Category: Parental Controls

Many children are now obsessed with online games. One of the trendiest games that you may be hearing about is Roblox. Tens of millions of users around the world have fun with this digital platform.  No doubt, Roblox multiplayer game is helpful for kids to build a community, learn creative things, and get entertained.

However, there are some risks involved such as cyberbullying, exposing inappropriate content and online predators.  Roblox is yet another platform that parent must be serious about to keep kids safe from imminent dangers while they play the game. Luckily, you can limit their activity and monitor whom they are chatting or playing with by activating Roblox parental control.

So, let’s review why and how to activate parental control features on Roblox.  We’ll also explore the potential benefits and dangers of the Roblox game.

What Is Roblox?

Roblox is an online platform for children and teenagers where they can play games and create anything they imagine using Roblox Studio. This blocky, cartoon game is developed and released in the years 2004 and 2006 respectively. David Baszucki and Erik Cassel are the founders of this game.

Roblox is a free and open-source game that you can download instantly for any type of device. Users can choose their favorite avatar (player), as well as shop outfits and accessories by spending the ‘Robux’ virtual currency. And Roblox Premium is available with more features.

According to a Roblox report published on February 22, they have more than 55.1 million daily active users mostly children and teenagers. And their estimated revenue is between $204 million to $207 million per year.

What Are The Benefits Of Roblox?

Here are some of the benefits that kids acquire from playing Roblox games.

• Makes children imaginative and creative
• Develops problem-solving skills
• Improves social skills
• Develops designing, programming, and many other skills
• Provides lots of entertainment

What Are The Potential Dangers Of Roblox?

Besides lots of benefits, there are some disadvantages of the Roblox game that you should take into consideration.

• Spending lots of time on screen make kids addicted
• Have cyber security risks
• Some content features violence
• User-generated games may contain adult content, inappropriate languages
• Players buy game items using the virtual currency ‘Robux’. If kids get a chance to spend money online to purchase things, they might misuse it.

Are Parental Controls for Roblox Necessary?

Roblox game has some risks for children, especially cyberbullying. Many parents complain about inappropriate content. So, parental control is a must to keep kids protected from online predators while they play Roblox games.

It features a parental control menu that helps to limit the activity of kids’ online games. This also allows monitoring of what the kids are doing in Roblox. The next section will explain the way to activate parental controls on Roblox.

How To Set Roblox Parental Controls

The process of activating parental controls on Roblox on the web and smart devices is quite different but the main thing is almost the same in both cases.

The steps are as follows:

Step 1: Set Up Account Properly

The first thing parents should do is set up the account correctly. Be sure you register with the right date of birth and name of your child. According to the age of the kids, privacy and security are designed in the game. When users play games online, the level of the games will also be offered depending on their maturity.

If your child has already registered a Roblox account, you need to log in there. If you don’t know the password, hit the forget the password button. Now correct the information if kids open the account with the wrong name and age.

You can change it by entering ‘My Settings’ and then the ‘Account Info’ section. Both web and phone will allow doing that. Put a verified email address and select the right gender. Also, choose a strong password combination of numbers, and symbols with capital and small letters.

Step 2: Activate Parental Control

You will find the ‘Parental Control’ menu under ‘Settings’. Here you have to set a parental control pin ‘Parent Pin’ first. Put a 4-digit pin and enable it. Also, select the age limit from the ‘Allowed Experiences’ option. There are 3 different age selection options:

• 13+ (Suitable for ages 13 and older)
• 9+ (Suitable for ages 9 and older)
• All Ages (Suitable for everyone)

So, choose the right age according to your kids’ age.

Step 3: Set Roblox Privacy Settings

From the privacy setting option enable the ‘Account Restriction’ option. After that turn off the ‘Communication’ option. And from the ‘Other Settings’ select ‘No one’ for all available sections as shown in the image. So, the parental control on Roblox is now activated in the game.

Summary

Roblox is a popular interactive game for children and teenagers.  Still, cyber security and privacy concerns is a major concern for parents. However, if you activate the Roblox parental controls with proper online privacy settings, your kids will be able to enjoy the benefits of any gaming app with the most harm reduction possible.

