps are shown: Rows increases text size and shows everything in lists, Grid makes the icons larger. Rows is calmest and easiest to hit right. You can change it later.

   The phone may also ask whether to turn on iMessage. Choose what suits you, it can be changed afterwards.

   We recommend Rows.

   Done, next step
5. 5
   Fine-tune the options

   Further down the same screen sit a row of small choices. Here is how we set them, and why:

   • Allow Volume Buttons: on.
   • Allow Silent Mode: off, so the phone is always heard when you call.
   • Show Battery Level on Home Screen: on, so your child sees when it's time to charge.
   • Show Notification Badges: off for the calmest possible screen, on if your child needs to see that something is waiting.
   • Show Time on Lock Screen: on.
   • Allow Siri: off. Siri can otherwise become a way around your choices.
   • Hide Back Button for Unoptimised Apps: leave off.
   • Wallpaper: your choice, a calm picture makes the screen nicer.

   Our choices: volume buttons on, silent mode off, battery level on, Siri off.

   Done, next step
6. 6
   The passcode

   The mode is protected by a passcode. If you have already set a Screen Time passcode on the phone, as in our Screen Time guide, that is the code that applies here: the same code opens and closes the mode. Otherwise you set one now. Under Passcode Settings you can change it later.

   The passcode is yours, not your child's. Choose one that can't be guessed and that isn't the phone's regular unlock code.

   The passcode is asked for when the mode starts and when it's left. It is the only thing separating you from your child here.

   Done, next step
7. 7
   Start the mode

   Tap Start Assistive Access. The screen goes dark for a moment while the phone switches over, and then it's there: a calm screen with only the apps you chose.

   This is the phone inside the mode, with Rows. Nothing more to scroll, nothing to get stuck in.

   Done, next step
8. 8
   How to leave the mode

   Triple-click the side button, choose to exit and enter the passcode. It is the only way out, and that is exactly as it should be. The same three clicks also reach Emergency Call, which always works without the passcode.

   Try it yourself before handing over the phone: triple-click without entering the code, and you'll see exactly what your child sees.

   Three clicks on the side button, then the passcode. Without it, the phone stays in the mode.

   Done

Questions, or something didn't match?

Reach us through the contact form or on Instagram, @stillna.app. Tell us how it went, it helps us make the guides better. On Instagram you can also follow our journey: helping families find their digital lagom.