How do I temporarily disable my child's iPhone?

How do I temporarily disable my child's iPhone? Open Manage on your own phone and tap Full pause. Their screen closes in seconds and stays closed until you tap Resume.

Nothing is deleted and nothing has to be set up again afterward. Phone calls keep working under the pause, so your child can always reach you. Your carrier can suspend the line, which stops calls and data but leaves every app working on Wi-Fi; a pause closes the apps and leaves the phone a phone. It works from anywhere, not only at home.

One price, unlimited children and devices. 7-day free trial, billed by Apple.

The short version

✓ Pause their phone with one tap

From your phone, pause a child's device right now: a Downtime pause keeps their usual allowances, a Full pause closes everything. It lands in seconds, even mid-game, and Resume brings it back just as fast.

What still works during a lock

Calls to and from you keep working. Apple keeps the Phone app reachable no matter what. Your emergency alarm and a No Ignore message still reach the screen. A pause stays until you lift it, through restarts and through a scheduled downtime window. SimpleSentinel never reads what your child types, watches or browses.

✓ Send a message they can't ignore

Mark a message "No Ignore" and it covers your child's screen with your words until they press Acknowledge, pulsing every ten seconds for up to two hours. You get a receipt the moment they press it. It reaches them during downtime and pauses, when Apple's Messages is closed.

✓ Multiple downtime windows

Apple's Screen Time gives you one downtime a day. SimpleSentinel gives you as many named windows as you need per child, school hours and bedtime both, each on the days you pick, with a heads-up chime before each one starts.

Pricing

Founding Family (First 1,000 Families)

7-day free trial. Unlimited children and devices.

$9.99/mo

or $99.99/yr

  • About 28 cents/day for every device & child.

  • Your price never goes up as long as you stay subscribed.

Regular Price

7-day free trial. Unlimited children and devices.

$16.99/mo

or $149.99/yr

  • About 41 cents/day for every device & child.

  • Compare to A locked-down phone @ $1,000/yr per child.

© 2026 Jubilee Industries LLC. SimpleSentinel™ is a trademark of Jubilee Industries LLC. Patent pending.