How to remove parental controls on Android. The best parental control apps for your Android phone. ⇡ Standard Android OS tools

Almost every child between the ages of seven and fourteen has a device that allows them to freely “travel” the World Wide Web. And their first contact with a laptop occurs at an early age.

Parents understand that the Internet is not only a way to quickly get the necessary information or an opportunity to communicate with people on another continent. The Internet is full of content that is not suitable for children. But how can you limit your children's access to the Internet so that they can still study? There are several ways to block inappropriate content on different devices.

How to restrict children's access to the Internet?

First, parents need to understand what the essence of parental restrictions on access to the Internet and applications is. This protective measure is a control over the impact of the Internet and personal computer on a child. Parental controls are activated either using software built into the operating system or using third-party applications.

To understand how to restrict children's access to the Internet, you need to understand the types of parental controls. Access restriction can be divided into two main subtypes:

• Active parental controls.
• Passive parental control.

Active control consists of total monitoring of all the child’s actions. The software sends the parent a list of sites visited by the child. An adult can also impose a ban on loading sites containing inappropriate content.

Passive parental control allows you to introduce a time limit for using a personal computer or smartphone. The parent can also prohibit the downloading, installation or launch of certain applications, for example, games. Children can only have access to a certain list of sites, and so on. It’s easy to figure out how to restrict children’s access to the Internet. No special skills or knowledge required. The menu of specialized applications is intuitive.

Parental controls on a computer or laptop

Many parents wonder how to limit their child's access to the computer. Setup in the Windows operating system does not take much time.

First you need to go through the following path: “Start” - “Settings” - “Accounts” - “Family”. Next, you need to create a new profile by clicking on the “Add family member” button. The system will then prompt you to “Add a child account.” After entering the basic data, you must indicate the age of the child. If you enter a date indicating that it is less than eight years old, the operating system will automatically set the maximum security level.

Parental controls in action

After installing parental controls, questions about how to restrict your child’s access to the Internet do not arise. Windows will automatically block unwanted content. But parents themselves can make some changes.

For example, a parent can set a timer. By setting the exact operating time of the device, adults can be sure that the child will not spend the whole day playing games. Parental controls allow you to block certain applications. The program also allows you to track how much time your child spent on specific applications.

In addition, every week the parent will receive complete information about the activity of the child who used this device.

Setting up Internet access restrictions on a smartphone or tablet

There are several options for limiting your child's Internet access. Android devices allow you not only to use the built-in functions, but also to download a special children's launcher from the Play Market.

"PlayPad Children's Launcher" after a simple installation will allow parents to strictly limit the list of applications that can be launched. The program will also ensure that the child does not wander into online stores and make purchases. In addition, exiting “child mode” will be available only to parents.

The launcher gives parents the ability to control the device remotely, set time limits for using the gadget, and will also help track the child’s location.

Devices running Android version 5.0 and below have a built-in Pin to Screen feature that allows you to limit access to one pinned program. In order to configure this function, you need to go to “Settings” - “Security” - “Attach to Screen”. In the window that opens, you need to select one of the proposed programs and secure it. The child will not be able to exit the application without the parent's permission.

Nowadays, children acquire basic skills in using a phone or tablet at a fairly early age, and most often this is a gadget based on the Android OS. In this regard, parents are increasingly becoming concerned about what exactly their child is doing online, what sites they visit, and how much time they spend working with the device. It is logical and expedient to want to protect your child from unwanted content and programs, use the phone without any restrictions, and so on. In this article, I will talk about how to set up parental controls on Android, how to configure it, and also describe other measures for managing device access rights for children. At the same time, I will touch upon both the embedded funds of the system and third-party programs designed purely for such purposes.

Parental controls integrated into the system

It is important to note that at the time of this material’s creation, Android itself does not have too many seriously pressing and in-demand functions for monitoring children for parents. But a number of things can be configured without resorting to external mobile software modules.

Comment: the location of all features is indicated for stock Android. On a number of devices with personal launchers, the parameters may be located in other sections and places (for example, in “Advanced”).

