“Dad, can I have the app?”, “Mom, can you please buy me this mobile game here?” – If you have an Android device, you can’t get around the Google Play Store. It entices users with numerous apps, games, and media content from a seemingly endless selection. Find out what the Play Store is all about and how you can make it childproof in this article.
The Google Play Store is an app marketplace for all smartphones, tablets, smart TVs and smartwatches with the Android operating system. The offer can also be used via the browser. Anyone who wants to use the Google Play Store needs a Google account.
There is a huge selection of free and paid apps, games and media content such as books, music, movies and series in the app. The apps are divided into categories from entertainment and shopping to science and news to health and sports.
Anyone who clicks on an item will be shown the detail page. Here you will find the following information:
Apps, games and media content can be downloaded via the green “Install” button. For this, sufficient storage space and a connection to the Internet are required for free offers. If you want to buy paid apps, you click on the button with the price and also have to enter a payment method in the Google Play Store, such as a credit card or a credit card.
Children and young people are curious, hungry for knowledge and love to try new things. Through their peer group, they find out what apps are hot at the moment and also want to install them in order to pass the time with apps and games, deepen a hobby or acquire knowledge. The Google Play Store offers numerous options.
Many apps in the Google Play Store have age labels. Because numerous new apps are added every day, not all apps are tested. That’s why there are apps without age ratings. They are treated the same way as adult apps.
Under the “Kids” tab, you’ll find apps and games that educators recommend. They are divided into three age categories and are intended to make it easier for parents to find their way through the wide range of apps. These apps usually come without ads and in-app purchases and are educational.
When dealing with the Google Play Store, three points are important: choose age-appropriate offers, weigh the costs, and pay attention to data protection.
If your child is using your unsecured device, do not leave your child alone with it. It could download paid apps through the Google Play Store, make in-app purchases, or download offers that aren’t safe or age-appropriate.
If your child uses their own device, set up the Google Play Store to be child-safe:
Tips on how to set up your child’s smartphone safely are available in this article
“EM 2021”, “Bundestag election” and “Corona” – these terms were googled most frequently in 2021. But Google and other search engines were not designed primarily for children. Without filtering, children can quickly end up on pages with inappropriate content. That’s why there are children’s search engines.
Children’s search engines are easy to use and use child-friendly language and images. There are also tips and hints on how to best use search engines, such as which terms will find exactly the information you are looking for. Most of the offers are aimed at children between the ages of 6 and 12. Children’s search engines only link to content that is harmless and interesting for children. All websites are checked and approved in advance by media educators. This enables safe surfing on the net. In addition, children can practice searching the Internet for websites and information that is important to them. In this way, they acquire important skills. Older children can be introduced to adult search engines after this practice period.
For children from 6 to 12 years are suitable the search engines askFINN and blind cow . Bright Minds is aimed at children and young people aged 8 to 16. These websites contain child-friendly articles and links to safe online games and videos. Except for Helles Köpfchen, the search engines are free of advertising. Older children can use common search engines such as Google, Ecosia, Yahoo, and Bing. There, certain filters can be activated that prevent unsuitable content from being displayed in the search results. These filters are called Google , Bing and Yahoo “SafeSearch. With some search engines, an account can be created with which filters can then be activated permanently and password-protected.
Children’s search engines are designed so that children can use them independently and have the most positive surfing experience possible during their first steps on the Internet. Accompany your child during the first use and explore the search engine together. This way you can explain important functions for the search in more detail. After the first joint testing, children can use the respective children’s search engine independently without hesitation. For this purpose, it is recommended to set up a child search engine for the default search in the browser. In addition, a child search engine can be set up as the start page.
If your children already know how to use search engines and use search engines like Google , activate a filter. Note that despite filters, searches are never as secure as content review by media educators and that filters can be independently activated and deactivated. Agree with your child on how to respond when he or she encounters inappropriate content. You can report inappropriate content that is displayed despite filter settings to the respective search engines.
“Alexa, turn on the lights!” Digital voice assistants help many families organize their everyday lives. They have names like Alexa, Echo, Siri or Cortana and are used via so-called smart speakers or smartphones.
In order to adapt the use of the voice assistants to one’s own needs, so-called “skills” can be activated. Skills, like apps on smartphones, are small third-party utilities. Depending on the device, they are also called “actions” (Google) or “additional commands” (Apple). Skills are also used via voice commands.
They give the voice assistants additional functions and can therefore be used individually. Smart home skills ensure, for example, that lamps, thermostats or the TV can be controlled with the help of the voice assistant. Services can be used with service skills. For example, you can look for a suitable train connection, order a pizza from a delivery service or listen to the daily news. Such a voice command reads, for example: “Alexa, ask Deutsche Bahn for a connection from Berlin to Munich tomorrow at 12 o’clock”.
