Family Tech Blog

Tag: amazon

Get Parental Control Tools for Cheap on Amazon’s Prime Day

Meet Circle, Our Favorite Home WiFi Parental Control Solution

We love Circle. It monitors our kids online activity and protects them from happening upon websites they should be avoiding. I recommend Circle everywhere I go and to everyone I talk to. They have released a NEW VERSION of Circle that includes a year of premium features when you buy the device. If you are ok with having the older version (which is still supported, at least for now) you can get it for a third of the original price on Amazon right now.

A Kid Friendly Watch with Messaging

You may not want your child to have their own phone but need them to be able to contact you when necessary. This watch uses the Android operating system and allows GPS tracking, WiFi, Calls and Messaging. It also has a camera. The watch is kid sized, made for children ages 4-12. If you want the phone call option you will need to get a sim card from your cell service provider (Verizon and Sprint not supported.)

Have Some Screen Free Fun!

Parental Control doesn’t always mean keeping them safe while on technology. Sometimes it means keeping them off of tech completely. Board games are a great way to achieve the goal of entertaining your kids without screen time.

Whatever age your kids are, there are some awesome off screen games available on Amazon’s Prime Day today. Whether you want to build a Unicorn Army, expand civilization through villages and farms, or collect jewels to earn more points than your opponents, these games are a ton of fun! Check out the deals on these tabletop games and sit down with your family, with no screens, and have a good time. Board games encourage eye contact, communication, healthy competition, and creative/critical thinking. They are good for learning as well as fun.

Enjoy Each-other Outdoors

Sometimes you just have to get outside. These activities will give you a chance to leave the technology indoors and head out for some “green time.” Use your aim and dexterity to score as many points as possible in the classic Ladder Toss game which is on sale at a special Prime Day price for then next couple of days. If you’d rather toss Horse Shoes, this kid safe version of the outdoor favorite is also priced for Prime Day. If you want a new twist on an old classic, check out this Cornhole/Golf Chipping Target combo. It’s only $40 today.

Thanks for partnering with BecauseFamily (Four Point Families 501c3)

BecauseFamily exists to protect children and teenagers by bridging the technology gap between them and their parents. As we work to provide resources to parents and kids alike, you partnership helps us continue our mission to keep kids safe. Your options for supporting BecauseFamily are available at BecauseFamily.org/partnership and include direct donation through PayPal, ongoing support of our media content through Patreon, using our affiliate links, and signing up to support us on smile.amazon.com. The links above all direct you to the smile.amazon.com page for those products. You may be asked to sign up for who to support, search Four Point Families to elect us as the benefactor of your Amazon Smile donations. We are eternally grateful for your support!

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July 15, 2019
Amazon Echo Dot For Kids Released on the Same Day an Alexa Security Flaw Was Announced

Voice is the new screen. That’s what all the tech gurus are saying these days. We’re moving beyond tapping to simply speaking. “OK, Google,” “Alexa,” even “Cortana” have become standard parts of our vocabulary. Even our kids know how to play music, stories, or get help with their math or spelling from a voice-activated assistant of some kind. Voice command started with Siri and quickly became a standard feature in all smartphones and even in some of our vehicles. What seemed like science fiction only 15 years ago is now a common tool for most of our culture.

We are all hyper-aware, now, of the amount of information tech companies are gathering from our internet use. Since we carry fully connected devices around with us everywhere we go and use them to broadcast our daily routine on social media, there isn’t much that is hidden. Recently, though, we’ve become a bit cautious of how much of our data we share with these companies. It’s one thing to let Google know we like seeing ads on YouTube for our favorite movie genre, but tracking our location and schedule is a bit far.

A test by security group, Checkmarx, found a security flaw that allowed them to design an app that would leave the Alexa microphone on long after you’ve finished using Alexa. Then, the app would send the hacker a transcript of what the mic picked up while you didn’t know it was turned on. Checkmarx found this flaw earlier this month and reported it to Amazon. It was corrected immediately.

