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Using smartphones and the Internet needs to be learned: take your children by the hand
Photo: Michael Vogt
Mamaaa, when will I finally get a haaandy?
Papaaa, everyone else has a smartphone, I really need one too!
At the latest when the youngsters start talking like this, the topic becomes serious.
Word should have gotten around by now that it's a bad idea to simply leave the not-so-little ones alone with their smartphones or tablets - too much on the internet is not for children's eyes.
Parents are required to work with their children to learn how to use technology in a sensible and age-appropriate way.
Both Google and Apple offer powerful parental control tools that you should know about.
Compared to child protection software from third-party providers, the packages from Google described in this article have one major advantage: They are integrated into the operating system and can intervene more extensively than apps and services that you install from other sources.
In Google's Android, Family Link is the contact point for child and youth protection.
The free app is divided into two parts: the control center is installed on the parent's cell phone, the counterpart is installed on the child's smartphone.
The child can see the respective settings and restrictions there, but cannot change them.
The fact that the ratings in the Play Store are blatantly different and that the parents' app fares far better than the one for the children is in the nature of things: if the control works, those affected are usually less happy.
It doesn't have to be a new smartphone
The system requirements for Google Family Link are manageable.
The children's device must have at least Android 7.0 Nougat.
Android 5.0 Lollipop is even sufficient for some smartphones and tablets.
But you shouldn't equip your children with an Android that's so old that it no longer gets security patches.
The parental version of Family Link is compatible with all Android devices from version 5.0, alternatively you can also install it on an iPhone from iOS 11 or higher.
Children's Chromebooks can also be managed with Family Link, but not Windows devices and iPads.
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The parents' and child's smartphones are linked to the new child's account during the initial setup
Photo: c't
Set up your child's first Android device, create a new Google child account.
Link this to a parental account to set up parental controls.
Prepare yourself for a lot of reading material during the initial setup, because Google probably does not display so many explanations and information for any other feature.
Google will also ask you about your child's birthday.
For data protection reasons, feel free to fib a little here: The year should be correct for the selection of the content, but Google doesn't necessarily need to know the exact date.
If you not only want to create a fresh child account, but also a brand new parent account, you have to jump another hurdle: you need a credit card, which you have to set up with Google Pay.
No money is deducted from this, but the identity is checked.
If you have been using the Google account for a long time and have already identified yourself at some point, this step is not necessary.
Once setup is complete, you can remove the credit card from your Google account if you don't need Google's payment services.
The clock is ticking
The three most important functions of Google Family Link are controlling the usage time, managing the content and permissions on the children's smartphone, which can be granted or revoked.
You can set the times when your child is allowed to use their smartphone in two ways: You can grant the child a time account that they can spend on their smartphone each day.
The lowest setting is 15 minutes, but you can give your little one a few hours of cellphone time every day.
The time can be assigned separately for each day of the week, so that you can relax a little at the weekend.
If the time account is used up, the smartphone locks itself automatically as long as you do not grant an extension.
Only calls are allowed to ensure availability.
The second time option allows you to set fixed blocking times - again separated by day of the week - when the smartphone cannot be used.
It is recommended to stop using it at least half an hour before you plan to go to sleep, because it is well known that anyone who is still staring at the smartphone display in bed sleeps less well.
On top of that, you can regulate the usage time for each app separately and set your own time periods for each application: Wikipedia always works - gaming only one hour a day.
During the initial setup of the phone, Family Link will ask which of the pre-installed applications should be allowed or blocked.
For apps and games, but also films, series and books, you should select the age group according to the youth protection code (USK) within which your offspring can move freely.
If you allow everything at this point, you can actually save yourself the child protection completely.
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Google Family Link gives parents a detailed overview of what their children are doing on their devices
Photo: c't
If children want to install a new app that is neither on the parents' approval list nor in the allowed age group, they have to ask for permission.
This works in two ways: directly or as a message on the smartphone.
Directly goes like this: The child goes to one of the parents with their smartphone and asks if the desired app is approved.
If so, the parent types in their password on the child's cell phone.
With the second method, a notification from Google Family Link about the desired app pops up on the parent phone, which you can approve or reject.