Blocking in the program - for the little ones

An exclusive feature called “App Lock” provides the ability to run one application in full screen mode without the ability to switch to any other program or main form of the operating system.

To use this feature you need to take the following steps:

Go to Settings -> Security -> App lock

Activate the proposed option (after first reading in detail the instructions for its use)

Launch the desired program and tap on the “Browse” button (the hardware key in the form of a rectangle at the bottom right), pull the window up a little and click on the “Pins” image

As a result, the use of Android will be completely limited to one single program until you deactivate the lock: for this purpose, press and hold down the “Back” and “Browse” keys.

Parental controls on Android through the Play Market

Google Play Market provides the ability to set up parental control over children in order to limit the installation and purchase of programs in the store.

Press the "Menu" button in the Play Store and open the options

Use the "Parental Control" option and activate it, set a PIN code for security purposes

Set age restrictions to filter programs and games, movies, and music

To prohibit the purchase of paid programs without entering your Google account password, in the Play Market settings, enable the “Authentication upon purchase” option.

Parental controls in the YouTube app

YouTube settings make it possible to set a certain restriction on watching videos that are unnecessary for your children: in the YouTube program, click on the menu button, go to the “Settings” -> “General” category and activate the “Safe Mode” option.

In addition, in Google Play you can download a discrete program from Google - “YouTube for Children”, where this option is already activated by default and there is no way to switch it to its original position.

Parental controls on Android using accounts

Android OS provides the ability to create multiple user accounts in the “Settings” -> “Users” menu.

Under normal circumstances (not taking into account profiles with limited access, which are rarely available in everyday life), it will not be possible to define auxiliary limits for the second user, but, nevertheless, this function can bring significant benefits.

Program parameters are stored in a separate place for each individual user, i.e. for the user who is the owner, you have the right not to specify parental control settings, but simply lock it with a code word, and at the same time, allow the child to log in only under the second user.

Payment information, passwords and other data are also saved for discrete users (in particular, you can limit purchases in the Play Store without adding payment information in a newly added profile).

Comment: when a number of accounts are involved, installation, removal or deactivation of programs affects all Android accounts.

Limitations in user profiles on Android

About 3 years ago, a feature appeared on Android related to the generation of a limited user profile, which allows you to use integrated parental control functions (for example, prohibiting the launch of programs), but for a number of reasons its development was suspended. As a result, it can currently only be accessed on a number of tablets (not on phones).

This function is available in the “Settings” menu -> “Users” -> “Add profile/user” -> “Restricted access profile” (if this option is missing and profile creation is immediately initialized, this means that your device has this feature not available).

External parental control programs for Android

Taking into account the popularity of parents monitoring the use of various gadgets and the Internet by children, as well as the fact that the capabilities of Android itself are not yet sufficient for its full implementation, it should not be surprising that a wide variety of programs for monitoring children are available in the official Play Market. children. Below I will talk about one such program, localized into Russian and having positive feedback from the user side.

One of the most comfortable and friendly programs for Russian-speaking users is Kaspersky Safe Kids. The free version supports many popular functions (limiting the period during which your child uses a mobile device, tracking the use of a tablet or smartphone, blocking websites and applications), some functionality (location identification, VK activity tracking, SMS monitoring -messages and calls) is present only in the paid version of the module. As for the control of children by parents, even the free analogue of Kaspersky Safe Kids contains enough mechanisms to ensure control over the actions of a child from a mobile gadget.

We will describe detailed instructions for applying the settings and configuring this software module:

We install the application on the child’s mobile gadget. Select the “Child” option in the start menu

Click the “Add child” button in the initialization menu

Enter information about the child's name and age

On the next info form, select the option “Activate device administrator”

Let's move on to further configuration of the program. Click the “Continue” button

Let's start configuring special features. Activate the “Kaspersky Safe Kids” item

Move the slider to the desired position

Now we get access to system functions. We get acquainted with their description and click “Continue”

We allow the program to run in the background, despite the faster drain on battery power. We agree and move on

We activate all permissions and proceed to the final configuration phase. These permissions allow the program to control the device and prevent it from being removed from the environment. Now the preliminary setup is complete and we can click the last button “Enable protection”.