“Customer trust is important to us and we take security and privacy seriously,” the company said in a statement. “We have put mitigations in place for detecting this type of skill behavior and reject or suppress those skills when we do.” – Amit Ashbel, director of product marketing for Checkmarx

This obvious flaw is the first of its kind that has been made public. There is no way to know how long it has been around or if it has been used by anyone to collect user data. Amazon was fast to fix the issue but only after a third party research group found the problem in the first place. There are always security risks with any smart-home or virtual device and having a microphone that is always on compounds that risks. The popularity of Alexa and Google home is ever increasing, though, despite these risks. With the outcry against Facebook for their data collection and usage, it seems interesting to me that these fully connected, in-home virtual assistants are becoming so common. So common, in fact, that they’re being designed for our kids.

Enter, the Echo Dot for Kids

The news of this breach was released today, and interestingly, so was Amazon’s new Echo Dot for Kids. The Alexa enabled personal assistant speaker comes with a protective case, a replacement warranty (for the inevitable drop on the hardwood floor), a year’s worth of Amazon Freetime, built-in parental controls, and a bunch of skills (apps) that are geared towards kids. The Dot will read to your kids, help them with homework, play kid-friendly Audible audiobooks and more. The Echo Dot for Kids is $79.99 on Amazon.com.

What Parents Should Know

Being able to lock your kids out of explicit music and audiobooks, disabling entertainment features in favor of educational skills, turning off voice purchasing, and other parental control options make the Dot for Kids a pretty appealing piece of technology. I am, however, very skeptical of putting a marketing company’s microphone in my kids’ rooms. I know that doesn’t sound like the opinion of a tech nerd but my distaste for targeted marketing to minors and collection of the data of children will always outweigh the desire to be in with what’s trendy in technology.

Though the Alexa security flaw has been resolved, I wonder how long it will be until another workaround is discovered? I bet it’ll be pretty soon. Here’s why: Amazon is trying to strike a balance between a way to gather the most information about your family as possible and still make you feel that your information is secure. There will always be functionalities in their systems that allow them to gather just that little bit more than you know they’re collecting. When a security company (at best) or hackers (at worst) find these functionalities, they exploit them to meet their own needs. Sometimes the need is to sell the workaround info to the company to keep it all quiet and sometimes it’s worse, the collection of data for sale or use. We all seem to be ok with Amazon or Facebook or Google having a bunch of our private data. After all, it is often used to make our lives easier and more convenient. The problem comes when something like the Cambridge Analytica fiasco takes place and we have our information being sold to the highest bidder or used to target us with fake news and advertising.

Unfortunately, as long as we have devices that take in our likes, dislikes, conversations, and habits, we will have companies using that information to further strengthen their bottom line. All I am saying is that, as families, we have to draw our own line. My line is drawn pretty strictly against voice-activated assistants in our home, especially ones designed to be used by my kids. Your line will be somewhere different than mine but I advise you to be knowledgeable about any tech you bring into your home. If you aren’t sure what something does or how it really works, I wouldn’t buy it or use it in the first place. I know that sounds a bit counter-cultural, but the culture seems pretty ok with giving away all of their personal information and then panicking when they find out it’s being misused. I don’t blame companies for that, I blame people. Facebook fooled us once, perhaps shame on them, if you’re fooled again, shame on you.

April 25, 2018
CES 2018: Family Tech Product Rollouts and Predictions for 2018 Tech
My first day at CES 2018 was kind of split into two categories. I spent the first half of my time at a press conference and a market research report. This may not sound fun to you but this information is why I’m here. There’s lots of information being shared and learned here that can benefit parents as we work to raise healthy kids in this digital culture. Along with a couple of videos, I wanted to present a simple list that will show you a little bit of what I learned here at CES on media day one.

