Google announces new settings and features to help parents, teens and families navigate safer experiences online

Parents think deeply about how their children should use technology, including how to strike the right balance for time spent online. Every family has different needs and perspectives on this topic. Google has announced a new setting for Android phones and other devices that empowers parents to use a School time feature.

Helping students focus on learning during school hours

Google regularly engages with parents when designing products, and often hears directly from parents who do not want their children distracted at school but still want to be able to get in touch in case of emergency.

That’s why this year Google has introduced School time on Fitbit Ace LTE smartwatches. Over the next year, School time will be rolled out to even more devices including select Android phones, tablets and wearables including Samsung Galaxy Watches as part of ongoing work to promote productive learning environments.

School time enables parents to set their child’s personal device to a dedicated home screen with limited functionality during school hours, which helps reduce distractions during class. Parents can schedule and select which apps are allowed during School time in Family Link, the parental controls app for Google and YouTube. Parents will also have the option to allow calls or texts from specific contacts.

School time can also be turned on outside of class when it may be time to focus or take a break from screens. For teens who are not supervised by a parent through Family Link, Focus mode on Android devices can be used to prevent notifications and limit distractions during a specific time period.

Additional settings for teens and teen supervision

As children grow into teens, parents may want different supervision options to better reflect their teens’ understanding and use of technology. Recognising that the settings a family wants to use can differ by age and developmental stage Google is continuing to provide tailored settings and experiences:

• New supervision features for parents of teens are coming to YouTube. In an update rolling out later this summer, parents and teens will be able to link their accounts, enabling parents to gain visibility into their teens’ activity and interests on YouTube.
• In Family Link, supervision can be enabled for all ages. This helps give parents flexibility to determine the apps, products and experiences their teens can use, while also continuing to monitor their activity and set digital ground rules such as screen time limits or location sharing.
• Default safety settings for all users under 18. This includes turning SafeSearch on, implementing content restrictions and turning autoplay off on YouTube. Recently introduced new safeguards limit recommendations of videos with content that could be problematic, especially for teens, if viewed in repetition –  such as content related to body image.

Ongoing investment in parental controls

Google is continuously investing in research and development to address the evolving needs of parents and children. By working closely with experts in child development, education and technology, with the goal to help ensure that time online and offline is time well spent.

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