After a few seconds, the decision reaches the child and the installation either starts or does not start.
However, be prepared for a flood of notifications and e-mails, because every request via push notification also rings in the e-mail inbox.
You can also require this compulsory approval for every app, regardless of age group, or switch it off completely.
Blocked apps that are pre-installed on the smartphone are not displayed to the child, but they are not removed either.
For example, the apps we blocked from Facebook and YouTube appeared in the app list in the system settings.
We were also able to install manually downloaded updates.
However, there was no menu icon and we couldn't start the apps via links, voice commands or shortcuts.
Google offers a number of its most important apps as special children's versions with limited functionality.
Children should be able to move safely in Chrome, Gmail, Maps, Photos and Google Search.
Sharing pictures and videos from the photo app is impossible for them, SafeSearch is activated in the browser.
Chrome's content filter allows you to create lists of blocked or allowed websites as well as a general filter for objectionable content.
With YouTube, Google is working on two tracks: On the one hand, there is the YouTube Kids app with a child-like look and corresponding content, on the other hand, you can switch on the restricted mode in the normal YouTube app, which is intended for children aged 13 and over.
If third parties play along, it becomes confusing
With Google Family Link you manage the permissions of apps both globally and separately for each application.
For example, you can set that no application can use the camera, the microphone or the location of the smartphone - and thus completely or partially disable some apps.
Reasonable exceptions should be allowed, even if it means configuring the system requires a little more work.
You can then also discuss the topic with your child: »Which releases make sense for which app?«.
While Google's apps can mostly be individually configured with Family Link, there is usually only one option for applications from third-party providers: allow or prohibit, each with all the consequences.
Anyone who allows the child to install WhatsApp, for example, has no view or influence over Family Link with which contacts the child exchanges information and what content is shared there.
This is dangerous in the face of cyberbullying and similar unsightly phenomena.
In everyday life, however, popular messengers can hardly be completely banned, as they are used extensively - not only privately with friends and family, but also by school, sports clubs or leisure groups.
At this point, you should work with your child to find a way to use it safely, for example by not sending photos and videos or the WhatsApp status, and by having the parents regularly check the messages.
Alternatively, you could, for example, set up another cell phone for the child exclusively for Messenger, which they may only use under supervision.
Beware of foreign browsers
Parents should be particularly careful when allowing alternative browsers.
These can also only be either fully activated or rejected via Family Link.
Content control like Chrome is not possible with Edge, Firefox, Opera and other browsers via Family Link.
For example, the blocking of YouTube can easily be bypassed by simply surfing to the web version in the browser instead of the app.
All sorts of other sites with content that is not suitable for children can also be viewed by minors if you do not take any measures apart from Google child protection.
The bottom line is this: Google Family Link requires all web access to go exclusively through the Chrome browser in order to use its built-in filtering.
Special caution also applies to applications from unknown sources, i.e. everything that comes from outside the Play Store.
In this way, alternative app stores can also be installed, in which the set age group for the Play Store does not apply.
These app stores are actually a useful and in the case of F-Droid, for data protection reasons, a sensible contact point next to the Play Store.
On the children's cell phone, however, they undermine the control mechanisms and can become dangerous.
However, Android notices that if an explicitly forbidden app is to be installed directly from a downloaded APK file, we could not bypass the system-wide blocking in this way.
Without internet the door stays closed
Family Link is only a good team when children's and parents' smartphones are online.
If the parent's cell phone is not connected to the Internet, no notifications will arrive, you cannot help and you will not receive any information if, for example, the child has exhausted its daily usage time.
On the other hand, if the offspring switches to flight mode or loses online access for another reason, the parents are blind to everything that is happening on their smartphone.
However, this does not annul the set rules: blocked apps remain taboo and the clock with the preset usage time continues to tick inexorably.
By the time they are a teenager, your child will reach the point where Google rules allow them to manage their own Google account.
In Germany this limit is 16 years, in Austria it is 14 years, in Switzerland it is already 13 years.
You can continue to use the protective mechanisms afterwards, but you are more dependent than ever on cooperation in the family: the child can then switch off the parental controls themselves at any time.
They just grow up so fast, dear little ones.
