Microsoft launched Family Safety, an app to help parents know and control how their children surf the internet, spend time on the different apps and track location.
“We are excited to announce that the Microsoft Family Safety app, designed to help you protect your family’s digital and physical safety, is starting to rollout today on iOS and Android,” Liat Ben-Zur, VP at Microsoft, said in a statement.
The app mails weekly activity report to parents showing time kids have spent on their devices and content viewed.
Parents can set app and screen time limits on Windows, Xbox and android apps and games. The app also allows parents to add more screen time on their kids’ request, and block or unblock specific apps.
Parents can also block unwanted websites or adult content via web and search filters. This feature works with the Microsoft Edge browser on Windows, Xbox, and Android.
The app sends email requests before kids can purchase apps and games from Xbox and Microsoft stores, keeping parents aware of their spending habits.
The Family Safety app also allows location sharing, letting users find their family members on the map. The location clustering feature enables users to zoom and identify each one of their family members when they are at the same place.
Users can track location of their family members
Microsoft claims to protect family’s privacy by providing them full control around how and why their data is collected and used. The family’s location data is not sold or shared with third party apps or entities.
The Washington-based company plans to introduce more features, like drive safety to build better driving habits, and location alerts to notify the user when any of their family members arrives or leaves a specific location.
The technology company is also working to bring the digital safety features, set screen time and content filters to iOS. These updates will be rolled out in the coming months.