So, now everything is ready to work with Kaspersky Safe Kids. Protection is enabled, and we can start working with the parent account.

To access the parent panel, you can go in two ways. The first is to install Kaspersky Safe Kids on the parent’s device. Another way is to log into the admin panel from the same account that you used to register your child, from the computer at my.kaspersky.com/MyKids. This will allow you to track the child’s activity and configure the rules for using the gadget, the Internet and programs. I will consider the last of the two options described.

We enter the same data that was used when registering the child’s account. As a result, we get to the main form for configuring parental settings for your account.

All the most important functions are concentrated on the “Children” tab, so let’s go to it.

So, what options are available to us in the free version of Kaspersky Safe Kids? First of all, it is control over traffic. All sites your child has visited will be displayed on the “Browse” tab in the “Internet” section. The same applies to queries in a search engine.

The information on this tab is updated instantly as soon as the child makes a new request from his device or goes to a web page.

Another useful feature is “Safe Search”. The function removes adult content related to violence, pornography, religious backgrounds, etc. from the results of search queries. In the parent panel, the function is enabled by default, so you do not need to worry about activating it additionally.

The last functionality that you can use for free in Kaspersky Safe Kids is program usage control. Let's go to the "Programs" tab in the "Children" section and look at the options available here. The user has 3 functional features to choose from: configuring program categories, using age restrictions for downloading programs from the Play Market, and individual permission to work with selected applications on the smartphone.

Categories of programs are configured individually, that is, you can prevent your child from installing software for the specified purpose. There are more than a dozen categories here, so you will probably have enough to choose from.

Age restrictions are set in accordance with generally accepted ratings compiled by the ESRB and PEGI organizations. As a result, each program is assigned a specific age category, and if the child’s age is lower than that associated with the desired program, he will not be able to download and install it. A very convenient mechanism - I recommend it for use.

You also have the right to individually indicate which programs are available to run on a mobile gadget and which are not. This can be done in the list located at the bottom of the screen.

In addition to this, on the “Device Usage” tab, you can set time restrictions for working with the corresponding mobile gadget for each day of the week individually. Activate the “Device Usage Control” checkbox and indicate all the parameters on the timeline.

This is where the available functions in the free version of Kaspersky Safe Kids end. However, this is more than enough for basic correction of a child’s online behavior. If you want to make parental control on Android more complete and flexible, you probably can’t do without purchasing a paid license.

The Internet is useful and at the same time dangerous, especially if children use it. After all, on the Internet you can find not only useful information, but also a lot of negative, harmful and “not childish” information. To protect your child from all this, use special programs.

How to set parental controls on Android

The presence of tablets and smartphones in children is not uncommon these days. These are mainly devices running on the Android OS. These gadgets keep the child occupied, but parents should still think about the purposes for which he uses them.

To prevent your child from visiting inappropriate sites, install parental controls on your device. Find out how to do this from our article.

Built-in Android parental controls

The Android system and built-in Google applications are not rich in popular parental control functions. But still, some things can be configured without resorting to third-party programs.

Worth knowing: the location of the options is indicated for pure Android. On some tablets with their own launchers, the settings may be located in a different place and section, for example, in the “Advanced” section.

For the little ones - blocking in the application

The “App Lock” function makes it possible to run one program in full screen and prevent switching to any other software or Android “desktop”.

To enable these features, follow these steps:

• open Settings, go to Security, and then App Lock;
• run the option (after reading about its use);
• launch the desired program and press the “Browse” key (square), lightly pull the application up and click on the “Pins” image.

As a result, the use of Android will be limited to this application until you remove the blocking. To do this, click and hold the Back and Review button.

Parental controls in the Play Store

The Play Market allows you to set parental controls to restrict the installation and purchase of programs.

• click on the “Menu” button in the Play Store and go to settings;
• open the “Parental Control” tab, move the push button to the “On” position, and enter your PIN code;

• set restrictions on filtering games and applications, movies and music by age;
• To prevent paid purchases of programs without entering your Google account password, use the “Purchase Authentication” section in the Play Market settings.