Day One Takeaways
- Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are being used for diagnosis and treatment by doctors and other healthcare providers.
- Voice Controlled speakers were the name of the tech industry game in 2017 with a 279% increase in purchases with another 60% of growth expected in 2018.
- 715 million connected devices are expected to be sold in 2018 to the tune of $351 billion.
- Augmented reality will be making its way into our everyday lives with uses like shopping, gaming, and health tech.
- Companion robots are bursting onto the scene. Used as a “family companion,” photos and video, security, speaker, entertainment, and even sleep and home health management.
- People are more aware of how artificial intelligence (how websites and connected devices collect our data) works and getting acclimated to using it.
- Virtual reality is becoming a real tool for the fitness and home gym industry.
Family Tech Product Releases
- Alexa ready baby monitor. By Project Nursery (More in videos)
- In device augmented and virtual reality toy gun with 6 depths of field. By MERGEVR (More in videos.)
- Jimu build and code robot. (Also in video)
Final Thoughts

Technology is continuing to move forward faster tthanwe can imagine. The biggest talk at this year’s CES is about voice command technology like Alexa and Google home, self-driving cars, and augmented reality content. As parents, our we should understand that our kids are going to be some of the first adopters of much of this technology and so it is important that we understand it. Kids aren’t watching content just on their televisions anymore, they aren’t having to type search terms into Google, and they are always always connected. That is what was said at day one the most, we are moving from the digital age to the connected age. You’re connected, your kids are connected, and so is everyone else so be sure to stay in the loop so that you can keep every connection safer.

Stay tuned tomorrow for my report on day 2 of CES Media Days where I’ll talk about teen market research and more about the future of connectivity. Share this article with your friends and let them know that you’re keeping track of the latest tech trends by following FamilyTechBlog.com’s reporting on CES2018.
January 8, 2018
Amazon for Teens will Teach Your Kids to Shop with Them

Amazon has launched a new service that will allow you to set up a dedicated login for your teenager so that they can shop on the Amazon app. The goal is, first of all, to give parents a way to allow their kids more freedom to shop for things they’d like online while providing some realistic boundaries. It’s most likely, also, a great way to get your kid used to just buying whatever they need on the Amazon app.

Amazon for Teens will allow your children to shop on the Amazon app and make purchases for themselves. You have the option to allow them to shop for whatever they’d like with a budget that you set or ask permission for every item they select to buy. If you choose the budget option you will have access to their purchase history and be able to cancel a purchase or request a return. So far there is no way to have teens use their own money within your family account. Currently, all shopping is done with a shared credit/bank card.

The service is available to set up for your kids’ ages 13-17. They’ll be able to select whatever items they’d like to purchase and attach a note for you. You will be notified when they’ve made a purchase and you have 30 minutes to cancel the order if you don’t approve. Of course, if you’ve set it up to ask permission you’ll be able to approve or deny the order before it’s completed. Also, the default privacy settings will hide parent’s purchase history and credit card information.

What Parents Should Know

Amazon.com/teen is a way for Amazon to introduce your teen to their shopping app. For some, this may seem like a great way to teach your kids about finances and shopping. For others, there’s an obvious stench of commercialism and consumerism. If you’re so inclined, Amazon Prime for Teens seems to have a pretty good handle on what parents need to feel confident that their teens can shop on their own. In fact, they claim they used focus groups of parents in order to help them create the service.

I say that if you’re going to use this service, be sure to keep the default settings to not allow your credit card and purchase info to be shared. I also think it will be even better when you’re able to set an Amazon Prime exclusive allowance for them to use with this service. Boundaries are the key to allowing your teenager to have independence while keeping them safe from their inability to make quality and safe decisions. Amazon for Teens could provide the exact boundaries you’re looking for to keep from having to order those new boots for the coming fall weather while making sure she orders the ones that are on sale.

October 11, 2017
PODCAST: Kindle Fire/Amazon FreeTime App Review

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FAMILYTECHWEEKLY: Is the kindle fire the answer to all of your parental control questions? We don’t think so…here’s why.

