These days, it seems like younger and younger kids are getting smartphones. Even parents who would prefer to wait longer may be tempted, wanting to know that their child is safe during the day \u2014 or pressured, wanting their children to fit in.<\/p>\n
We can\u2019t forget, though, that smartphones are fun, portable touch-screen computers. Left to their own devices (no pun intended), children may spend hours playing games and watching YouTube videos. And kids will be kids, perhaps more likely than an adult to break or lose the smartphone.<\/p>\n
The good news is that we can reduce the risks. As with so many things, it\u2019ll mainly take a bit of time and ongoing attention, but parental peace of mind is worth it.<\/p>\n
The settings I\u2019ll go through are easy to tweak to your own preferences \u2014 you can make them as tough or easy as you like, once you know where they are. Let me start with a few basic assumptions, however:<\/p>\n
The two most popular mobile platforms, Apple\u2019s iOS and Google\u2019s Android, both have built-in parental control tools, but Android lets users adjust more settings than iOS does. Android phones have another attractive quality: They\u2019re less expensive and therefore easier to replace.<\/p>\n
Some people prefer iOS, which may be better for households that have other Apple devices \u2014 and for parents who aren\u2019t concerned about the price. You can read here<\/a> about how to set up iOS for kids, although it\u2019s in the context of tablets and for younger children.<\/p>\n Using an Android smartphone requires a Google account, but the terms and conditions stipulate that only a person who is 13 or older can create an account. If you don\u2019t already have a second account that you can use for this purpose, you\u2019ll have to create one.<\/p>\n The child does not need to know the password for their new account, and enabling two-factor authentication<\/a> for it is advisable. Needless to say, the authentication should be linked to your smartphone, not to your child\u2019s.<\/p>\n Note: You can create an account for your child on devices running Android 7.0 and above by using the Family Link feature, but it is currently available only in the United States.<\/em><\/p>\n Now, power up the smartphone, add your existing Google account information in the setup wizard, enter your desired e-mail address and other data, enter your age and your phone number, and accept the terms and conditions.<\/p>\n If it is not the first time you\u2019re starting up the smartphone, you set up the new account here: Settings<\/em> \u2192 Accounts<\/em> \u2192 Add accounts<\/em> \u2192 Google<\/em>. In the new window, tap Or create a new account.<\/em><\/p>\n At this point, skip entering payment details for the Google Play store. I\u2019ll come back to that issue a bit later, but for now I\u2019ll say that payment information should be linked to an adult\u2019s account.<\/p>\n An account is required if you want to synchronize contacts and pictures and use the Google Play app store. That said, we\u2019re talking about elementary-school-age children, who are unlikely to need e-mail on their phones. A Gmail account is more likely to collect spam than useful communications, so I recommend not enabling it on the smartphone: Open Settings<\/em>, go to Google account settings<\/em>, and uncheck the Sync Gmail<\/em> option.<\/p>\n If a parent is using an Android device too, then creating a family account may make sense. Using a family account lets family members share paid purchases across all of its devices as well as letting a child pay for purchases from their smartphone (using the parent\u2019s payment information \u2014 and only with the parent\u2019s explicit consent).<\/p>\n You can create a family account in Google Play from your own smartphone. Launch the Google Play app, open up the menu, and tap on Settings \u2192 Account \u2192 Family \u2192 Manage family members<\/em>. You can invite your significant other and your children by entering their Gmail addresses on this screen.<\/p>\n The invitation has to be accepted from the family member\u2019s smartphone. After that, take your smartphone, go to the family group\u2019s settings, open the child\u2019s profile, and select one of the following modes for purchase approvals: All content, Only paid content, Only in-app purchases, <\/em>or No approval required.<\/em><\/p>\n Anything that requires approval will now require either your password entered on the child\u2019s device or approval from your device.<\/p>\n You can prevent your child from downloading adult games or songs with explicit lyrics using Google Play\u2019s parental controls. To do so, launch Google Play on your child\u2019s smartphone, open up the menu, and tap on Settings \u2192 Parental Controls<\/em>.<\/p>\n Enter a PIN \u2014 something easy for you to remember but hard for your child to guess. The requirement to enter a PIN prevents your child from disabling the controls. After entering the PIN, you can select age restrictions for games, films, and music separately.<\/p>\n To prevent unsupervised Internet use \u2014 and gain better control over mobile data usage \u2014 start by disabling mobile data use both in the settings of your child\u2019s smartphone and using your mobile service provider\u2019s self-service options. After that, use the smartphone\u2019s settings to join your home Wi-Fi network. Now it\u2019s up to you to monitor that use inside the home, of course.<\/p>\n Disabling mobile data should help keep the child online only at home. True, free Wi-Fi can be had in a library or at a friend\u2019s home, but I\u2019ll address that later in the post.<\/p>\n By the way, when buying a SIM card for your child, ask the carrier about special plans and options for children \u2014 these plans and options usually include additional features for keeping children safe.<\/p>\n Sure, the games installed on your child\u2019s smartphone are intended for children, but still, stay alert. Children can spend endless time mine crafting and launching angry birds. Limiting gaming duration with Android\u2019s built-in tools is problematic; therefore, look to dedicated apps such as Kaspersky Safe Kids<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Safe Kids app\u2019s many features include location and social-network controls, but here we are interested mainly in defining restrictions on launching apps and making the Internet safe to use. To use it, install Safe Kids on both a parent\u2019s and the child\u2019s smartphones. Set the modes, child mode for the child\u2019s smartphone and parent mode for yours.<\/p>\n The child\u2019s app has almost no settings for you to worry about \u2014 just install the app according to the instructions and grant it administrator rights.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll have a bit more to do for the app on your own smartphone \u2014 you will need to set up a PIN for Safe Kids, check its settings, and enable options. The crucial ones are the ability to filter unwanted websites and app restriction by category and age, which are located on the Internet<\/em> and Applications<\/em> subsections respectively.<\/p>\nSet up Google accounts (individual)<\/h3>\n
Set up Google accounts (family)<\/h3>\n
Filter Google Play apps and media<\/h3>\n
Control Internet use<\/h3>\n
Limit time and restrict content<\/h3>\n