Of course, parents should continue to be diligent to remain active in monitoring and limiting their activities. This can be done by checking in with you child regularly.  However, installing third  parental controls   Whenever you get any notifications, review them soon and act accordingly.  Also, limit their play time so they don’t get addicted to the game. And educate your children about online bullying.

• Explore parental controls for Android devices
• Review the best parental control apps for iPhone

Did you know that Android smartphones are considered to be far less secure than iPhones?  There are obvious reasons this is true but you may be surprised to hear that these very reasons also make it the safest phone for your child.  Let’s explore what’s behind what appears to be a major contradiction.

Android users make up 71.52% of all smart phone users, compared with 27.83% iPhone users*.  It’s often been said that hackers focus on Android phones because of the sheer number of them.  While this is one motivation, the main reason that Android lacks security against hackers is how they are made.

Quite simply, the operating system of Android is open source. Androids have few restrictions when software programs and apps are being created for them.  This open source platform means that when parental control apps are developed for Android, there is more freedom for apps to allow parents to fully control and monitor a child’s phone.

iPhones are closed source, and therefore, they have built in security features that make them more safe against malware and virus.  The downside is that parental control apps made for iPhone mean less monitoring features for parents.

The good news for Android users is that the power to fully limit what websites kids visit will also keep them off and website that infect mobile phones and tablet.

Safe Search Kids as partnered Qustodio for those seeking Android parental controls. Download Here

If your child has an iPhone, it is still important to install a parental control app on your iPhone. Every parent should do their best to make it as safe as possible when it comes to filtering the internet, blocking apps and keeping an eye on what your child is up to online.

Android Parental Controls

Bottom line, Android gives parents more monitoring control of their child’s phone.  This offers parents more options to monitor and restrict usage.  Let’s explore Android parental controls for your family.  The first step is to find an app that works for the type of device you want to filter and monitor.  Does the software or app have a version for Android only or for other platforms as well?

Let’s say your has a Windows PC, a Mac Laptop and both Android and Apple (iOS) smartphones.  It makes sense to choose a parental control platform that allows you to set up controls for all devices that you can manage from one account.  Therefore, you need to read the fine print of any parental control sales page.  Ensure there are downloads for all devices in each of the app stores on your devices.

Ability to Monitor Many Apps

Parental control apps allows monitoring of numerous social media apps and activities remotely without letting them know. You can check what the kids are viewing, chatting with, posting, and sharing with others.

The apps that you can monitor through our parental control app are Snapchat, Facebook, Facebook Lite, Messenger, Messenger Lite, Instagram, WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business, Viber, Telegram, Wechat, LINE, LINE Lite, QQ, Kik Messenger, Tinder, etc

Tracking the Target Device Location

One of the must-have features that every parent wants to get from the parental control app is tracking their kids’ current location

These Android monitoring apps have built-in advanced Wi-Fi and GPS position tracking technology that will provide the real-time location of your children using the device. You can also set a geo-fence in the app that will give you an alert when the target gets in or out of the selected zone.

Parents love the geo-fence feature especially when they are concerned about toddlers or special needs children’s movement.

The app allows doing the following task:

• Track GPS location
• Wi-Fi location tracking
• View location history
• Set up geo-fence

Access Phone File

Parental monitoring apps permits to access contacts, call logs, messages, web browsers, and other apps. So, getting the authority, you can view your children’s online actions at any time. You can also record any operation of the target device and save them for future use.

Protect Privacy and Data

Research shows that Android apps are riff with piracy risks due to data collection.  Parents need to be concerned but not worried if they take the proper steps towards data protection and personal safety. A quality parental control app will encrypt your data and won’t sell your information to any third party. It’s also a bug-free app and 100% safe so you can use it without any worries.

Syncs Real-Time Data

The app syncs real-time data no matter whether you’re using a cellular network or Wi-Fi. And these data will be automatically synced instantly. It will be really helpful to know what your kids are doing and what they are contracting with.

