How To Make Android More Child Friendly
© Getty ImagesAndroid is the most popular smartphone operating system in the world. According to Statista, it has a market share of 72%, compared to 27% for iOS and the remaining 1% for many other operating systems.
Android's massive market share exceeds all demographics. Many parents buy Android devices for their children and need to make sure they are safe to use. This article will show you how to make your Android device more kid-friendly.
1. Use Google Family Link
Family Link is a parental control software offered by Google, the maker of the Android operating system. This tool is free and easy to set up.
You can create a Google Kids account for your child and link it to your Google Account. You decide which account is the child's and which is yours to give them control
After activating Family Link, you will be able to apply many useful parental control features, such as:
- You can set time limits for your child's smartphone usage. For example, you can limit the number of hours you can use each day. The device is automatically locked after the allotted time. You can lock your device at specific times, such as school and bedtime.
- You can control the apps your child downloads to their devices. Their smartphone will not be able to download any apps without your device's express consent.
- You can filter the content your child accesses online. You can block certain URLs and if your child tries to access them, the connection will not be resolved. This feature helps keep them away from malicious sites.
- Family Link allows you to remotely lock your child's device at any time.
- You can track your child's location and make sure they are always in a certain area.
2. Enable parental control in Play Store
Google Play Store is an online portal for every Android device. Here they can find and download many programs, which means that children need parental restrictions.
Play Store has built-in parental controls. For example, you can use the SafeSearch filter to prevent children from downloading apps with inappropriate or inappropriate content. You can also block certain categories of apps, such as gambling and instant messaging.
Once you set content and app filters in the Play Store, your child won't be able to download apps outside of these settings. Note that you need to set up restrictions for each Android device your child uses. Unlike Family Link, restrictions apply until your child is signed in to their account.
3. Use YouTube Kids
YouTube is the world's most popular video sharing site owned by Google. Every kid with a smartphone will visit YouTube regularly to watch videos.
For added security, you can replace the YouTube app on your child's smartphone with the kid-friendly version of YouTube Kids.
YouTube Kids offers content designed for children. There you can find lots of educational content to help your child be productive online. The app has parental control settings that allow you to limit your child's screen time and deny them access to search tools when necessary.
4. Disable downloading from unknown sources
Android phones stand out because they give their owners a lot of control over their devices. So Google Play Store is not the only place to download apps for kids. If they are tech savvy, they can download apps by directly downloading and installing APK files. But you can control this by turning off downloads from unknown sources in your child's phone settings.
Remember, if your kids are tech savvy, they can figure out what you're doing and resume the download. Therefore, you should constantly monitor their devices and ensure that downloads from unknown sources are disabled.
5. Limit unauthorized purchases
Some unethical software developers try to force children to pay for unnecessary features. This happens in most games that use "dark mode". For example, a game developer may make a level too difficult and require a paid upgrade to beat that level.
You can prevent your child from making unauthorized purchases in the Play Store settings:
- Go to the settings panel in the Play Store.
- Click Require authentication for purchases.
- Turn on the option for all Google Play purchases on this device
After enabling this option, you will be prompted for your password every time your child wants to make an in-app purchase.
You can also order through Family Link. When your child wants to download an app to their device, they send a purchase request to your account, and you decide whether to approve it or not. You can view and respond to these requests in real time, or queue them up to respond to later.
6. Fuse
This is a very simple step, but still worth mentioning. Turn on the security lock on your child's device. You can use a lock pattern, password or PIN. If their device supports biometric authentication, you can use fingerprint or face recognition.
Locking ensures that no one can access your child's device without permission. Follow these few steps to implement this feature:
- Go to Settings > Security
- Tap Lock screen and adjust the security lock options available on your child's device
Biometric authentication is the best and most secure option. If your device doesn't support it, a pattern lock works because it's easier to remember than a password, but more difficult than a short PIN.
7. Enable SafeSearch in Chrome
Most likely, your child uses Google Chrome to access the Internet and Google Search to search the Internet. So you can enable the SafeSearch filter in Chrome
Safe Search hides inappropriate content from search results, such as images that depict violence or pornography. While it's not 100% accurate, it does a good job.
The results
There is nothing wrong with giving your child a smartphone. However, you should make sure that the smartphone is as child-friendly as possible to prevent them from interacting with inappropriate content. We'll show you the most important steps to make your Android smartphone more kid-friendly. Follow our tips and your child is more likely to enjoy safer internet browsing and enjoy the good parts of the internet.
We have listed the best free parental control software
