Managing your children’s screen time is especially challenging now when most kids are doing online classes and staying at home 24/7 due to the pandemic. You need to find a healthy way to balance how much time they spend on phones and tablets and also manage the content that they consume. The Microsoft Family Safety app, which they announced a couple of months ago, is now rolling out in limited preview mode for Android users so you can apply to be able to have early access to it.
The app aims to help parents give a little independence to their kids in terms of what they’re watching and reading while at the same time still setting boundaries to “help them make good choices”. Both parents/guardians and the kids will be able to see the same activity reports so this can also be part of a dialogue between them when discussing media and online consumption. They will also bring additional physical safety features in the next few months as we transition to the so-called new normal.
The weekly activity report will include screen time, top websites visited, and what the kids were searching for online. This can be something the parents can use to discuss healthy digital choices to help them develop good online habits as well. If you want them to spend more time offline, you can set screen time limits across all their devices: Windows computers, Xbox devices, Android smartphones. If they run out of the screen time you set, they can ask for an extension so it’s up to you whether to add more time or to follow the limit, depending on the situation.
Through the app, you can also set content controls with web and search filters so you can block mature content and enable age-appropriate sites and apps only. You get a notification in case they’re trying to download a more mature app or game from the Microsoft Store. While you’re all probably still at home, when the time comes when you can go out freely, you can turn on Location Sharing on their devices in case you need to see where they are or where they have been.
The Microsoft Family Safety app is still in limited preview but you can sign up to get early access and give your feedback. They are looking for families with children of all ages to help shape the final version of the app when they release it publicly.