The selection of skills is large. Skills are practical supporters for everyday life, and not just for adults. There is also a wide range of offers for adolescents. For example, children can learn about the countries of the world through play via learning skills or listen to interactive audio stories of their favorite characters. Many companies, but also public broadcasters, make their offerings available in the form of skills, such as the children’s news from KiRaKa or Mikado. The variety of child-friendly skills also opens up many application possibilities for families. Timetable Skills inform parents and children quickly and easily. The teeth brushing skill makes the daily routine easier. Joint games about skills with digital dice cups or imaginary memory cards can also enrich everyday family life. In memory, for example, a pair always consists of two identical sounds and is numbered so that an assignment can be made orally.
When using voice assistants and skills, you should be aware that they are always listening when switched on. Thus, a great deal of personal data and information is collected. How these are stored and processed depends on the respective provider and is not always communicated transparently. With some providers, the voice recording histories can be deleted. Read more in our article Smarter family life with Alexa & Co.?.
The data processing of the individual skills should also be checked with the respective external provider before installation. By using the skills, you agree to the transmission of usage data to the third-party provider. Therefore, when choosing should be well informed.
Skills are for the most part available free of charge. In the meantime, however, there are isolated so-called in-skill purchases. These are, similar to apps, advanced features that are chargeable. When looking for skills for kids, keep this in mind.
As helpful as the digital assistants are, you should still inform yourself carefully before activating them. There is a wide range of extensions. Some skills seem okay at first glance, but they can be used to access content that is not suitable for adolescents. For this reason, it is also advisable to secure adult content and orders with a code. Furthermore, voice assistants should be turned off overnight, at least when you or your family is not at home. Educate your child about how voice assistants and skills work and the disadvantages they bring.
fragFINN is a children’s search engine that provides adolescents with a protected surfing space with harmless content. With fragFINN‘s child protection app, children only move around in this surfing space. The basis of the child search engine is the so-called positive list. This is a list of websites that have been tested and deemed safe. Thus, the search engine searches only the websites that are on the positive list. Since your child is in a closed surfing space with the app, he or she can therefore only access the websites that are included in the safe list. If your child is on a verified website and clicks on an external link that is not approved (for example YouTube or Amazon), a so-called stop page appears with the notice that the website is not part of the fragFINN surfing space. So your child will not be able to access this page.
Many children use the fragFINN children’s search engine because it is easier for them to find content there that is made especially for them. This is because many children’s sites are difficult to find via the usual search engines. In fragFINN, these are displayed preferentially. Thus, the fragFINN app can be used for homework research as well as for playing games during free time.
With the children’s search engine, the provider fragFINN e.V. pursues the goal of providing children between the ages of 6 and 12 with a protected digital space and offering young children in particular a safe start on the Internet.
Children’s search engines are a very good introduction to the Internet. With them, children learn how to use search engines properly. You will learn search techniques and understand the principle of a search engine. Keep in mind, however, that children’s search engines like fragFINN are maintained manually, which means that only those websites that have been pre-screened and included will be found. So be aware that your child won’t find every piece of information he or she is looking for, and child search engines will reach their limits at some point. Use the opportunity to make the provider aware if you are shown content that is not suitable for children or if you are missing children’s pages. In this way, the fragFINN surfing space can be improved and expanded. Learn more here.
Alexa, Google Assist or Apple Home Pod are increasingly finding their way into households. Our media educator Lidia de Reese explains the advantages and disadvantages of these devices, especially for families.
Are you worried that your 14-year-old son is spending too much time on his smartphone and using apps that aren’t really appropriate for his age? With the Family Link app, Google wants to make a contribution to media education in families. But to what extent is this also useful for teenagers?
In our article Google Family Link for kids , we summarized what the app can do, explained the possible uses for children, but also explained the risks of the app. Not all functions are useful for teenagers who are at least 16 years old. Because according to Google, from this age onwards you are allowed to have your own account in Germany in order to be able to fully use various Google services, especially on Android devices. But even for young people under 16, not all control functions have to be active anymore. You should decide this based on your child’s level of independence with media.
If you have set up a child account for your child’s smartphone, this can be converted into a regular account from the age of 16, which your child will then manage completely on their own. You will be informed about it by mail. Your child can then decide whether to install and restrict apps themselves or continue to leave it up to you, the parent. Consider together to what extent this makes sense. Does your child feel mature enough to assess which app is age-appropriate and how much time they spend on their phone?
The older your child gets, the more independent he or she becomes. For example, you can leave parental controls – controlling how much time he or she spends using certain apps – enabled initially, but let your child manage his or her own phone. Note, however, that this may be an invasion of privacy if your child does not know about it. Also, your child can disable parental controls at any time with their own Google account.