Control Target Phones Remotely

Not only does viewing the activity of the target device, but this also permits you to fully control the target phones. The remote-control feature is a smart way to monitor the activity secretly in incognito mode.

So, you can record real-time phone calls on both sides, take photos, or capture screen photos secretly.

Invisible Tracking

The app will work in the background of the target device. Thus whether you’re tracking it or not, kids can’t understand it. In that way, you’ll get the actual browsing history or call history easily.

Compatible with Most Phones

Don’t be worried about the compatibility of the app with your smartphone. It is compatible with the available phones in the market such as Google, Samsung, LG, Huawei, OnePlus, Xiaomi, and more. It’s actually matched with any phone having android updates 4.0 to 13.

Supports Multiple Languages

The android parental control app has great demand nowadays throughout the world. Considering this, the app is designed to support multiple languages including English. So apart from English-speaking people, other people in the world can also use it, if they don’t know English well.

Latest Updates

It’s always recommended to use the updated version of any app. Regular releases provide updates to improve user experience.

When the app developer releases any new version of the product, you will be notified. Just click on update to install the latest version of the app. You don’t pay extra for the newest version.

Reliable Customer Support

Customer support is always an important consideration, especially for after-sales service. Our customer support team is available 24/7. And, whatever support like installation, renewing the package, changing any option, and so on you need, you’ll get from us.

Quick Set up and User-Friendly Interface

There is no ambiguity in the setup of the app. It needs only 3 steps to install the app on the target android phone. The interface is user-friendly and lets you start operating the app within 5 minutes.

The installation steps are-

• Sign Up: In this step, sign up with a valid email address. To create your account, select the Try Now to customize settings that suit your family.
• Install App on the Target Device: Follow the app developer’s guidelines to set up the app on the target devices.
• Start Monitoring: Now, you can begin filtering the internet, monitoring apps, and keeping your children’s phone activities on track.

Download Android Parental Monitoring

Summary

So, considering all the features it’s clear that an android parental control app that monitors and controls a child’s device is essential protective to provide online safety and security. By installing, you can ensure protect your children are safe from online predators, cyber-bullying, unsafe websites, and personal data priracy. How to disable safe mode on your child’s android device .

Besides monitoring kids’ online activity, you can also track their locations easily using this app. And it’s also possible to use the app to track elderly people or special needs children.
* Source: StatCounter Global Stats – OS Market Share

Android Resources:

How to disable safe mode on your child’s android device .

Snapchat has experienced tremendous growth over the last several years. Due to its increased popularity among kids and teens, this app is available on almost every kid’s device. This social networking app lets everyone in the world quickly connect with each other, and it can be used on both Android and iOS smartphones.

This application is a lot of fun to use, and it comes with a wide variety of functions, such as how to Pin Snapchat Conversation on iPhone, Find Your Friend’s Location on Map and much more.  It is, nevertheless, surrounded by several online threats as well.

When the vast majority of parents believe their children are completely secure while using Snapchat, the reality is very different. If you care about your kid’s online safety, you must activate Snapchat’s parental controls.

Well, the application has gone through a number of changes since it was first released, and one of those updates included the capability to store photos and videos that were sent to you by other people. If you’re concerned about your child’s safety while using the app, it’s best to stay up-to-date on the most recent changes and follow the app’s official instructions for activating parental controls.

What Do You Need to Know About Snapchat as Parents?

Children and teenagers both are addicted to Snapchat these days due to its mind-boggling capabilities, but they have also complained about a number of issues such as the Snapchat Loading Screen issues and a few more. Beyond that, it’s likely that your child has already downloaded the app and is using it on their smartphone. There are several important considerations for parents about Snapchat. Snaps are used to describe all the stuff posted to this app. There are three methods to view the photographs on the app, and each one has a unique time limit.

The photos you share with your friends disappear as soon as they’re seen. The group photos, on the other hand, may be seen twice. Finally, photographs uploaded to stories are visible to anybody and everyone for a limited time only.

Without a doubt, Snapchat is a popular social app among young people. They like using this app because it facilitates discreet communication by erasing texts once they have been read. But parents should talk to their children about the potential consequences of using this app.

In your role as parents, you have a responsibility to inform kids that anybody may capture screenshots of their photos and send them to others. Everything you do online may be seen by everyone. Sharing photos of your kids on Snapchat is probably not a good idea if they are unhappy with the idea of having their photos posted online.

How Snapchat Parental Control Feature Can Help Parents?

Snapchat’s built-in Parental Control tool makes it simple for parents to limit access to certain functions. If you do this, you may lessen the likelihood of your kids being hooked to the app. You may prevent them from using the app by simply blocking it on their smartphone. Furthermore, time limits may be imposed on the device. The app’s usage is time-locked, so they can only access it for a certain period.

You can keep an eye on your children’s social media activity with the use of a parental control app. This will allow them to use the platform intelligently and efficiently.

How to Set Snapchat Parental Control for Your Kids?

Here is a step-by-step guide for parents on how to set up parental controls on any phone so they can ensure their kids are safe on Snapchat by keeping an eye on what they are doing.

First of all, you’ll need to make some changes to “Privacy Settings” in your kid’s Snapchat App. Take their smartphone, open the Snapchat app and find “Gear Icon” on the top right corner to enter into the Privacy Settings. Now, keep scrolling down and find “Who Can” and that’s the option where you may need to make changes.

Under the “Who Can” section, you’ll find different options in which you need to make changes. So instance:

• Option 1 – Contact Me

In Contact Me, you will see two different options – “My Friends” or “Everyone.” Don’t let strangers contact your child by choosing the “My Friends” option. It will stop all the calls, messages as well as snaps from an unknown person.

• Option 2 – View My Story

Under the “View My Story” section, you’ll find three different options – Custom, Friends Only and Everyone. Be sure to choose the option “Friends Only” to keep protecting your kid. However, the Custom option further allows you to choose which specific friends can have conversations with your child.

• Option 3 – See Me In Quick Add

The next option you’ll find is described as “See Me In Quick Add.” Be sure you uncheck the box that says “See Me In Quick Add” and now unknown people won’t be able to find your kid on Snapchat any further.

• Option 4 – See My Location

At this point, you may choose a few different ways to proceed. For instance, you may restrict your child’s location sharing to just friends, or to a select group of friends. Additionally, you may prevent certain friends from tracking your kid’s location.

However, Ghost Mode should be “On” so that no one can track your children. That will secure your kids completely from anybody who would want to harm them, including abusers, kidnappers, scammers, and even friends who can come up unexpectedly and bring your kid somewhere they don’t really want to go.

Besides, turn off the option to “Allow Friends to Request My Location” by scrolling down a little. If you don’t disable Live Location Requests, your child’s friends may still see where they are in real-time even when Ghost Mode is on.

Wrapping Up

It’s too easy to keep monitoring your kids through Snapchat’s built-in Parental Control feature. However, you may also protect any family member from potential risks by using a wide range of 3rd party applications that comprise many more features for extra security.

They are a great way to keep an eye on your kids’ online activities and ensure they’re safe by listening in on their calls, text messages, GPS positions, screenshots, keystrokes, and chats.

Streaming services offer a bounty of entertainment options for all ages. However, plenty of content is unsuitable for kids and only suited to teens and above. What is a parent to do that wants to protect their child from unsafe content?

Parental controls offer some of the best possible protection from content unsafe for younger eyes. To get the most from these options, you will want to know how to use them to your advantage.

Read on to learn more about using parental controls.

What Are Parental Controls?

In short, parental controls allow parents to block their children’s access to certain types of programming. For example, you could bar children from watching R or TV-MA-rated content. You can focus on catching up on your favorites without your kids watching what’s off-limits.

How to Set Up General Controls on Google Play or Apple Devices

General controls help provide an extra bit of security, and you will want to consider using them in tandem with the services’ controls.

Google Play Protect

Google Play Protect helps keep your kids safe by checking your devices and apps for suspicious behavior, a beneficial feature to use alongside parental controls. Open the Google Play Store app, then tap your profile picture on the upper right.

