This Buried Apple Feature Turns an iPhone Into the Perfect Kids’ Dumb Phone
This Buried Apple Feature Turns an iPhone Into the Perfect Kids’ Dumb Phone
这个隐藏的苹果功能，能把 iPhone 变成完美的儿童“功能机”
I have been looking at classic dumb phones for months. Not out of nostalgia—though the first phone I bought with my own money was the Nokia 8210, and I still think about it (launched in October 1999 at Paris Fashion Week, it was then the world’s smallest and lightest mobile). But the day I’ve been dreading has come: It’s finally time for my son to get his first phone.
几个月来，我一直在研究经典的功能机（dumb phones）。这并非出于怀旧——尽管我用自己赚的钱买的第一部手机是诺基亚 8210，至今我仍对它念念不忘（它于 1999 年 10 月在巴黎时装周发布，当时是世界上最小、最轻的手机）。但我最担心的一天终于来了：是时候给儿子买他的第一部手机了。
Come September, he will have to walk across town to school on his own. But if he’s going to be walking around out in the world without me, then a tracking tag won’t cut it. He is far too young to have unfettered access to the internet and social media platforms, but what if he gets lost? A classic Nokia, supplying just texts and calls, won’t come to his aid. Maps and satnav require a web connection.
九月份开始，他必须独自穿过整个城镇去上学。如果他要独自在外面走动，仅仅靠一个追踪定位器是不够的。他还太小，不能让他无限制地接触互联网和社交媒体平台，但如果他迷路了怎么办？一部只能发短信和打电话的经典诺基亚手机帮不上忙，因为地图和导航功能需要网络连接。
In short, he needs a smartphone that’s not a smartphone. As a family deeply embedded in the Apple ecosystem, we first looked to set draconian restrictions on my child’s Apple account. But, amazingly, it immediately became obvious that it is impossible to block the use of Safari on iOS. Yes, you can restrict access to the app, but children have quickly found workarounds for such measures, such as asking friends to message them links, which can bypass restrictions when opened.
简而言之，他需要一部“不是智能手机的智能手机”。作为一个深度依赖苹果生态系统的家庭，我们最初尝试对孩子的 Apple 账户设置严苛的限制。但令人惊讶的是，我们很快发现，在 iOS 上完全封锁 Safari 浏览器是不可能的。没错，你可以限制对该应用的访问，但孩子们很快就能找到绕过这些措施的方法，比如让朋友给他们发送链接，打开这些链接就能绕过限制。
There are third-party apps such as Dumb Phone for iPhones and the Minimalist Phone app for Android users, but what irks me about these is that they charge you for the privilege of removing access to applications from your phone. Not adding—removing. My head can’t fathom the logic of paying for things to be taken away from a phone.
市面上有一些第三方应用，比如 iPhone 上的“Dumb Phone”和安卓用户的“Minimalist Phone”，但让我感到恼火的是，它们竟然要收费，而提供的服务仅仅是“移除”手机上的应用访问权限。不是添加，而是移除。我实在无法理解，为什么要花钱去删减手机的功能。
Surely there must be a way to set up an iPhone as the perfect dumb phone for children—one with access to only the apps you deem appropriate, no internet browser, but with all-important tracking and navigation abilities—without having to pay another company to make it work? Well, there is. It’s been hiding in the iOS Accessibility menu the whole time. And, inexplicably, it’s a feature Apple barely talks about.
一定有一种方法可以将 iPhone 设置为完美的儿童功能机——只允许访问你认为合适的应用，没有网页浏览器，但具备至关重要的追踪和导航功能——而且不需要为此向其他公司付费，对吧？答案是肯定的。这个功能一直隐藏在 iOS 的“辅助功能”菜单中。令人费解的是，苹果几乎从不提及这个功能。
My son’s stripped-back iPhone running just six apps. No internet allowed but with navigation in case he gets lost. Photograph: Jeremy White 我儿子那部精简版的 iPhone，只运行六个应用。禁止上网，但保留了导航功能以防他迷路。摄影：Jeremy White
It’s called Assistive Access. Introduced with iOS 17, Apple designed it for those with cognitive disabilities. If you’ve never encountered or stumbled across it, it’s a distinctive iOS experience: fewer options, more focused features, easier to navigate. The aesthetic is ideal for kids: large, friendly tiles for the apps replace the smaller icons of the “normal” Apple interface.
它叫“辅助访问”（Assistive Access）。这是苹果在 iOS 17 中引入的功能，旨在为认知障碍人士提供便利。如果你从未接触或偶然发现过它，这是一种独特的 iOS 体验：选项更少，功能更聚焦，导航更简单。这种界面设计非常适合孩子：大而友好的应用磁贴取代了“正常”苹果界面中较小的图标。
Here’s how you set it up: Head into Settings, tap Accessibility, scroll down to the General section at the very bottom, and tap Assistive Access. Now, tap Set Up Assistive Access, then Continue. It will then ask you to select your preferred appearance: rows or a grid. I suggest choosing a grid. This is how you get those super-large tiles. Now the OS will ask you to select allowed apps—tap the green plus icon next to the apps you want to allow.
