In case you haven’t heard of it, I’ll put in a plug for the app Our Pact which, in the premium version, ($5.99/mo., I think, for up to five devices or something like that) can selectively shut off particular apps on devices. It works remotely, so I was able to turn on my son’s texting at his request while he was at a sleepover so he could be in touch with me if he wanted. A tech savvy teen can disable it, but it sends an immediate alert to the controlling phone to let you know it’s been disabled, so there’s no way to be sneaky. For my young kids, I have their devices on schedules. Sometimes all the apps are on, but at night or at times in the day where I don’t want them to use their phones (like getting ready times in the morning,) I turn off all the apps except, for example, music and the timer. It also allows me to set an allowance of device time if I want so the kids can regulate their own usage within the schedule times I’ve set. I can see this continuing to work well when the kids are teens. It doesn’t regulate what they can and can’t see online, but it does regulate their access to the internet by just shutting down their browsers or other apps. I’m not familiar with Circle, so this might not be a solution for what you’re all trying to do, but for regulating which apps and what kind of access to the outside world kids can have and at what times, it works perfectly! It’s also great for helping kids to monitor and make decisions about their own usage.
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