How to childproof your smartphone

It’s no wonder that smartphones have made an immense contribution to child development, through learning and entertainment. But you also cannot ignore the fact that they have also opened the doors to several threats to a child’s safety. You often keep our smartphones without any locks and limitations at the disposal of children, which can call for uninvited circumstances.

Childproofing your smartphone is not about limiting their exploration but rather about enabling a safe and responsible digital journey. Check out the ways below you can childproof your smartphone and protect them.

How to childproof your Android smartphone

Here are a few quick and easy ways to childproof your Android smartphone.

1. Set a pin or a lock

While you may hate having to set a password on your smartphone, it is equally important to do so. The main intention behind this, from the perspective of protecting your child, is that even if your kid gains access to the settings of your smartphone, they won’t be able to apply any major changes.

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This is because Android phones always ask for a password whenever anyone attempts to make any major changes in their settings.

2. Create a new user on your device

Make your Android smartphone child-friendly by adding a separate new user account for them with restricted use. Create an Android Guest Account, and by default, Android will restrict access to almost everything, including the Chrome browser. After creating this profile, you may manually deselect the games or learning apps you want your child to be able to access.

3. Setting up parental controls

You can restrict the downloads on Google Play so that your kid cannot purchase or download any app without your permission. The restrictions on the Play Store are applicable to all apps for movies, books, and music. To set up parental control, go to your Play Store profile and click on Settings.

Choose Parental Controls from the Family option that is available under the Settings option. Toggle the option on and all apps with any adult content will be restricted automatically. 

How to childproof your iPhone

Here’s how to childproof your iPhone quickly and easily.

1. Set up parental controls on the iPhone  

If you own an iPhone, you can restrict access to any in-built apps, including YouTube, camera, and iTunes. You can also disable third-party app downloads and app deletions. To enable parental control, go to your iPhone’s Settings app and select ‘Restrictions’ from the ‘General’ option. Shortlist the apps that you would like to block.  

2. Additional Controls 

If your iPhone is running on iOS 6 and above  you will have a ‘Guided Access’ feature on your smartphone. If you activate this feature and hand over your phone by opening one particular app, it will disable all the other apps from sending you notifications and pop-ups.

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You can ideally choose the apps you wish to restrict while using this feature. To activate this, go to your iPhone’s Settings app, and choose the ‘General’ option again. Click on ‘Guided Access’ from the ‘Accessibility’ option. Here, after setting a passcode, load the app you want to open for your kid and triple-click on the home screen to activate.   

With all these above ways, you can assure the maximum safety of your kid from getting exposed to unwanted content.