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Children experience every day how adolescents and adults pull out their mobile phones and do exciting things – talking on the phone, writing messages, listening to music and V > Guidebook video and download a free eBook for children on the topic “Security in the Net“.

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First of all, it is important to become familiar with the basic characteristics of a new cell phone or tablet. This can (and should) be done by parents together with their child. Unpack the smartphone together, read the instructions and discover what the cell phone can do.

For example, Apple offers the function, all Connecting iPhones in the family via an Apple ID, so that you can share content within the family share. This makes it possible to better coordinate appointments or create photos and videos in a single album.

Now you and your child know the functions of the smartphone – but what about smartphone protection??

ACTION Kaspersky SafeKids App Premium now for free for one month.

The magic word is self-responsibility. Only when the child succeeds, one healthy handling of media To develop it, cognitively, is old enough to own a cell phone.

With all confidence, however, the smartphone should be set up childproof up to a certain age – even with the help of a child protection app that allows parents to control their children’s activities.

Of course it is up to the parents themselves which model they buy for their child. However, parents should remember that children often pass mishaps – be it the fall in the race or the loss of the beloved petty device. In that respect it is advisable to the scion not the most expensive smartphone right away to treat, but first to choose a cheaper model and to observe the handling of the child with the mobile phone.

If your child handles it with care, you may still consider giving a higher-priced smartphone or baby phone to your next birthday or Christmas. By the way, there are insurances in case of a fall settle the damage on the phone. It makes sense in any case a case, so that the smartphone does not break immediately with each fall, because that would be annoying just with a more expensive model.

Also, you should consider the tariff for the children’s phone. A contract quickly leads to the fact that it is really expensive, because of course it is difficult to end the call with your best friend after a few minutes. Therefore, a prepaid card up to a certain age would be the better alternative.

When it comes to mobile phones for children, it’s usually about two major topics: the screen time and smartphone protection.

Most smartphone providers advertise their own features for children:

• That’s the way it is possible, to set a time limit. This feature is preinstalled and easy to set up. If the child has used the smartphone for a certain amount of time, it will switch to sleep mode.
• Parents can also easily to block the internet. Here you have to enter a PIN to use the browser function.
• An alternative would be, the phone only equipped with the in-house Wi-Fi. So your child can only use the Internet when it’s at home and you keep an eye on it.

On iOS devices, you can use the “screen time” feature Make the smartphone childproof: How to set up time limits, lock and regulate content and prevent purchases in the App Store. You can limit the Game Center and prevent changes to various settings and of course lock the Internet.

Newer Android devices offer the possibility of different Use free app connections, to control the children. Not only can you limit your children’s activities, you can also locate your children and follow up on phone calls. The disadvantage here is that the children have very little leeway. For many, including non-hazardous, releases, they must first ask their parents for permission.

Many smartphones or apps also offer features that are said to increase the safety of children. In the true sense, these are monitoring functions.

This is possible, for example, to locate the child’s location via GPS. This is also a useful feature if your child has misplaced or forgotten his cell phone. However, of course, more and more other uses are moving in with parents: they no longer locate just the mobile phone, but the child right away, so they always know where their child is. The Kaspersky Safe Kids software, which we recommend, also offers a GPS location in the premium version and informs parents on request if children leave previously defined areas of protection.

Some apps even alert parents when their child is not behaving properly in traffic or when they exceed a previously defined location limit. With other apps, parents can read chats and messages from children or even listen to phone calls.

However, experts strongly advise against this kind of full surveillance. It hinders the independence of the children and on the one hand leads to a false sense of security, both in the parents and in the children. On the other hand, they stir up fear among the children. They think the world is such a dangerous place that one has to be constantly monitored by their parents. Therefore, parents should be careful with such security measures. Advisable is more a training of children in an emergency.

Furthermore, it is not sure which way the collected data will take. Many a phone call and recorded video ends up on dodgy platforms or in the hands of data collectors. For this reason, it is advisable to look at the provider of the child protection app exactly and grab in case of doubt rather than downloading a free app, because they often process the collected data or use them for their purposes.

