A used iPhone 13 was locked into a six-app setup—Calls, Messages, Maps, Camera, Photos and Music—using Apple's Assistive Access, creating a child-safe phone without extra software or fees.
Introduced in iOS 17 for users with cognitive disabilities, the mode lets caregivers whitelist apps and contacts, block Safari and other browsers entirely, and render message links as plain text.
That closes loopholes the author found in standard Screen Time controls, which can be bypassed through shared links; Apple is also adding Safari removal to revamped Screen Time in iOS 27 this September.
Limits remain: Assistive Access can run sluggishly, overrides Screen Time limits, requires exiting the mode to power off the phone, and the Messages app froze once during heavy emoji searching.
The setup points to an underpublicized Apple feature that can repurpose older iPhones as tightly controlled starter phones while preserving navigation, FaceTime and Find My tracking.