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September 5, 2017
You Can Finally Get a Refund for those Old Amazon Purchases Your Kids Made

Remember those unintended charges your kid racked up on your Amazon account? You can finally get a refund for that. Amazon announced this week, after teasing in April, that they’re opening up their refund system for those old charges. You may recall that Amazon got in to some trouble with the Federal Trade Commission for being too lax on in app purchases. This caused thousands of parents to see charges show up on their accounts that they weren’t responsible for. Their kids could buy gems, gold pieces, upgrades, or whatever else in the games they were playing with no secret pin or passcode required. At the time Amazon added the parental restrictions but were still working on a way to give out all of the refunds.

They will be emailing users who are eligible for a refund and you can follow the steps from there. There is a one year deadline to submit for your refund and them the time is up. These refunds will cost Amazon up to $70 million dollars and are available to users who had this problem from 2011 through 2016. If you think you’re eligible but didn’t get an email you can visit https://www.amazon.com/gp/mas/refund-orders/in-apprefund/ to find out if you qualify.

The Federal Trade Commission’s Official Statement

What Parents Should Know

Obviously you should get your refund if you qualify but these charges can still happen if you don’t have your settings right. You can set up purchase permissions on iTunes, Amazon, or Android’s Google Play store. You also have to set individual permissions on most of your devices. This will allow you to require passwords and pins in order to make a purchase, thus keeping you from seeing strange charges on your credit card or bank statements. I’ve made a video to help you with your Apple devices. Hopefully you can use these steps to keep from having to apply for any refunds for purchases you didn’t make yourself.

June 1, 2017
Amazon is Changing the Parental Controls Game

Many parents purchase their children a tablet without taking built in parental controls into consideration. Amazon’s addition of the Parent Dashboard should cause most parents to lead towards a Kindle Fire tablet. Amazon FreeTime has been available for a little while and allows parents to set child profiles, manage content, set time limits and bedtimes, and feature’s curated content. The Parent Dashboard, launching today, takes FreeTime to the next level by giving parents a breakdown of their kids digital habits. The app will allow parents who have set up FreeTime to see the time your kids have spent on certain apps. You can see what they’ve been reading and watching and it even suggests discussion starters for the content your children have been consuming.

FreeTime features tens of thousands of apps, books, websites, and videos. The built in web browser only allows pre-approved content and features age appropriate Amazon prime videos. All of this content is curated by an actual editorial team. They watch videos through to the end and read every page of every book to be sure it’s suitable for the age group it’s listed under. This is not filtering based on algorithms, it’s work done by live people to help you protect your kids. They’re keeping in mind that you don’t want your kids to run in to something online that they’re not ready to see. In factKurt Beidler, director and general manager of Amazon FreeTime, told Digital Trends: “We take a conservative approach.”

What Parents Should Know

It seems like the internet safety market is always trying to play catch-up with the latest online and social media trends. The stuff we don’t want our kids to see always seems to creep its way onto every platform. The only true way to keep inappropriate content away from our kids is for human eyes to make the distinction between what is suitable and what is not. The human editorial team for Amazon FreeTime is one of the first of its kind, surveying content with a conservative, kid’s health comes first mindset that we can hopefully take comfort in.

I don’t usually recommend getting devices for our young children but I understand that many parents or grandparents will insist. If that is you or someone you love, may I suggest the Kindle Fire Kid Edition. This thing comes pre-loaded with the kid friendly content and a 12 month subscription to FreeTime. Yes, FreeTime is a pay subscription based service. It’s $2.99 per child or $6.99 per family. That’s not a lot to pay for your own team of content curators working to help your children be safer online. No, I don’t have an affiliate link to promote. I just think this is a great option for families.

I do recommend, as always, talking to your children about what is appropriate online and what is not. I recommend they know that you are the safe place to come to if they see something that they shouldn’t see. Obviously the goal is to keep this from happening and using Amazon FreeTime with the Parent Dashboard is a great step in that direction.

