As children’s online safety and lack of internet supervision continue to be a hot-button issue, Google recently announced it has updated its parental controls app Family Link, which allows parents to manage and monitor their children’s activity running the Chrome or Android operating systems. In addition to announcing a donation of $20 million to organizations focused on the well-being and safety of children, including Highlights for Kids and Sesame Workshop, Google shared these new updates to help caregivers guide children toward appropriate content for their age and monitor how their children spend their time online.
Here are the updates:
Family Link is now easier to find. When logged into your Google Account, just search for “parental controls.” An information box listing the accounts you supervise and a link to each of their settings will appear.
You can now share passwords securely with your family members. Suppose you are a caregiver sharing access to a website with a single account or helping your son or daughter with homework. You now have the option to easily share the username and password for a specific website or service with Google Password Manager.
Easily control SafeSearch settings. The search-filtering feature is on by default for users under 18 but is now directly available on the Search results page.
YouTube now has default features aimed at teens’ wellbeing. Google announced last November that recommendations of problematic content, such as videos that compare physical features or idealize body types, would decrease on YouTube, the popular video-sharing platform owned by the company. Additionally, the “Take a Break” and “Bedtime” reminders will be more prominent and appear more frequently.
You can learn more about these new Safe Search features and other initiatives here.