Certain features, such as location tracking, are no longer age-appropriate, especially for teenagers. . Trust your child and talk openly about it if you are afraid that something may happen to him.
Agree on media use rules that should be revisited regularly. This includes whether it still makes sense to use Google Family Link.
Jana is considering getting a voice assistant for her family. But what should you pay attention to? Lidia de Reese from Elternguide.online gives you tips and advice.
Are you concerned that once your child has their own smartphone, they will spend too much time on it and access content that is not age appropriate? The Google Family Link app for parents and for children aims to remedy the situation and offers some ways to regulate the child’s cell phone use together.
Google Family Link allows parents to set up a limited Google account for children under 16 and keep track of their child’s smartphone usage if it’s an Android device. To do this, Google Family Link for Kids must first be set up on your child’s smartphone. On your device, you can set preferences for your child’s device using the Google Family Linkapp for parents .
Among other things, the app can be used to set usage times for the smartphone, restrict access to certain apps, or block in-app purchases. You can use it to track which apps the child uses and how often. The use of the cell phone itself can also be restricted and the child’s cell phone can be tracked with the app. The settings can also be made online – without a smartphone – via a Google account of the parents.
Since the update in September 2019, the app has even more features: Now parents can set the maximum usage time for each app individually. It is also possible to add bonus time after the specified maximum usage time has expired (in increments of 5 minutes).
From a parent’s point of view, the functions offered are useful because they can prevent children from spending too much time with their smartphone or from using unsuitable apps. The app should be viewed critically if it is not used to protect children, but to control or even monitor them. Therefore, the use of the app should definitely be discussed with the child beforehand and set up together with him!
Since it is a Google app, it can be used primarily for Google services and Android devices. Other apps cannot be controlled via this. In addition, Google Family Link itself does not block inappropriate content or content that is harmful to minors, but allows or enables entire offers – depending on the setting you have made as a parent. For example, despite the app, your child may receive YouTube videos that contain violence. To restrict content on YouTube, you need to make filter settings in the YouTube app itself. Also, advertising within Google apps cannot be turned off with the Google Family Link.
The Google company gains access to your child’s data and all usage behavior by setting up a child account.
For Google, Family Link represents a support for media education in the family, as common usage rules can be agreed upon and controlled via the app. To allow children to be supervised while using cell phones.
Even if no inappropriate content can be filtered with the app, parents are specifically informed about filtering options of certain services, such as the SafeSearch function in Google Search, the parental control filter in Google’s Chrome browser or YouTube’s restricted mode. More about this in the Google help.
Think carefully about whether using such an app is right for your family. With younger children, it may be appropriate to exercise some degree of control. No matter what you decide, this is a good occasion to jointly consider rules of use for smartphone & co.
Using Google Family Link always requires that your child’s phone has Internet access. This may not be a given or your child may not be expected to be online all the time.
If you decide to use it, you should install and set up the app together with your child. Talk about what features make sense to comply with usage rules. Which settings are not necessary because your child is already mature enough to take care of them himself? Periodically discuss whether the app and its settings are still useful or they can be disabled. If you want to use the app for multiple phones, you can set up different sub-accounts depending on the age of the child.
Also, as far as Google’s data usage is concerned, you should check the settings carefully. When saving data, certain functions are automatically activated, which you can switch off. Read more about installing and setting up the app at mobilsicher.de.
With Blinde Kuh , children can learn how to use a search engine in a safe surfing space, because only children’s sites are displayed.
Blinde Kuh is one of the oldest and best known search engines just for children in Germany. By entering keywords, your child can search for a lot of different and safe content here or browse through different topics.
Based on a safety-tested catalog, you get child-friendly search results. The catalog is created by an editorial team with the help of technical means. In addition to web pages, videos are also displayed in the search results.
Under the button “News” you can find the latest and interesting news for children. In the “Join in” section, your child can send in stories, reports or reports they have written themselves. There are also games and information about safety on the net.
Click here to go directly to Blinde Kuh: www.blindekuh.de
More info for parents is also available: www.blinde-kuh.de/faqs/index.html
Children’s search engines are a good introduction to the world of the Internet. They can be a good preparation for using common and well-known search engines. The pre-testing of all content provides a very high level of security for your child. Nevertheless, you should accompany your child, especially when using it for the first time, and explore the search engine together. This also allows important functions for the search to be explained in more detail.
If your child finds a page among the results that scares him/her, he/she can report it using the “Report page” button. The alarms received are checked daily. Your child also has the opportunity to suggest websites. The media education team checks the pages and can approve them for the children’s search engine if necessary.
For more tips on how to use the Blinde Kuh, check out this video:
(Source: kindersache.de/bereiche/juki)