April 12, 2017
The Risks of a Fully Connected Home Part 2

The Internet of Things has made its way into our homes and we are becoming increasingly used to being tracked and monitored. In this, part two, of our connected home series, we’ll look at advertising and what it means to our privacy, our homes, and our families.

Advertising

Our society has become so accustomed to our data being used to advertising that we aren’t even creeped out by the ads on Facebook reflecting our Amazon searches last night. When we get spam email based on what we did online last week, we just hit the delete button and think nothing of it. Individualised targeted advertising is a part of everyday life now and that’s probably not ok. When everything in our home is connected to the network we are feeding data miners with so much advertising fodder that it will become impossible to ignore the onslaught of targeted ads we will recieve. Imagine when your fridge can tell that you’re out of milk, so you get an advertisement for a coupon at Walmart in your email fifteen minutes after you’ve poured the last bit into your cereal. That sounds a bit creepy to me.

When products like Google Home are “always listening” we have to wonder what some of that innocent conversation data can be worth to advertisers. Currently the policy is to not store any of that information but will the financial bottom line ever outweigh the disapproval of consumers? Is it possible that we will get so used to this targeted advertising that we won’t be phased by it anymore? Imagine standing on your back porch talking to your spouse about wanting to enclose it someday to make a screened in sitting area. What if, the following day, you saw advertisements for builders, finish carpenters, and handymen? Would that freak you out? Right now it may but if we continue to adapt to the “internet of things” we will soon take, even that level of targeted advertising, in stride. It will just become normal, everyday life. Especially for our children.

What Parents Should Know

Keep in mind that your children are a multi-billion dollar industry. Every time they play a game online or watch a video, they’re being marketed to. There is no way to avoid some of that marketing but there are ways to be smart about how we allow the corporations that sell us everything we use to come in contact with our children. As mentioned in part one, experts advise that if you are concerned about potential breaches in privacy while using a smarthome or digital personal assistant you should just avoid getting one. If you’re someone who thinks that the conveniences outweigh the potential concerns then take the steps necessary to shield your kids from targeted advertising as much as possible.

Set parental controls if your devices have them. Make sure your usernames and passwords have been changed from the default ones and that you have read and understand the privacy terms of the product you have purchased. Set any privacy settings that may be available with your children in mind, not just yourself or other adults. Always remember that your child can activate Alexa, Echo, or Google Home as easily as you can. They aren’t equipped with voice recognition (yet) so you must have the safety features set up before you allow your child to use your digital PA. More on those safety settings in part three, tomorrow.

March 1, 2017
Amazon is Paying the Piper, or at Least His Parents

We have to protect our children from inappropriate content online but we also have to protect ourselves. Thankfully most developers give us tools to keep us from unexpected content and unwanted charges. We learned today what happens if a developer neglects those protections. They pay.

Amazon is in the news today for a case that began in 2011. Thousand of parents were shocked to find that their kids had racked up in-app purchases that they hadn’t known about. Amazon made $86 million dollars on in-app purchases but it’s estimated that 42 percent of that was from unapproved purchases made by kids in the app store. The Federal Trade Commission said that Amazon’s system allowed for unlimited charges on apps and the courts sided with them in April of 2016, saying their methods of informing parents of purchases was “not sufficient.”

The software store on Kindle simply didn’t have a password protection setting for their in-app purchases. This is what got them in to trouble. Children could log in to make purchases on these apps and there was nothing built in to stop them. Shortly after complaints started coming in, Amazon updated software to include a password and had already refunded money but the FTC said that wasn’t enough.

The courts decided today that Amazon had to pay back the money to parents directly. In order to receive re-payments parents must submit individual claims. They did say that Amazon must notify parents affected of the availability of the refunds.

My Advice

I always recommend setting your in-app purchase password and keeping that password a secret. You can’t ever tell when some freemium game is going to convince your child that they need that cool hat for their character or that if they buy that ten thousand pack of rubies they can build their village faster. We have to use our common sense because sometimes our children don’t.

November 11, 2016