设置方法如下：进入“设置”，点击“辅助功能”，向下滚动到最底部的“通用”部分，然后点击“辅助访问”。现在，点击“设置辅助访问”，然后点击“继续”。系统会要求你选择偏好的外观：行或网格。我建议选择网格，这样就能获得那些超大的磁贴。接着，系统会要求你选择允许使用的应用——点击你想允许的应用旁边的绿色加号图标即可。
Crucially, this is where, unlike with Apple’s standard child screen-time restrictions, you can choose to completely block internet browsing by simply not allowing Safari, Chrome, or any other similar app. And, unlike with those screen-time restrictions, if someone texts your child a link, it won’t work. Why? Assistive Access is designed to prevent accidental navigation, so the system restricts unexpected web browsing.
关键在于，与苹果标准的儿童“屏幕使用时间”限制不同，你可以通过简单地不添加 Safari、Chrome 或任何类似应用，来彻底封锁网页浏览。而且，与屏幕使用时间限制不同的是，如果有人给你的孩子发链接，链接是无法打开的。为什么？因为“辅助访问”旨在防止意外导航，所以系统会限制非预期的网页浏览。
Even though Assistive Access on Apple devices allows internet access, it is heavily restricted by design, and it’s turned off by default. In this mode, the phone treats any link in a message as plain text, preventing the user from accidentally leaving the simplified interface.
尽管苹果设备上的“辅助访问”允许联网，但其设计上进行了严格限制，且默认处于关闭状态。在这种模式下，手机会将信息中的任何链接视为纯文本，从而防止用户意外离开这个简化界面。
Made for caregivers or trusted supporters, the user must specifically add internet-enabled apps like Messages, Safari, or third-party web apps to the Assistive Access interface. And once you add, say, Messages or Calls, you then choose whether your child can contact or be contacted by everyone, their contacts only, or just selected favorites.
该功能专为看护人或受信任的监护人设计，用户必须明确将支持联网的应用（如信息、Safari 或第三方网页应用）添加到“辅助访问”界面中。一旦你添加了“信息”或“通话”等应用，你还可以选择你的孩子是可以联系所有人/被所有人联系，还是仅限联系人，亦或是仅限选定的收藏联系人。
You can even choose to have the keypad or speaker be available in Calls. Want the time displayed on the lock screen? Check that box. Make the mute switch inoperable? Tick. Decide how notifications appear? That too. The Music app only accesses playlists you preapprove. It’s all, well, child’s play to put together.
你甚至可以选择在通话时是否显示拨号键盘或扬声器。想在锁屏上显示时间？勾选那个选项。想让静音开关失效？勾选。决定通知如何显示？也可以。音乐应用只能访问你预先批准的播放列表。总之，设置起来非常简单。
Once you’re happy with your kid-appropriate apps, you set a unique four-digit Assistive Access passcode. This lets you turn the simplified OS on and off. To leave Assistive Access, triple-click the side button on Face ID devices or the Home button on iPhones with Touch ID, and it’ll bring up the passcode prompt that lets the device switch back to the normal iPhone interface.
当你对选定的儿童应用感到满意后，设置一个唯一的四位数“辅助访问”密码。这让你能够开启或关闭这个简化系统。要退出“辅助访问”，只需在支持面容 ID 的设备上连按三次侧边按钮，或在支持触控 ID 的 iPhone 上连按三次主屏幕按钮，系统就会弹出密码提示，让你切换回正常的 iPhone 界面。
You set up a unique passcode to turn Assistive Access mode on or off. Photograph: Jeremy White 你可以设置一个唯一的密码来开启或关闭“辅助访问”模式。摄影：Jeremy White
It’s possible to allows apps that use the internet, such as Maps, but bar web browsers completely. Photograph: Jeremy White 你可以允许使用联网应用（如地图），但完全禁止网页浏览器。摄影：Jeremy White
My chosen setup? My son only gets Calls, Messages, Maps, Camera (so we can video call, but I’ve ruthlessly turned off selfies), Photos, and Music. Nothing else. I’ve turned an old, unused iPhone 13 languishing in a drawer into the best six-app dumb phone money hasn’t bought. Not a bad thing at a time when Apple’s prices are skyrocketing.
我的设置方案是什么？我只给儿子保留了通话、信息、地图、相机（这样我们可以视频通话，但我无情地禁用了自拍功能）、照片和音乐。没有其他任何东西。我把抽屉里吃灰的旧 iPhone 13 变成了一部最好的“六应用功能机”，而且没花一分钱。在苹果产品价格飞涨的今天，这真是一件好事。
What’s more, this can now grow with him. Right now, I’m toying with adding Wallet so he can pay for things with his Acorns Early account. If I want to add Safari or Spotify or a game or two in the future, a delve back into the Assistive app settings lets me do so with one press. And I’m secure in the knowledge that there is absolutely no workaround here. In this mode, my child is incapable of doing anything that requires navigating standard iOS Settings or system user interface layers. Unless he gets my Assistive Access passcode, what I deem off-limits remains off-limits.
更重要的是，这个功能可以随着他的成长而调整。目前，我正在考虑添加“钱包”功能，这样他就可以用他的 Acorns Early 账户支付费用。如果未来我想添加 Safari、Spotify 或一两款游戏，只需重新进入“辅助访问”设置，一键即可完成。我非常确信，这里绝对没有绕过限制的方法。在这种模式下，我的孩子无法进行任何需要进入标准 iOS 设置或系统用户界面层的操作。除非他拿到我的“辅助访问”密码，否则我设定的禁区将永远是禁区。
It’s nearly all upside and no downside. A customizable, completely safe dumb phone with no monthly fee but with the added benefit of FaceTime.
这几乎全是优点，没有缺点。一部可定制、绝对安全的功能机，没有月费，还额外拥有 FaceTime 的便利。