Do not erase yet. Verify current iCloud sync and app-specific backups first. An encrypted Mac backup is a rollback copy, but restoring an unsupervised backup removes supervision.
- Verify iCloud and critical apps.Check recent photos elsewhere, WhatsApp’s backup timestamp, passwords, authenticator recovery and essential app exports.
- Connect the iPhone to a Mac.Download the VowLock Mac installer ↓ Open it with Apple Configurator, trust the computer and choose the supervised-phone workflow.
- Erase and supervise deliberately.Device supervision cannot be added to an already configured personal iPhone without an erase.
- Review the selected protection.Explicit-content and online-gambling protection form the family baseline. Optional platform categories apply only when selected. The App Store remains available, but known blocked apps in selected categories cannot open; a newly released or unlisted app may remain usable until VowLock adds its bundle identifier.
- Install and test the VowLock filter.Test an ordinary website first, then complete the supplied website and app checks for every selected category.