Tip: sensitize children with a free ebook for the topic “Safety in the Net”
On the occasion of the European Cybersecurity Month, this children’s ebook has been created, with which parents can sensitize the kids in a suitable format for the topic of “security in the digital world”. The story “Kasper, Sky and the Green Bear” was written and appealingly illustrated by the Dutch children’s book author Marlies Slegers on behalf of Kaspersky. The aim of the book is to train the media literacy of children between the age of six and nine and entertain them with the topic of safety in the network. The free ebook is available here for free download. A radio play version is also available on YouTube.

The internet offers one Variety of free apps, with which you can monitor your children. For the reasons mentioned above, however, it makes sense to choose a reputable provider.

A free app, for example, Kids Place, with the parents have the opportunity, Set time limits and restrict content. The Kids Zone app also uses time limits and content blocking. She is also free.

If you really want to play it safe, you should have one Parental control of a renowned provider purchase. A clear recommendation is here for the app Kaspersky SafeKids. It is part of Kaspersky’s Total Security software and is also available as an app. With this it is possible, monitor all activities of the child on tablet or smartphone. With just a few clicks, you can determine what time limit should apply, which functions of the smartphone your child will use and what content it is allowed to see. The Kaspersky Safe Kids are both limited and therefore free of charge as well as paid in the premium version. In the Premium version further versions are unlocked, e.g. also a location of the children via GPS. This software is our tip as child protection software and with more than 1 million downloads also a protection software that is especially often selected by parents.

Child protection software Kaspersky SafeK >

Installation of Safe Kids

Installing Safe Kids on the computer is easy. You have to sign in to the MyKaspersky account or create a new free account. All settings are made in the online account. In addition, it is possible to install the mobile version in parent mode on your own smartphone and to make the various settings and view reports.
The next step is adding the child – up to 100 supervised accounts are included – and identifying the appropriate mobile devices.

website filter

One of the most important tools for child protection is filtering or blocking unwanted websites. Safe Kids offers more than 10 control categories, including pornography, violence and gambling. Depending on the specified age, presets are already selected that can be changed freely.

Safe Kids not only knows strict locks, but also can provide websites with warnings. If the child ignores the warning, parents will be informed about it in the premium version.

An important advantage of Safe Kids: The locks are not based solely on databases of well-known sites, but the program scans each web page and locks it if necessary.

Check Facebook account of children

With Kaspersky Safe Kids Premium, the child’s Facebook account and other social media accounts can also be controlled. However, your child needs to agree to this feature first. To turn it on, Safe Kids sends an email with a link that installs an app on the social network. The child can agree or disagree or even deactivate the app later – of course, the parents are taught.

If the app is turned on, Safe Kids keeps track of the children’s contributions. You can see what the child has published and, if necessary, log in to the child’s account.

App control

In addition to iOS, Safe Kids can control the use of apps and programs. Games can also be blocked based on the age restriction. 14 categories are also available, which may be restricted separately, e.g. File sharing, online shopping and games.

When a device is selected, Safe Kids also lists all the apps it has actively seen. Any app listed there can then be blocked or set up a maximum usage of the app per day.

Time restriction for smartphones and devices

An important mechanism for such programs is to monitor device usage and limit usage time. After all, nobody wants the kids to sit in front of the screen all day. With Kaspersky you can set the allowed time per device and per day of the week. The above-mentioned alert function, which does not subsequently block the device but sends a notification to the parents, can also be selected here.

Mobile location and location of other mobile devices

If Safe Kids is installed in the premium version on a mobile device, the locating feature can be turned on. With a simple click you are always informed about the whereabouts of the child. In addition, permitted areas can be set up in which the child may stay in certain times. If it leaves the area, you will receive a notification. One can e.g. that the child should be at school in the morning and in the afternoon at home. Even with deviations from the way to school you will be informed.

Warnings and reports

On the Safe Kids page you will be informed by a bell about various warnings, such as whether the child has tried to enter a blocked site or has installed an app. You can also view detailed reports on the child’s activities over the past day, week, or month.

On Android devices, all calls and text messages to the child’s smartphone will also be listed.

Kaspersky Safe Kids provides a very good all-in-one child protection package for all common platforms. As a parent you have to worry less about what the child is doing with their mobile device. All functions such as determining the location or monitoring the Facebook communication are possible with the full version, which costs 14.99 euros per year. In our opinion, this is definitely in comparison with other, often worse programs. The software is available on the platforms Windows, iOS, iOS Mac and Android.

You can order the software with instant download here directly from Kaspersky. The premium version is also in a trial version, so you can try the software first.

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