Parental controls come in a
variety of forms from content filters to limiting screen time. At their
essence, parental controls enable parents to limit what their children can and
cannot do with their devices or online services. While these controls focus on
restricting use and access, parental controls cannot monitor exactly what your
children see and post online (although there are third party services that do). In a perfect world, parental controls would be a “set it and forget it” deal. However, this is not the case. While parental controls can be useful, they don't completely eliminate parental responsibility. For instance, they are not a
substitute for teaching children how to appropriately use their digital devices nor are they a substitute for “verifiable parental consent”
(required by COPPA for any online service collecting personal information of a
child under 13) even if the child is browsing with parental controls on.
It's always a good reminder to follow up with your children’s online activity and be mindful of
their digital footprint to protect their online privacy. It is up to the
parent’s discretion to decide how to utilize the controls, but family media
experts suggest relaxing more stringent controls when children show maturity
when using their internet devices to help foster an environment of trust around
digital devices. Ultimately, parental controls can provide parents with tools
to help their children use their devices more safely and responsibly as long as it's used as an additional tool rather than a replacement for supervision.
Here are a few descriptions about some parental
controls of the most popular devices and streaming services below.
Devices
Apple: With Screen Time on iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, parents can monitor how their
children use the device, impose downtime restrictions and set time restrictions
for using certain categories of apps. In the iOS 13 update, parents can set
time limits per specific app instead of categories. Apple
is expected to launch an update later this fall that will allow parents to
control their children’s contacts which will allow them to control who their
children can text, call, and FaceTime. Kids will not be able to manually enter
phone numbers to bypass parental control of their contacts.
Google: Google’s Family Link parental controls are now part of the Android operating
system. Parents can download the app and manage Google accounts for children
under 13. Parents can view apps recommended by teachers, approve app downloads,
set screen-time limits, and set a bedtime for devices in the app. Family Link
can also be used to monitor teen Gmail accounts, but with the teen’s
permission.
Amazon: Amazon includes a FreeTime app on all Fire tablets where parents can set up a
unique profile for up to four children with a custom age filter so the child
will only be shown age-appropriate content. Parents can track their child’s
device usage and disable the web browser. Parents can set goals for educational
content that block other apps until those goals are met. Amazon also offers
curated content through FreeTime Unlimited with an additional monthly
subscription fee. With the Echo Dot Kids Edition, parents have the same
controls as they do with the tablets, with the additional feature of filtering
songs with explicit lyrics.
Subscription Services
Spotify
(Premium Family):
Parental controls are only available to the Spotify Premium Family account
holder (the person paying for the subscription), which is likely a parent.
Parents can choose which family members to exclude from access to explicit
content.
Netflix: Parents log in to their Netflix accounts and set a PIN to be entered for
restricted content. Parents can set content restrictions by age group (content
ratings are set according to the MPAA and TV ratings systems). Parents can also
restrict all access so your PIN is needed to play any content. Parents can also
restrict specific titles of any rating.