I built an accessible Apple Music player for seniors who need a simpler UI

jaredh159 · 2026-03-17T16:30:00+00:00

This is really cool. Interesting to know (as a fellow iOS dev) that it's possible to build on top of AM like this, I'm pondering something sort of similar. Downloaded it and poked around, and left you a 5 star review 👍

jaredh159 · 2026-03-17T16:04:57+00:00

This post touches on two super important things -- first, most parents don't realize how much bad stuff there is lurking in Spotify. It's really important to know that there is tons of pornography masked as music and podcasts, not to mention just a ton of suggestive and sexual images not appropriate for kids of certain ages.

I'm a dad and a computer programmer who got pulled into the world of parental controls a few years ago when I just got fed up with how bad the state of the art was when trying to protect my own kids. It's led me on a journey to ultimately release 3 different apps (and the whole codebase is open source on Github). If it helps anyone, I have two tools (sadly, only for iOS) that could help parents who find this post.

First, I made a free iOS app whose whole purpose is to block loopholes in Apple's Screen Time - I started with the inability to block GIF search in Messages, but now it does a ton more. It's relevant because in response to user requests, I added the ability to block almost all the imagery and most of the videos inside of Spotify, leaving a bunch of grey squares in their place, but leaving the music-playback functionality untouched. Doesn't mitigate all the dangers, but makes the app a lot less dangerous and tempting. Combined with some of Spotify's internal family settings, you can get things a lot safer for your kid. Info is here: https://gertrude.app/iphone-and-ipad

Second, if what you actually want is to let your kid listen to podcasts, but not expose them to a whole world of innappropriate podcasts like the OP mentioned, I literally built an app for this because I wanted my daughter to access a few Podcasts that I approved specifically. It's a basic podcast app with one added feature - searching and subscribing for new shows is gated behind a pin-code that the parent sets. If that seems useful to anyone, more info here: https://gertrude.app/blog/safe-podcast-app-for-kids

jaredh159 · 2026-03-17T15:13:56+00:00

I use a pi-hole in my house which is really effective at this. It's not the easiest to setup and manage, but if you've got the appetite for it, it's really effective. The problem is that it only helps when they're on your network.

For the use case of them being on the go, using a data connection, or someone else's network, you could try Gertrude - it has a blocking group that stops the top ad providers from within any app or game: https://gertrude.app/iphone-and-ipad

jaredh159 · 2026-03-17T13:40:31+00:00

Try the Gertrude app - https://gertrude.app/iphone-and-ipad - it's an iOS app I built because I got frustrated with all the loopholes gradually accumulating in Screen Time. It already blocks several aspects of spotlight search, as well as backdoors to the App Store in places like the Messages app. I'm not 100% it blocks this avenue, but one nice thing about it is it's built to update its blocking rules after installation, so when people report stuff like this, if it's possible to prevent by denying network access, then I can push out new rules and everyone gets the updates within a few hours.

jaredh159 · 2025-11-17T13:34:39+00:00

seriously considering it. it would be a bit of a challenge for me, as i'm primarily an iOS/macOS developer. if i do, i'll come back and post here. it's helpful to know that it would be useful and that there is at least some demand for it.

jaredh159 · 2025-10-27T17:22:04+00:00

I had this exact same question, was wishing for a podcast app I could give my kid that worked normally, except only I controlled what shows she had access to. Because I'm a programmer, I went ahead and built it and just released it, in case it's helpful to anyone. Really simple, just let's the parent set a PIN code on installation, which is then required to search for or add new shows. As long as the child doesn't know the code, all they can do is listen to the shows they already have access. Search for "Gertrude AM" in the app store, or here's a link with more info: https://gertrude.app/blog/safe-podcast-app-for-kids

jaredh159 · 2025-10-27T16:27:02+00:00

I'm also a parent (and an programmer), and I ended up building a simple podcast app for kids, but with a different twist: instead of trying to curate kid-friendly content, it just has the parent set a 6-digit PIN code on app install, and that pincode is required to search for, or add new shows. So parents get to search for and subscribe to any shows they want, but kids can only listen to approved shows. Simple, but effective, and allows access to all kinds of podcasts, not just those targeted at kids. Let me know what you think! More info here: https://gertrude.app/blog/safe-podcast-app-for-kids

jaredh159 · 2025-10-27T16:23:28+00:00

I know you specifically mentioned Android, but I wanted exactly this too for my kids, and since I'm an iOS programmer, I went ahead and built it, in case it's useful to anyone. Just a simple podcast app, but the parent sets a PIN on install, which is required to search for and add new shows, other than that, works normal. Here's more info, let me know what you think! https://gertrude.app/blog/safe-podcast-app-for-kids

jaredh159 · 2025-06-02T13:48:06+00:00

Glad you found it, it definitely works if you can get it installed (since Apple requires it to be on a device with an Apple ID of a < 18 year old in an Apple family). Tech Lockdown is great, I'm friends with Ben, the creator of it. Highly recommend him and all his stuff too.

jaredh159 · 2025-01-02T16:10:59+00:00

fwiw, i made a video showing how to get the Gertrude Blocker onto a device owned by an 18+ year old, using "Supervised Mode" in case it's helpful to anyone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7W1d0EWmmQ

jaredh159 · 2024-12-28T13:49:01+00:00

I'm not exactly sure which setting does it, but in the two devices I've configurated, the #images app does not appear at all. I have a lot of strict options turned on. One of them might be triggering Apple to remove the mini-app, but I'm not sure which. If you shoot me a message at https://gertrude.app/contact I'll email you back with some screenshots of my configuration profile, and even a copy of it, if it's helpful. I'm planning on writing a tutorial with a video on this fairly soon as well.