Parental controls in YouTube

Thanks to certain settings, you can limit the viewing of YouTube videos for children. In the program itself, click on the menu button, go to “Settings”, go to the “General” section and activate the “Safe Mode” item.

Google Play contains programs from Google “YouTube for Children”; the restriction parameters are already set here and cannot be disabled.

Users

Android allows you to create a couple of user accounts. To do this, go to “Settings”, and then to “Users”.

In general (apart from restricted profiles, which are rare), it is not possible to set restrictions for a second user, but the function can still be useful:

• Program settings are saved separately for each user. You can choose not to set parental control settings for yourself, but simply set a password. In this case, the child will have access to the device only through the second user.
• All passwords, codes and payment data are stored separately for different users.

It is important to know! When using multiple accounts, installation and uninstallation of programs is reflected in all Android accounts.

Limited user profiles on Android

The function of creating a limited profile has been around for quite some time, but for some reason it has not become popular and is only available on some tablets. This function is not available on smartphones.

You can find this option by going to “Settings”, then select “Users”, go to “Add user\profile” and “Restricted profile”. If profile creation immediately starts during setup, then your device does not have a profile restriction feature.

Third-party parental control apps on Android

Recently, the parental control function has become in demand, but Android’s own resources are not yet enough. For this purpose, there are many programs for parental control in the Play Market.

Screen Time Parental Controls

The application has a Russian interface and is popular among users.

The program's functions are available for free only for two weeks. After this period, only basic options remain available, which are limited to the history of browsing sites on the Internet.

Parental controls from antivirus vendors

You can control the use of Android devices using special antivirus programs that may already be installed by default, for example, F-Secure SAFE and Quick Heal Total Security.

For additional protection, there are separate applications from the creators of antivirus programs. Install an antivirus vendor and limit the downloading of malware, this way you will protect yourself from trouble.

Kaspersky Safe Kids

Free version of the application for Russian-speaking users. The software supports many useful functions: blocking programs, websites, tracking the use of smartphones and tablets, limiting the operating time.

For an additional fee, you can use other functions: determining location, tracking VK activity, monitoring calls and messages.

To control a child’s use of the device, a free version of the software is sufficient.

Installing this application on a device used by a child will allow you to do the following: enter an age limit, specify the child’s name, create a parent account, set special Android permissions that will allow you to control devices and prohibit the removal of programs.

Installing the program on a parent's smartphone will help monitor children's activity on the Internet and establish rules for the use of programs, the Internet and other devices.

While connected to the Internet on the child’s phone, you can control his activities from the parents’ device. By making some changes, parents can protect their children from visiting inappropriate sites.

Norton Family parental control (Symantec)

The software will help protect your child from visiting unwanted sites on the Internet, as well as detect threats in time before they become a problem.

It will also allow you to do the following things:

• Monitor network usage. Parents will always be aware of what sites their child has visited and block dangerous sites.
• Monitor the use of programs. You will find out exactly what games your children have downloaded from the Internet, and you will be able to make available for use only those that you consider necessary. You will also find out all the information about the sites that children visit most often.
• View keys. By reviewing the key phrases that are entered to search for information, the parent will be able to find out what his child is interested in.

Using the application, you can teach your children to use their phone wisely and filter out unnecessary information. This is possible by setting time limits on Internet use.

Parents can set time limits or set a schedule for using the device for their own purposes. You will also be able to receive informational letters by email or on the parent portal about the activities of your children.

With Norton Family, you can develop healthy online habits in your child. Teach your child to use the Internet safely. Explain to him that not all sites are useful and provide good information. If you find out that a child tried to access a prohibited site, explain why it should not be visited.

Thanks to media tracking, you can find out exactly what videos your children have watched, and if you don’t like something, first discuss what you watched, and then block access to the site.

Norton Family will teach your child safe SMS communication and protect him from unnecessary shocks. You can also always find out where the children are thanks to the tracking program.

Bitdefender Parental Control

It will help protect children from the harmful influence of the World Wide Web by limiting visits to sites and time spent on them.

Positive sides:

• Multifunctionality (not only sites are blocked, but also a log of visits to social networks is kept);
• The program operates on PCs, mobile phones and Android tablets;
• The mobile version of the program makes it possible to track the location of a child.

