The task of every parent is to protect their child from the dangers that may lie in waiting for him on the Internet, as well as from computer and gaming addiction. If adults can still control themselves when using PCs and smartphones (and not all of them) and distinguish the harmful content of various sites from the acceptable content, then a child cannot do this. Parental control programs make it possible not only to track your children’s activity on the computer but also to limit it according to specific parameters.
Google can set a password for your account with security settings. In this case, children should not change searches and constraints.
If your child has a social network account, be sure to study the security settings and the maximum possible level of protection. Possible problems: setting the probability of detection for external ones, disabling the ability to find children through an email address, and phone number, and dividing friends and subscribers into groups to provide access to information from pages. It is also helpful to visit your child’s post in person. If one of them is content taken out, limit the possibility of news events from this person on social networks.
Windows
If you own a Windows computer, you can use the Family Safety utility. It can be downloaded from the official Microsoft website if you have an account and an OS version starting with Vista. Create a separate account for the children on the computer and enter restrictions for it – the settings here are flexible.
MacOS
Parental controls are provided here starting from version 10.5. Fewer features than Windows:
- Allowing or blocking sites, e-mail recipients, messenger subscribers, and applications;
- Introduction of a computer work schedule;
- Limiting the duration of computer use and access to certain equipment.
Parental controls on smartphones and tablets iOS, Android, Windows
The most serious parental controls are provided in Apple devices:
- The AppStore does not allow explicitly obscene applications.
- It is possible to set additional restrictions on the launch of the browser and the installation of new applications.
Mobile technology for Android has fewer built-in options for total control – at least because you can download applications not only from the Play Store, and it is more challenging to keep track of all sources. In the app store, you can set the appropriate level of content for children based on what the system offers for a certain age. The Application Protection function is suitable for prohibiting the installation of unknown applications.
In case you are not satisfied with the functionality of the built-in parental control on the child’s technology, you can find one of the many child safety programs on CellTrackingApps website. They are divided into programs for protecting information on the parent’s smartphone, which they give children to “play”, and applications for devices owned by the children themselves.