Parental controls for Android
05.12.2011
Question:
Do you know of any Parent controls for Android?
Answer from Kids and Media’s editor:
As a parent, there are several ways to protect your child from accessing inappropriate content on your Android smartphone. Note that none of these measures are fool-proof. Tech-savvy children can always find a way to bypass parental controls; still, they will help ensuring that children stay safe while enjoying the opportunities of the digital world. However, remember that the best way to keep your children safe is by teaching them a healthy critical sense, keeping an ongoing dialogue with them about their digital activities and, in general, by empowering children as digital citizens.
Filter apps by ratings in the Android Market
Apps that are available through Google’s Android Market are labelled according to a rating system that consists of four levels: Everyone, Low Maturity, Medium Maturity or High Maturity.
On your Android smartphone or tablet computer, it is possible to filter apps by ratings, in order to allow users to only install apps that have been deemed appropriate for a specific age group:
Take the following steps to filter apps:
- Launch the Android Market
- Press MENU, then the SETTINGS button
- Under ‘Content Filtering’, click the PULL DOWN menu
- Select the appropriate maturity level
- Tap the Lock icon to enter a numeric pin required to change settings in the future (optional)
Source: droidlessons.com
Note:
When it comes to mobile apps, developers provide ratings for their own products. This causes a problem, especially in the open Android market, as the guidelines for how to assign ratings are often unclear and the system relies on the honesty of developers to accurately rate their apps.
As well as this, it takes some figuring to understand the difference between the levels of the rating system, as there is no specific age recommendation connected to the different levels. As a result of this, it is easy for parents to misunderstand a rating; there is no way of knowing that drugs and sex are permitted for ‘medium maturity’ just by looking at the label.
For this reason, Kids and Media recommends that parents familiarise themselves with the Android Market Rating System
Vodafone parental control Android app
Recently, Vodafone launched Vodafone Guardian, a free parental control app for Android smartphones. The app is password protected and has several useful features, such as:
- Set limits based on age-range or specific features
- Restrict which numbers can be dialled or texted
- Limit Internet access from the device at certain times of day
- Limit which websites that can be visited
Any unauthorised change to the settings will result in the parent or guardian being alerted via SMS. The app is available for download in the Android Market or Vodafone's own app store; Vodafone AppSelect.
Read more about the Vodafone Guardian app
Vodafone has also launched a free Digital Parenting app that is designed to help parents learn more about some of the digital devices and services their children enjoy, such as Facebook, Google and smartphones, and to get more involved in their digital world.
Read more at parents/vodafone.com
Source:
PCAdvisor
Vodafone launches parental controls Android app
Android Parental Control app
Another free parental control app is simply named “Android Parental Control”. The app allows you to create a “safe sandbox” of apps that children can use without being able to accidentally access or change anything outside of that sandbox.
Other features include:
- Select and filter installed apps
- Overall and individual app restriction (password protect individual apps)
- Automatic restart of the app when phone is rebooted
The user reviews of this app, however, are very mixed. Some love it, others rate is as practically useless. The reviews indicate that this might be related to problems with installation or execution on particular phones, indicating that if this app runs properly on your phone, it might be a useful tool.
Read more at the Android Market
Source:
