Sponsored:
With Internet access now truly touching every aspect of our family lives from video, music, homework, messaging and social networks. Parents need to be more prudent than ever in checking their children’s online safety when using mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets. With all the Internet has brought us in technological advances, there is also an underlying darker side, which is very easily accessed by children if parents are not prepared to take some simple precautions. Checking a children’s Internet browser history is one way, but checking every device your children have used can be time consuming. It is also very easy for them to clear browsing history to keep parents in the dark.
The Scholastic website says that “one out of every five kids gets sexual solicitations online. Strangers, predators, and cyber-bullies all target children.” When online children can inadvertently reveal personal information about themselves and other family members, this information can easily be accessed by unrestricted third-party audiences.
Also, while surfing online without restrictions, children can be targeted with unwanted advertising, pop-ups, inappropriate content, viruses and possibly malware that could control your child’s cell phone.
Online security for younger family members is paramount and knowing precisely what to do from day to day as family members grow and mature as a constant battle. Many of the massive social media companies, search providers and photo sharing services say they protect younger users, but sometimes this is not enough. Even Microsoft admits that educating children “about online safety in today’s world is a difficult task”, children “are online in the classroom, at home and in-between”. The Internet is a rich source of information and resources, but unfortunately, a large portion of its content is not suitable for children. One solution to help protect your younger family members online is to use a parental control apps for cell phones.
The Famisafe application by Wondershare is a parental control application, which is available for both iOS and Android platforms. Famisafe has been specifically designed to help keep children safe online says creators and provides parents with features to monitor and control online activity. They are making it easy for parents to keep their children safe online by preventing access to unsuitable content, applications and messages. Famisafe offers multiple ways to keep children safe online, including web filtering, screen time control, location tracking cyberbullying prevention and more.
Once installed on yours and your child’s smartphone, you will have the ability to track the real-time location of your child as well as being able to set up geofencing to alert them when their child may leave safe zones or not arrive in certain areas during certain times for example school. The application provides a full location history, allowing parents to check for unusual hangouts as well as offering the ability to control application access. The Included application blocker can be enabled to continually block access to specific applications or enforced rules during study time or when your child should be fast asleep. The on-board monitoring system will also provide you with a quick overview of the apps your child is using while online and how long they are being used — allowing parents to make more insightful decisions and impose restrictions if needed.
Parents can also block unwanted or inappropriate websites which may contain harmful content such as gambling, violence, pornography and similar — providing an easy way for parents to set up content filtering to keep their children safe while surfing the Internet. Using the “Remote Control” feature, parents can make adjustments to settings remotely directly from their smartphone or tablet. Quickly personalising settings and updating restrictions as required, even without their child’s phone in their hand.
Another area that is tackled by the online safety application is screen time tracking and control, enabling parents to learn how frequently their kids are using mobile devices at certain times of the day. Parents can then easily set screen time limits his with for study, sleep, or when their children are at specific places such as school, library or car. Last year a study (Social Media, Social Life) conducted by Common Sense Media in 2018 found revealed that among 13-17-year-olds in the United States :
– Teenagers tended to use Snapchat 41% as their preferred choice of social media networks, followed by Instagram 22% and Facebook 15%.
– Over the past few years social media use by teenagers has increased dramatically and that 89% have a smartphone compared to just 41% back in 2012.
– 70% of teenagers are now on social media compared to 34% back in 2012
– 54% of teenagers have admitted that if their parents knew what actually happened on social media that they would be concerned.
– With regards distractions while driving a car, 1 in 5 teens admitted to checking notifications while at the wheel.
– At least one in four teens are receiving sexually explicit texts and emails, and at least one in seven are sending sexts. More than one in 10 teens are forwarding these sexts without consent, the study found. And roughly one in 12 teens have had sexts they sent shared without their permission. (Reuters Health, February 2018)
Famisafe has built-in Snapchat parental control features, enabling you to help keep your children safe online when using one of the most popular social networking applications. FamiSafe is now available to download from the Apple App Store or the Google Play store and can be installed on both parents phone, enabling instant online child protection. Register your interest now over on the FamiSafe website to see if it is suitable for your children’s online safety.
Disclosure: “This is a sponsored post. Geeky Gadgets has been compensated for this post. All opinions are that of the editor and were in no way influenced by the company.”
Latest Geeky Gadgets Deals
Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, Geeky Gadgets may earn an affiliate commission. Learn about our Disclosure Policy.