Apple rolled out the Communication Limits feature in iOS 13.3 on Tuesday with a bug that allows kids to bypass parental controls that prevent them from talking to anyone that is not in the contacts list.
The miss on Apple's part allows children with an iPhone or an iPad configured with Communication Limits to add a new number to the address book in order to bypass the restriction imposed by the feature.
Unanticipated scenario
A few tests carried out by CNBC showed that the option is not working as advertised on devices where contacts are not backed in iCloud but other services, like Google's Gmail.
After setting up Communication Limits on an iPhone updated to iOS 13.3, CNBC found that adding to the address book an unknown number that texted the mobile device is still possible, allowing voice, FaceTime, or text message exchange.
"A child should not be able to add the contact to the iPhone’s address book without their parent entering their PIN first if the feature is working properly" - Todd Haselton, CNBC
The purpose of the option is to allow parents to remove any numbers that could send unsuitable or unwanted messages to their kids. Bullies and strangers are among the threats that Communication Limits was designed to address.
This is not the only issue related to this issue. Asking Siri on an Apple Watch paired to the iPhone to call or text any number is another way to bypass the latest protection for kids. It does not matter if the number is in the contacts list or not.
Temporary solutions
There is one workaround, though, that parents can use with a certain degree of success until Apple rolls out a fix. The Downtime feature that allows restricting access to apps according to a defined schedule.
In a statement for CNBC, Apple called syncing contacts to other services a "non-standard configuration," although users should be able to have alternatives and still benefit from the phone features delivered by the maker.
However, the company said that it's working on a complete fix that would be available in the upcoming software update.
Until then, users that want to use Communication Limits can set their iPhones to sync with iCloud or use the Downtime option to restrict access to apps for specific periods.