With the advancement of technology, we have experienced revolutionary changes that have made our daily routine easier to carry out, as well as considerably improving our standard of living. At the same time, security is another of the complements that have been reinforced with the aim of preventing our data from being shared with third parties. While our privacy is important, that of our children is also important. If you want to know how to protect them, you should use parental control.
You may have heard of parental control. It is a system that integrates a series of parameters that you can configure on your mobile phone or that of your minors. Its primary function is to limit the use of the smartphone and to give the parent complete control over everything that is done on said device.
If this is your case and you want to buy your child their first mobile phone without having to be upset or have absolute peace of mind when you leave yours to them as they wish, you must apply a set of settings to take control, take extreme precautions and restrict any content that can be harmful when accessing the Internet and social networks.
How to activate parental control on your mobile?
First of all, you should know that parental controls are available on both Android and iOS phones.
On the one hand, all Google phones in their latest version (Android 14) usually have the parental control option by default in the following path: Settings – Digital Wellbeing and parental controls. Once we get here, you must start configuring this application by sliding all the way to the bottom, where it says Configure parental controls. Press the Start button and follow the instructions. Among its options, you can monitor the phone remotely using the Family Link app for parents, limit screen time so that it locks automatically or add restrictions to Google services, such as having to approve applications.
For iPhones, things are different, although the options are similar. On your iOS phone, with all versions, you have to go to Settings, Screen Time and App Usage Limits. In Family, choose your son or daughter’s name and then tap on Restrictions and Privacy and if you are asked for a security code, enter one to control the usage time, so your child can no longer use the phone.
Block purchases
Another fatal mistake we can make is leaving our child free to download and purchase applications. So if we want to avoid it at all costs, it is best to restrict any access that involves charges on our card.
On Android we can use Family Link. To do this, enter the app, select your son or daughter’s name, click on Content Restrictions and then on Google Play. Under Purchase and download authorizations, select Require authorization for and you must choose one of these options: All content, Paid content only, In-app purchases only, or No authorization required. If you want to do them from Google Play you must go to Settings, Family, Family Library. Once there, go to Purchase Authorizations and choose the option you want to set: All content, All purchases with the family payment method, In-app purchases only or No authorization required.
Finally, on iOS it’s as easy as going to Settings, Screen Time, Restrictions and Purchases in iTunes and the App Store.
