In today’s generation, the kids gel in with the technological devices more than their parents do. They explore the aspects of being in the “I-generation” and fall into the trap of irresponsible device usage. The curious minds of kids at home cannot be kept at a distance with smartphones and parents give away their devices to keep their kids occupied with the same.
This is where the parents realize that the decision of not keeping an eye on the activities of their kids when they are glued to the device has turned out to be a costly affair. The kid will have spent a huge amount of data downloading unnecessary apps, browsed several unknown and non-trusted websites, and utilized the leftover bandwidth in playing online games. Implementing parental control on Android or managing screen time on Android could have prevented such excessive usage and potentially harmful online activities.
Not only this, the kids don’t realize what media files and apps are important for your usage, and they can remove them by mistake too inadvertently. Also, without parental administration, kids can be exposed to profane, age-inappropriate content on the web.
This gives rise to the need for a parental solution on Android tablets and smartphones used by kids and to make devices child-proof. An MDM solution can bridge the gap for such a need. Let’s explore how to set up parental controls on Android.
Need for Parental Control on Android Devices?
The need for parental control in Android tablets and smartphones is becoming a necessity in today’s fast-paced world. Smart kids overpower smart devices even before they know which applications are installed along with their purpose.
The responsiveness of today’s kids in becoming tech-savvy has left the parents and their teachers concerned over device security, monitoring of activities, use of the internet for non-educational purposes as well as impersonification and cyber crimes that happen against kids. This entices the need for measures of device activity time, bandwidth allocation, and security as an asset for parents.
To monitor and keep track of all the activities, the MDM solution like Scalefusion can work as a parental control measurement on your Android tablets and smartphones. With beaming features of parental control such as Application blacklisting, browser configuration, website blacklisting, Geofencing, GPS tracking, etc., you can keep a cautious eye and restore your administration on the device, helping in keeping device threats at bay.
How Does MDM Help?
The internet is the plethora of paradigms that opens the gateway of access to the world of information. However, it may have a concurrent impact if used inappropriately by young children. With the ease of access to detrimental websites and content such as pornography, violence, cyberbullying, drugs, etc., it becomes mandatory to create a transparent wall that can allow parents to monitor their kid’s activities on the devices and prevent irreversible damage.
This is the sole reason why MDM can be helpful in such circumstances and be necessary for parents to exercise and monitor the control of the device’s activities. But how can MDM help?
- Application Management
- Website Whitelisting and Browser configurations
- Location Tracking and Geofencing
- Screentime Reports
- Profile Switch Workflow
MDM can address all the major concerns that can help parents to make their devices child-proof. MDM acts as a parental control application doubling as a monitoring app with layers of added security, including application and website configuration and restrictions. Let’s explore all the relevant Android MDM solutions in detail and dive into the flexible method of restrictive Android device control.
How to Set Up Parental Controls on Android with Scalefusion MDM Solution
1. App Management for Parental Control on Android
Scalefusion’s centralized console helps the parents to gain the ability of virtual access control. This allows them to prevent the download of certain unfiltered as well as filtered apps on Android devices based on usage scenarios. The parents can dynamically blacklist certain applications that are irrelevant for browsing and limit the usage of authorized apps.
Parents can also set a data-based limit or time-based limit on apps which can assure them that the overhead data limit is not spent unnecessarily by their kids. Application management solution also comes in handy when the parents intend to limit the addiction to social media browsing and access to unfiltered adult-based apps which are difficult to keep track of.
2. Website whitelisting and browser configuration
Scalefusion contributes with an indistinctive feature when it comes to parental control solutions. The feature of website whitelisting and browser configuration allows the parents to configure the browser settings to a predetermined standard of security and blacklist certain websites which are not appropriate or dangerous for their kids to browse.
From the centralized console of the Scalefusion dashboard and browser management, parents can administer, monitor, control, and track all the browsing activities whose settings are authorized by them and pushed on the devices. The parents can also authorize the enablement or disablement of the settings of VPNs for unmasked web browsing as well as for securing connectivity.
Parents can also administer their control on browser management by filtering the profanity search words and restricting access to browse. They can block the access of browsing to websites and blacklist them, such as file sharing, data sharing, violence, gambling, and pornography, which can engage their kids negatively.
3. Location Tracking and Geofencing for Parental Control on Android
There is a constant stress for parents to worry about the whereabouts of their kids. With Scalefusion’s geofencing and GPS tracking feature, the MDM solution can act as a parental control app that can provide real-time GPS location of the kid.
This feature ensures the parents that the kids are at a predestined location without prohibition, such as schools, colleges, education centers, etc., and to immediately act during prohibition and emergencies.
With the Geofencing feature, the parents can create real-time tracking and implement a boundary of a certain radius in a physical location which would send a push notification to their devices as soon as the kid’s device is leaving or entering the specified predetermined location- the geofence.
By receiving push notifications of the location activity of their kids, the parents can determine and observe the boundary area for safety precautions. The parents can also access historical data of geofencing reports in the centralized dashboard console.
4. Screentime reports
Managing the screen time of Android devices being used by kids is crucial as this will allow you to eliminate the unproductive hours when your kids might have done something else. This parenting technique is only possible when there is an implementation of certain frameworks, rules, and responsibilities not by words but by actions.
With the Scalefusion MDM solution, the implementation of such a framework can be set virtually so that the screen time is regulated in a systemized and authorized process. With access to screen time reports, parents can monitor the activity usage and the time spent on the applications installed on the Android device. Parents can also get access to reports of the device usage logs based on the active and idle screen status. Apart from that, they can also view the detailed analysis of how much time their kid’s spend and on which application.
5. Profile switch workflow
The solution of creating a profile switch workflow in your Android device can be handy for you if you want to keep the functionality and accessibility of apps and websites different for dissimilar profiles for your kids. In a nutshell, with the MDM solution of Scalefusion, you can create separate device usage profiles in a single device and unlock them as per your needs.
For example, you have set a routine of playing games after homework for your kids, so you can create a profile with necessary mission-critical apps and website restrictions during the homework period. And after the homework is done and the clock to play arrives, you can switch the device to a game profile on the same device.
Similarly, you can create dissimilar profiles for siblings sharing the same devices so that the clash of usage and milestones saved of a particular kid is prevented from being tampered with by others.
Closing lines…
The MDM solution of Scalefusion offering a wide range of parental control features for making the Android devices children-proof can be an impressive implementation. Not only is the MDM solution providing access control, administration, monitoring, and detailed screen time reports but is also ensuring that digital security is also attained. The MDM solution helps in maintaining and implementing privacy and security of the devices used by the kids.
FAQs
1. How do I child-proof my Android tablet?
You can kid-proof your Android tablet using Scalefusion’s Android Device Management (MDM). With Scalefusion, you can create a kid-friendly profile that restricts access to certain apps, websites, and settings. This will help ensure your child can only access age-appropriate content on the tablet.
2. Can parental controls see everything?
MDM (Mobile Device Management) for parental controls offers a powerful toolkit, but it doesn’t grant complete invisibility. While it can be a valuable tool for Android parental control, it has limitations. You can monitor app usage and websites accessed and even restrict content, but MDM typically can’t see the actual content within apps, like messages or photos exchanged on messaging platforms.
3. Is Android parental control safe?
Yes, parental controls for Android with MDM are generally safe. They provide a valuable layer of security for your child’s device by restricting access to inappropriate content and monitoring app usage. However, it’s important to understand their limitations. MDM can’t typically access the actual content within apps like chats or photos exchanged through messaging apps. This means open communication with your child about responsible device use remains important.
