If you are on the lookout for some great tricks and tips to truly enjoy your shared iPad, then you have come to the right place. In this article, we will highlight some good ways to make your shared iPad truly work for you and other users.
Since the release of the first iPad in 2010, the iPad has undergone various evolutions, some of which have transformed the lineup into the most useful and flexible device in the world.
While the best Macs and MacBooks seem designed for a better workflow and the latest iPhone are designed to keep you connected while you are on the move, there really is something about the iPad that simply can’t be beaten.
Find out what an iPad can do that an iPhone can’t.
Controlling Content
With this option, you can filter the type of content and guided access other users in your device group have access to. Search for the Allowed Content area on the Settings page, where you can disable In-App Purchases if you don’t want any other users to rack up a massive bill buying game upgrades. This is very useful if most of the multiple users on the shared iPad for home are children.
You can control content using specific ratings within the Apps, TV Shows, Movies, Music & Podcasts entries. For instance, you can prevent the playback of podcasts, videos, or tracks that have been tagged Explicit on the Apple Music & Podcasts app. Within the Movies app, you can allow G and PG-rated movies while limiting access to those with a PG-13 rating and above. The same goes for shows purchased for the iTunes Store. This setting lets you bar any content that might be too mature for a child user account on the shared device.
Accounts and Location
If you are using a shared iPad for home, especially in a home with kids, the last thing you want to do is to have your shared iPad broadcast your location. And while it is possible to alter the shared iPad’s location settings using the Location Services part of the Settings menu, you can also use the Restrictions settings.
The first thing to do is to tap the Location menu and then individually alter the location setting for all the apps on the shared iPad for home. For instance, you can choose to switch off location for social media apps like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Alternatively, you can switch off location on your apple id using the Locations Services slider.
To ensure nobody else using the shared iPad for home tampers with the settings, you can lock down the settings while preventing any newly downloaded apps from using your location by turning on the Don’t Allow Changes option.
Additionally, if you use the Find My Friends feature that lets iOS device users track each other, you must enable the Don’t Allow Changes option. Doing this ensures no other user group can change who can or can’t track the location of the shared iPad for home.
Disallowing App Access
If you share your iPad with your children or multiple user accounts, you can disallow app access on the shared device. This trick is perfect for multiple user groups, as you can find restrictions for YouTube, Camera, Safari, FaceTime, and iTunes.
You should note that FaceTime and Camera restrictions won’t be present on the first-generation iPad as it lacks a camera. The premise of app access is the ability to limit how they communicate with the outside world.
Perhaps the first app you would want to change its setting for is Safari. Compared to the Mac, the iPad doesn’t have any parental controls on it, which can make it difficult for you to configure shared iPad from accessing inappropriate websites. There are a plethora of third-party web browsers that do this; however, since Safari is the native browser, you will want to tackle this first.
You can turn off access to Safari if you are concerned that your child might stumble on something they shouldn’t be using the shared iPad for home. The same goes for YouTube, as it can be difficult to filter the content available on YouTube. This results in you simply barring access on your shared iPad Apple device.
The next app you would need to tackle is the Camera app. While the Camera app might seem safe, you should remember that once a picture is taken or a video is made with the camera, it can be emailed using the share function available on the screen.
Limiting this app is particularly useful if you haven’t unselected the location-sharing function. Failure to do this could mean all the pictures taken with the shared iPad are geotagged and could reveal where you live. Thankfully, if you switch off the Camera app when in shared iPad mode, FaceTime gets automatically disabled.
With the Game Center, you can limit access to Multiplayer Games while disabling the Add Friends function. You can disallow access to iTunes to ensure that no one can visit the iTunes Store to preview or purchase videos and music. This is especially important if you use one managed Apple id on the shared device.
You might also want to limit the synchronization of system apps on your shared iPad for home device. This is especially important for apps you’d rather others not use on a shared device. All you have to do is turn the Installing Apps option off. You can also turn the Deleting Apps option off to ensure every app on the shared iPad for home remains on the home screen.
Conclusion
You can keep an eye out on the shared iPad device for home via the device’s Notification Settings app. For example, if you are active on social media, you might get a notification from someone you follow, and your child or other users on the shared iPad for home might see something inappropriate. Additionally, you can check to see that your iBook library content isn’t synced from other devices, as other users will be able to access the same library as you.
Discover how to stop iPhone from sharing photos with iPad.
Where To Next?
This blog is a blog dedicated to using modern computing devices to run and manage a business. If you’re interested in using an iPad for your business, either as an entrepreneur, a small business owner or for your employees to use I recommend reading the following articles:
