Most people today use smartphones and tablets, but watch out for this. If you are a parent who bought a new device for your child, you probably want to set up parental controls and content filtering on the device to prevent the display of inappropriate content. You can create limited profiles on tablets, use third-party applications to exercise such control, or even allow filtering and passwords for purchases on the Play Store.
Create and use restricted profiles
If you purchased a gadget running Android, you can configure the profile limit. How to establish parental control in this way? To do this, open the "Settings" menu of your device. Find the gear icon on the home screen, notification bar, or application list and tap it. This will open all the settings menu of your device.
Scroll down and click on "Users". A menu will open in which you can add new users to the device. Create a restricted user profile. Click Add User or Profile, and from the options, select Limited. Set a password for the account. This will be required if you do not already have such protection. To do this, select your preferred security option (PIN, password or pattern), then enter your choice.
As soon as you finish setting up parental control on Android, a new screen will appear in which all installed applications on the device will be listed. Each of them will have an on and off button located next to them.
Click the three-line icon next to the “New profile” option at the top of the screen. In the dialog that appears, enter its name (this may be the name of your child). When you finish the input process, click OK.
Now you can select the applications that the user of the profile will have access to. For example, if you want your child to be able to enter only their games, select exclusively gaming services. To select the applications you need, tap the switch button next to the program name and put it in the “ON” position. Leave the services to which you do not want to allow the child in the “OFF” option.
How to fix the result?
How to put parental control permanently? Exit the Settings menu and lock the screen. Reactivate it by pressing the Home button on the device. Now you will see a lock screen on which user names will be displayed (below). Select a user name with a limited profile, then open the screen using the PIN code, password or key that you set.
When accessing the list of applications, you will see that only those services that you have selected for this account will be displayed. These are the only programs your child can run.
Using a special application
You can also download and install the parental control app from the Play Store. To do this, open the Play Store and search for services by the keywords Parental Control. The results will show several applications to choose from. Click on each of them to view their description, and as soon as you find the right one for you, click the "Install" button to download and run it. So you can set parental control on the phone.
Find the icon of the application you selected and downloaded on the home screen or in the list, and tap it. When the service opens, it should have parameters such as games, education, and more. These are categories in which you can add applications for your child. This will allow you to create a home screen that your child will see when you turn on the phone.
Create Access Code
In most applications of this type, you will need to create a PIN code. It will be used to add an unlimited number of applications, make changes to the settings and exit the parental control mode on the Android phone. Thus, your child will not be able to make unnecessary changes to settings or exit them unintentionally.
The option to create a security code is usually located in the "Settings" menu. Find the menu button (three dots or three lines), tap it, and select Create PIN. Enter the PIN you want to use, then click OK. For added security, some parental control apps will ask you to select a security question and give an answer. This will be useful if you forget your PIN.
As a rule, you will get the opportunity to add information about your child in the "Settings" menu. Enter his name, date of birth, age and / or gender in the indicated fields and click OK. How to set parental control on the phone after entering data?
Selection of allowed services
In the Settings menu, select an option to select applications. A list of installed programs should appear. View it and click on the names of the services that you allow your child to run. When you finish the settings process, click OK.
Exit the application, and when you launch it, you may be asked to dial a PIN. Enter it and only those programs that you have allowed to run will be displayed on the screen. Now you can safely let your child use the device. He will not be able to exit the parental control mode, as this requires knowledge of the security code.
Set restrictions in the Play Store
You can also set limits on the services that your child can download. To do this, launch Google Play. Find the white icon with a color image on it. Click to open it.
Click the three-line icon in the upper left corner and select “Settings” from the menu. You will find the desired option under the heading "User Controls". Click it to open the Parental Controls menu. The option enable switch will be located below the header. Press to set it to “ON”.
You will be asked to enter a 4-digit PIN. It will be used to change parental control settings. Enter the code you want to use and click OK. Confirm it by re-entering it in the desired field, and then tap “OK”.
Click “Applications and Games” on the screen, a pop-up window will appear allowing you to select the rating of programs for certain age levels. For example, if you choose services with an age of 3+, Google Play will only show applications for children from 3 to 7. If you select 7+, the store will display services for children from 7 to 12 years, etc. Click on the rating. which you prefer to install.
What do you need to remember?
Only a few Android devices allow you to create limited profiles that allow you to control your child’s access to certain applications. This feature is available on Android version 4.2 or higher.
There are many parental controls apps available on the Play Store. Some of them are free (Kids Zone), others require payment (SafeKiddo), and they will have more content restriction options. Features may vary depending on the application, but most of them do an excellent job of restricting and / or allowing access to programs for your children. In addition, some mobile operators offer their own options of this type. For example, you can set the parental control of MTS, with the help of which certain restrictions are also configured.
How to use these options on iPhone?
To block or restrict certain applications and features on the iPhone, you can use the manufacturer’s built-in restrictions. How to enable parental controls on the iPhone?
To do this, first do the following. Go to Settings> General> Restrictions. Click Enable Restrictions. Create an access code in this submenu. You will need it to change settings or to disable restrictions.
If you forget it, you will have to reset the device, and then configure it as new. Restoring a created account using a backup will not delete the password with restrictions.
Enabling Apple Embedded Applications and Features
If the app or feature is disabled in the Restrictions section, your child will not be able to use them. However, they are not deleted, but are temporarily hidden on the main screen. For example, if you do not want your child to take photos or videos, you can turn off the camera by restricting this feature. At the same time, all other applications that use the camera will not have access.
There are other built-in Apple features that you can limit:
- "Safari".
- "Siri" and dictation.
- FaceTime
- CarPlay
You can also prevent your child from installing or removing third-party services or making purchases. This option allows you to block the use of embedded applications on the device. You can limit the following built-in Apple features:
- iTunes Store
- music profiles and messages;
- iBooks store
- Podcasts
- news;
- application installation;
- uninstall applications;
- in-app purchases.
Prevent access to certain content
You can also set restrictions that prevent the playback of music, movies, or videos with special ratings. Many services also have ratings that you can configure using parental controls. Below are the types of content that you can limit:
- Ratings for: select a country or region in a special section to automatically apply the appropriate content ratings for this region.
- Music, podcasts, and news: Prevent music, music videos, podcasts, and news containing certain data from playing.
- Movies: Prevents watching movies with certain age ratings.
- Applications and books: similar to the above.
- Siri: Prevent Siri searches on Google and Wikipedia on specific topics.
Website Access Restriction
iOS can automatically filter the content of sites, allowing you to restrict access to certain content in the Safari web browser and applications. You can also add certain resources to the list of approved or blocked or set access only to approved sites. To do this, go to Settings> General> Restrictions> Sites and select one of the following options:
- all websites;
- restrict adult content;
- specific websites only.