Google has released a new application for Android smartphones, and also for iPhones, very important because it fills a lack of both systems, that of parental control. Although not always easy to manage, parental control on the smartphone allows the parent to monitor the use of the phone and applications on the phone of the young or inexperienced child, so that it can be protected from any dangerous knowledge, from harmful apps, from sites for adults and games that can spend too much money if there is no control.
In addition, it is also an effective method to regulate the play and study times of children, to block the use of some apps at certain times of the day and, if you want even closer control, to locate the position in each moment.
The Google app, released just in these days, is called Google Family Link and promises to be a safe method of control for phones, not too invasive, but still careful.
It is obviously not the only app of this kind and it is also worth dwelling on some alternatives that we can consider the best applications for parental control on children's phones, both for iPhone and for Android .
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Google Family Link can be downloaded for free on every Android smartphone and iPhone and is presented as the app that helps to establish the digital life rules for children, so you can manage the apps used, control the times of use and with ability also to lock the mobile phone remotely.
This app is recommended for controlling the phone of children under the age of 13.
Its functions are as follows:
- Ability to manage the child's account, change the password and authorize access to websites with Google Chrome.
- Ability to choose which apps can download or buy and block which you do not want to be used.
- Management of the times when the phone can be used and, therefore, also set the time when you go to bed and you can no longer use your cell phone at night.
- Limit the daily data band, i.e. the phone's ability to download from the internet.
- Check how much time spends on the phone and which apps are most used.
- Check the location of your mobile phone at any time.
Google Family Link, therefore, works well and is really a complete and easy to use app, free without limitations, even if at the moment there is a small limit that is creating some annoyance.
The problem is that to use Family Link it is necessary to create a new account for the child and it is not possible to use an existing one.
If our child already uses a smartphone with a Google account, it will therefore be necessary to reset it with a new account, which may not be too much appreciated by the boy or girl.
To learn more about Family Link and to have all the user guides, you can read the support page on the Google site and the main presentation page.
Other free applications for parental control over children, for Android phones and smartphones (Samsung, Huawei, Honor, LG, Motorola and others) and for iPhones, are:
1) Screen Time Parental Control, free app for Android and for iPhone, with different control functions including:
- Checking the time spent by children on the mobile screen.
- Control of the apps used
- Warnings if a new app is installed on the phone
- Check the browser history to find out which sites are visited
- Control of searches made on the internet
The premium version also unlocks other features such as the ability to limit the time of use of the phone and to set a block on some selected apps.
2) Secure Teen Parental Control, for Android and iPhone, offers a good solution to check the time spent in front of the screen of our child's phone and then also check the apps downloaded by the children, track their position and remotely monitor their devices.
Other features of this parental control app include:
- Website control of the phones where SecureTeen is installed.
- App lock.
- Control on SMS / MMS sent and received by the child device.
- Check the details of the calls.
- Check the address book.
- Control over Facebook activities.
- Web history check. To be informed when it comes to your child's online activity.
3) Other popular, but partially free, parental controls apps are:
- Eset Parental Control (Android)
- Norton Family Safety (Android and iPhone)
- Qustodio (Android and iPhone)
4) If you want to keep total control of an Android smartphone, the absolute number one app is certainly Cerberus, not free but so extraordinarily complete that it becomes anyone's phone.
Always remember that, before installing this type of application, it is advisable to make a family agreement with your children, explain to them why we need to install and activate this type of control and make them understand the importance of how a smartphone should be used and the dangers that are behind it.
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