Next, you’ll need to tap Google Play Protect, then Settings. Then, turn on the option to Scan apps with Play Protect. This will make sure that your CouchTuner experience remains free of any malicious content. For instance, this feature helps prevent your child from mistakenly downloading malware. Moreover, the feature continuously checks your apps to ensure no suspicious behavior occurs.

Google Family Link

Google Family Link allows you to set up profiles for your kids under 13 to better protect them from harmful content or monitor an existing account. You’ll start by installing the Family Link app.

Use the Create New Account option when signing in, and enter the name, password, age, birth date, and email address for your child. Then, you’ll follow instructions showing you how to select your child’s settings from your Google Account.

iPhone/iPad

Although many iOS-compatible streaming apps have rental controls, it’s helpful to have controls for your child’s Apple devices. You’ll start by navigating to Settings, then tapping Screen Time. Next, find and tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.

Next, you’ll want to tap Content Restrictions. By selecting Movies or TV Shows, you can block programming with specific ratings, such as R or TV-MA.

Setting Up Parental Controls by Streaming Service

Using parental controls on each service is also essential, as most services (with the rare exception of  FuboTV) offer these controls.  A second line of defense is learning how to vet movies and shows for your kids using sites line Common Sense Media.

Hulu

One option that parents have on Hulu is to set up a Kids profile, which only allows content suitable for all ages.

You can also log in to your account, select Manage Profiles, and select Turn on PIN Protection. Anyone who wants to access the non-Kids profiles will have to input the PIN.

Netflix

Sign in to your Netflix account and find Profile & Parental Controls. You’ll need to click on the profile that you want to change the settings for. Find the setting for Viewing Restrictions and select Change. After entering your Netflix password, you can select the maturity rating for that profile.

Sling TV

Sling TV, in addition to allowing restricting content based on ratings, also allows parents to restrict other content they may not want their kids seeing, such as mature unrated programs, sports, and news. You can start this process by going to Settings in your account.

You’ll need to enter an existing PIN code or create one if you haven’t already. Select Parental Controls On. Next, you can opt to restrict content by thematic material or rating. Once set, these settings will apply to all devices with SlingTV access in your household.

DirecTV Stream

DirectTV Stream makes it easy for parents to restrict content across all devices their children may use. Although you’ll change your preferences by going to Settings regardless of whether you are using a TV or another device, there are some differences between the devices regarding what to do next.

On a streaming device connected to your TV, you’ll be to Preferences, then Parental Controls and follow the prompts. If using the Chrome or Safari browsers, you’ll find the Parental controls under General, enter your PIN, and select Turn Parental Controls ON. Parents using the app will select Parental Controls, toggle ON and enter their PIN to confirm their choice.

Disney+

Disney+ has an easy process for setting which content your child may access. After visiting Edit Profiles from your account, select the profile in question.

Choose Content Rating under Parental Controls, then enter your account password. Select the content rating you want the profile to access, then Save to put the controls into effect.

Paramount+

Like many other services, you’ll begin setting up parental controls on Paramount+ by going into your main account settings. Go to the Parental Controls and toggle the setting into the ON position. Enter your account password and select submit.

The next step will be to create a PIN that anyone using the service must enter before they watch anything restricted. As an extra precaution, you can lock the Live TV feed as well.

FuboTV

FuboTV is different from the other streaming services highlighted so far because it lacks parental controls. However, you can use the parental control options on your device itself to set up these preferences.

HBO Max

HBO Max offers kids’ profiles that help you control what types of content your children see. You’ll start this process by selecting your Profile icon, regardless of which device you’re using.

Go to the Switch Profiles option, selecting +Kid. If this account lacks a PIN, you’ll need to create one. You’ll add your child’s name and birth date at the next step. After selecting Next, you’ll be able to pick appropriate content ratings for your child. Finally, select Save to ensure your changes are final.

Summary

Parental controls make it easier to keep kids safe while streaming. A combination of controls available with most services, as well as device-specific controls, help provide the safety your child needs when watching their favorites.

Read more about keeping your kids safe with this parents guide to setting up smart tv safely.