Negative sides:

• Shareware operation, after ninety days you have to pay money for further use.
• There is no Russian localization.

Standalone parental control apps

With the help of offline parental control programs, you will always be aware of where your child is, what he is doing, what his hobbies are and why he needs access to the Internet at all.

SafeKiddo Parental Control

Easy to use application. Installation occurs automatically. The interface is clear and you can control it intuitively.

The software is suitable for Android and iPhone devices. The application works in standard mode and allows parents to control their children's Internet use.

Main functions:

• safe search when using all browsers;
• setting up website blocking;
• managing access to sites;
• settings management;
• setting a gadget use limit;
• recording the child’s activity on the Internet;
• control of devices in real time;
• restricting the use of prohibited sites.

Using the software, you can easily manage the devices of several children at once, at will, using individual settings for each of them.

Kids Zone Parental Controls

The software is in demand among users and has a high rating among applications presented on Google Play. Kids Zone is already used by 500 thousand parents.

Download and launch the application, this can be done in just a few seconds.

• create a profile and select safe sites for your child;
• set a limit and you can limit your child’s use of the gadget;
• set wallpaper on the screen that the child chooses himself;
• Install a secret code on your device and you can block it from unwanted use.

After installing Kids Zone, the software begins to constantly monitor the device the child is using. If he uses prohibited sites, the software will block them.

Main functions:

• restricting access to unwanted websites;
• setting a device usage limit;
• blocking purchases;
• preventing viewing of inappropriate videos;
• blocking entry to social networks;
• re-locking the device after a reboot;
• preventing the removal of installed programs on the device;
• protection of contacts and settings from reset and deletion;
• protection of personal data from prying eyes;

Additional functions:

• the ability to create several profiles, for example for each child separately or for each application;
• countdown, the child will be able to see how much time he has left to play;
• You can set your own wallpaper for each individual profile;
• Instant Unlock will enable parents to receive incoming calls while blocked.

Flaws:

• There is no translation into Russian.
• The program was specially designed to satisfy all the wishes of parents. Kids Zone has no unnecessary functions; all efforts are aimed at blocking unnecessary entertainment.
• The software works well on all devices, the main thing is that they work on Android.
• There is nothing complicated in operating the application, it is specially designed to be easy to handle. You will be able to control the devices of not only young children, but also teenagers.

When choosing a parental control program, be sure to familiarize yourself with its capabilities. Also consider the age of the child.

To understand what exactly you want to block access to, review your website history and you will immediately understand what needs to be blocked.

Nowadays, many parents buy smartphones for their children. Whether this is the right step or not is up to everyone to decide. We want to talk about something else - about parental control. Parental controls allow you to control your device. What does it mean? For example, you can set the time during which a child will use a certain application, limit the list of available applications, etc. Without the parents' knowledge, the child simply will not be able to fully use a smartphone or tablet. We'll tell you how to set up parental controls on your Android phone or tablet.

Parental controls in Play Market

Let's start with the Google Play Market - the application has built-in parental controls that allow you to limit the capabilities of the application.

Go to the Play Market, swipe from the left frame to the right so that a menu appears. Select “Settings” from the menu.

In the settings, find the “Parental Controls” item.

Enable parental controls by moving the slider to the appropriate position.

As you understand, a child without a PIN code will not be able to disable parental controls.

Third Party Applications

To create parental controls, you must install the appropriate application. Some firmwares already have a parental control application, but in most cases you will have to turn to the Play Market for help. There are a lot of similar applications; we will show an example using the “Parental Control” application (Kids Place) from kiddoware, which can be used even without root rights.

Immediately after installation and launch, the application will require you to set a PIN code. Install it and be sure to remember it.

Now select a section. If you select "Lock the HOME button", you will be taken to the settings section.

There you can also customize the interface, add application permissions, set a timer, etc.

In general, there are a lot of settings for every taste.

In the applications section, you can select those applications that will be displayed on the desktop for your child.

To disable the application, you need to enter the set PIN code.

As you understand, this application is just an example, it shows how parental controls work.