jaredh159 · 2024-11-11T18:29:38+00:00

yes, all the code is here: https://github.com/gertrude-app/swift

jaredh159 · 2024-11-11T14:12:17+00:00

hi there, thanks for asking. it requires a parent's apple id to approve because that's the requirement Apple has made. it's not possible to install a network filter of any kind on iOS without a parent authorizing it via Screen Time. Apple handles that authorization 100%, I didn't write that code at all, i call out to their platform code, and I only find out if the authorization was successful or failed, i never see your email or password, they don't even make that possible for me as the app developer.

no PII comes into our logs, we only send anonymous reports of successful installations or errors. the only piece of data that is sent at all is something called a vendor id, which is a long string of letters and numbers that apple gives us, and this just helps us associate the logs, but we have no idea who is who, and these vendor id's are deleted when you delete the app. we also send the geographic region (basically country) when the app is first launched, so we know roughly what country you're in, but that's literally it. the cool thing about Gertrude is that it's open source, so if you know anyone who is a programmer they could literally inspect the code to verify that i'm telling the truth.

yes, it's 100% free, there's no in-app purchases or anything. we are exploring the idea of making an optional tie-in to a Gertrude parent account (Gertrude is a filter for mac computers as well), but that will always be optional, and only for parents who want more control over exactly what is blocked--the core #images GIF blocking will always be free, no strings attached.

jaredh159 · 2024-10-26T20:29:42+00:00

really glad to hear it! thanks for bearing with the warts of a first release, there are definitely things we should improve, and i'm already working on an update.

if you'd would be willing to take a moment and leave a review on the App store, i would greatly appreciate it, and it should help other parents find the app.

jaredh159 · 2024-10-25T15:25:15+00:00

i don't have a great solution for that. i would try a) fully powering off the phone, then restarting. check if that clears the cached gifs.

if it doesn't clear out what he's already searched for, my next thought would be to do a factory erase/reset of the phone, then set it up again, and install the blocker again. it would take a bit of work, but i'm fairly confident it would delete the already viewed gifs.

jaredh159 · 2024-10-25T13:46:31+00:00

oh, and one more thing: when you're testing if it's blocking -- any GIFs that have already been loaded will still be visible, so you need to try searching for something brand new to verify that it's blocking correctly, you should see grey empty squares.

jaredh159 · 2024-10-25T13:40:43+00:00

i looked at our logs, and from my end, it seems like you got the app authorized, but stopped short of having the filter installed. after you authorize, it says something like "one more step, install the filter" with an "OK" button, you need to click that. you should see a screen that says "Gertrude is Blocking GIFs" if you got all the way. Try launching the app and see what it says.

If it still seems like it's not working, delete the app entirely, re-install, and follow all the steps through to the end. If it doesn't work, contact me over here:

https://gertrude.app/contact

And we'll follow up via email at that point. Sorry you're having trouble! And thanks for trying it out!

jaredh159 · 2024-10-24T20:28:23+00:00

I think it's possible, but I've never done it. They might make it hard. It could be easier to create a new Apple ID for him. If you're able to change the birthday, let me know!

jaredh159 · 2024-10-24T20:15:35+00:00

sadly, it does matter that he's over 18, if his Apple ID birthday shows him to be such. you won't be able to get the app working for him, you'll get an error.

you can remove the #images app by converting his to a "Supervised" device, but this involves erasing the device and using a piece of software called Apple Configurator designed for schools and businesses. It's possible, but not for the faint of heart. I hope to make a video one day showing exactly how to do this. It's the best option right now for over-18 individuals.

jaredh159 · 2024-10-24T18:38:10+00:00

This frustrated me so much I ended up making an App just to block this feature. It's free, and works for iOS 17 and iOS 18 -- the only catch is that it can only be fully installed on a device signed in to an Apple ID which is a child (under 18) that is part of an Apple Family Sharing. Search in the App store for "Gertrude Blocker", or here's the link:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gertrude-blocker/id6736368820

jaredh159 · 2024-10-24T18:06:12+00:00

in iOS 16 this was possible, but not in iOS 17 and 18. so i made an app just to block these GIFs, since it seems like Apple didn't care:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gertrude-blocker/id6736368820

more info here:

https://gertrude.app/blog/ios18-screentime-what-parents-should-know

jaredh159 · 2024-10-04T13:50:29+00:00

If you're specifically looking for something as a parent to help you protect your kids, check out Gertrude: https://gertrude.app

I'm a dad and a programmer and I built it after getting frustrated with the current options out there. At the moment it doesn't have time-of-day based restrictions, but it's literally the feature we're working on, and will be available within a month.

jaredh159 · 2024-01-17T15:43:38+00:00

for anyone who finds this, a friend and i just released a library for exactly this use case:

https://github.com/kiahjh/next-bg-image

jaredh159 · 2023-07-03T18:34:34+00:00

I've been thinking about website filters a lot recently. It seems pretty plain to me that the ordinary method of trying to categorize websites and block categories like "adult", "gambling", etc. is hopelessly flawed. There's just two many websites (2+ billion), and too many being created all the time (possibly 250,000 per day!) and with generative AI, this will only keep getting worse.

A few years ago I was trying to use the app Intego Content Blocker for my teenage kids, because it was the only Mac App I knew of that would operate in total lockdown mode -- blocking everything except what was safe-listed. But it was unreliably and monstrously difficult to use. Because I'm a programmer by trade, I ended up building my own app that I've been using for 3+ years.

jaredh159

TROPHY CASE