limits
What tinyphone can and cannot do
tinyphone uses real supervision, the Apple mechanism that makes restrictions un-removable, the same one schools use. That makes it stronger than every app-level blocker, and it still has hard limits. Both halves below, plainly.
What it can do
- Remove apps so they are gone, not hidden: no App Store, no browser, nothing to reinstall from on the phone
- Lock the home screen layout, wallpaper and settings so they stay put
- Remove the browser entirely: no Safari, and no store to get another (category web filtering is in the works, not shipped yet)
- Turn each app's notifications on or off: keep people, silence feeds
- Run schedules on the phone itself, such as a school mode from 8:00 to 15:00 on weekdays (cloud tier, coming)
- With the cloud tier: switch modes from anywhere, see battery and last-seen for family phones, lock or locate a lost phone
What it cannot do: Apple's walls, for every vendor
- Setup always needs a Mac, a USB cable and one full erase of the phone. There is no remote way to set up real supervision; anyone claiming otherwise is not using it
- tinyphone cannot read messages, see what is typed, or watch the screen. Not built, and Apple blocks it anyway
- Exact per-app screen time never leaves the phone; Apple sandboxes it. Numbers shown remotely are approximations
- A determined person with a computer can factory-reset their way out. That holds fine for kids and grandparents; it is not a jail for a motivated adult or teenager with tools
- Who can call or text (contact allowlists) cannot be set by software; Apple keeps those settings manual on the phone
- Airplane mode cannot be forced, and phone plans, numbers and carrier billing are outside any vendor's reach
- The phone needs iOS 18 or newer, and the Mac needs a macOS that Apple Configurator still installs on (macOS 15.7 or newer in practice)
- Apple changes the mechanism between iOS releases. iOS 27 replaces the way app lists are enforced; we test every major iOS on real hardware before recommending the update, and say so here when it is done
The Mac app vs cloud
The Mac app (free and plus) is complete on its own: it sets the phone up and changes it, over the cable. Cloud adds the over-the-air layer on top. It needs the Mac app first, and it is the only part with an account or a subscription.
| What you can do | Mac app (free & plus) | + cloud (coming) |
|---|---|---|
| Set up: erase once, lock, pick the apps | ✓ at your Mac | needs the Mac app first |
| Apps gone, store blocked, layout and wallpaper locked | ✓ | ✓ |
| Per-app notifications: silence feeds, keep people | ✓ | ✓ |
| Single-app kiosk (music player, photo frame) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Change what's allowed | at the Mac, over the cable, in seconds | from anywhere, no cable |
| Schedules, such as school mode 8:00 to 15:00 | ✗ | ✓ runs on the phone itself, works offline |
| Approve "15 more minutes" from your phone | ✗ | ✓ |
| Battery and last-seen for family phones | ✗ | ✓ |
| Lost phone: lock it, find it | ✗ | ✓ |
| Account required | none; nothing leaves your Mac | yes |
The honest summary
tinyphone is the strongest tier that exists on an iPhone: restrictions that cannot be undone from the phone itself. It is not surveillance and it is not unbreakable. If a product in this category promises either, it is overselling.