Family Tech Blog

Tag: protection

  • Here is Everything Snapchat Added in it’s Big Huge Update

    Here is Everything Snapchat Added in it’s Big Huge Update

    Snapchat’s fastest growing demographic is young adults but it still built it’s success on the short lived selfies of High School kids. Your High School kids. Today Snapchat released a major updates that adds some very new, never before seen features. While I don’t expect these new additions to make Snapchat more of a problem. I do think its smart for parents to understand what the apps their kids use are capable of. Here’s what’s new:

     


     

    No Time Limit

    You can now post you images without a time limit counting down until transitioning to the next photo. Videos also have a “play forever” option that will loop your videos. The “disappearing” images is what made Snapchat such a novelty at the beginning. This is a major step away from that.

     

     

    Emoji Brushes

    This is pretty much just a way to draw with emojis. Dumb? Maybe. Annoying? Definitely. Will it be used like crazy? Absolutely. You’ll be seeing emojis plastered all over snapchat images now. Enjoy!

     

     

    Magic Eraser

    This is just what it sounds like. It’s probably the coolest new feature in this update. It allows you to cut out sections of your photo and replaces the background automatically. This makes whatever you erased disappear like it was never in the photo in the first place. Features like this have been available in photo editing software but it’s the first time we’ve seen it in a social media camera.

    What Parents Should Know

    As I already mentioned these features don’t necessarily make Snapchat a more dangerous app. (It’s already on our uninstall list, mostly because of the potentially adult themed articles in the Discover section.) If you’ve been telling your teen they can’t install Snapchat this update might make it a bit more difficult. You are sure to hear “but mom, so and so has it” or “all of my friends..” just remember that while these updates are cool, there are other reasons you may not think this app is smart for your teen to have. This update doesn’t change any of that.

     

  • Uninstall Instagram? Your Kid Can Still Use It!

    Uninstall Instagram? Your Kid Can Still Use It!

    Many of the tools parents use to protect their children depend on being notified what apps they have and are using most often. When it comes to social media, being able to monitor posts and direct messages is critical. Sometimes, finding something you didn’t want to see will result in forcing your child to uninstall the app from their device. Until recently, Instagram has been a social media platform that only allows users to post from within the app. Therefore, uninstalling was a good solution for parents who wanted to give their kids some sort of time out. Instagram has just updated their mobile site and it’s going to ruin everything.

    Instagram’s mobile browser update allows users to post photos and use the explore feature without having the app installed. This means that the most major features of the app are available. You still aren’t able to send direct messages through the mobile site, which is a good thing, but posting, viewing posts and accounts, and finding new accounts through search and explore are now accessible. This update is meant to give access to Instagram in countries and areas who have limited  access to app stores or network services. Being able to use Instagram without an app means that more and more people across the country and the world will have an opportunity to share pictures of their lunch or coffee.

    What Parents Should Know

    There is a simple way to monitor what your kids are doing on Instagram, whether it’s on the app or in the browser. I recommend installing Instagram on your own device and adding their account. Even if you have an account of your own, you can add another one and see everything they have been doing. Using the mobile browser will definitely affect your ability to “ground” your kid from social media but there are ways to avoid that to. Here are a couple of options.

    1. Remove access to browsers within the parental controls or restrictions of their device or your parental control apps.
    2. Put instagram.com on the blacklist in your filters or in the “red flag list” on your accountability software.
    3. Take the entire device from your child until the grounding is over. Make them use the family computer for any online activities they must do. This will really give an extra impact to the punish.

    Instagram isn’t inherently bad, of course. Just like any site or app with user generated content you’re going to find inappropriate content. These things can’t usually be filtered so monitoring what they are doing is critical. The most common issue is time spent on social media. Teens are spending upwards of six hours a day online and many of those hours are on some form of social media. If time is your concern, then a simple uninstall of the app won’t cut it anymore. You have to lock down some of the browser options as well. Otherwise, you’re only keeping them from a couple of the features of Instagram, not the entire platform.

     

  • Kids Online Too Long? Put the Power of Time Limits in Their Hands with UnGlue

    Kids Online Too Long? Put the Power of Time Limits in Their Hands with UnGlue

    Every now and then a resource comes along that we can’t wait to tell you about. Today, we are excited to show you UnGlue. We are always looking for the newest and simplest way to protect your kids online and UnGlue is answering the time limit question with some pretty great new ideas. Check out the video below to see the heart behind their cool new time limits software.

     

     

    “Kids are the ones that are hooked… they’re the ones using these devices …  And it’s not even their fault… they’re fighting with the best minds in the industry that are set on having them scroll just a little bit more. Just one more like, one more picture, one more chat, one more Pokémon, one more level. And they’re losing,” – Alon Schwartz (CEO of UnGlue

    UnGlue runs with the idea that kids truly want to do better at managing their screen time by placing the power in their hands. In fact, the founder of UnGlue doesn’t like to call their service “Parental Controls.” While parents do set the time limits, the kids are able to decide what they do with that time. UnGlue doesn’t only turn off internet access at a certain time, it designates between productive and “entertainment” internet activity. Parents establish the amount of time their kids are allowed to spend being entertained on a screen and their child is then able to use the time as they choose. They can even store up unused time to use later for some good ol’ fashion binge watching or playing. The UnGlue concept is a new one and, I think a great one.

    The only thing more important than keeping kids safe from the dangers of internet use and over use of the internet is teaching them how to be responsible in those areas for themselves. UnGlue puts the power in their hands and allows you to show them, through their own experiences, how they can better manage their time and be more effective and productive every day. In fact, I would go as far as to say that most of us parents could use an education on screen time management.

    I could go through all of the ways UnGlue allows you to set up their mobile app but I’ll just point you to their website and let you watch this video below. UnGlue is FREE to use so go check it out and email us at BecauseFamily@GMail.org to let us know how your experience was.

     

  • The Risks of a Fully Connected Home Part 3

    The Risks of a Fully Connected Home Part 3

    Security and advertising are the most obvious concerns when it comes to connecting your appliances and devices via smarthome technology. We must take precautions to protect our identity and our privacy. We should also be careful in our new wifi connected homes with the content that can come across these connections. In this final part of our Connected Home series we’ll talk about the content available on our smarthome devices and what we can do to filter that content.

    Unsupervised Content

    After a recent Setting Digital Boundaries workshop a  mother asked me what I knew about the parental controls on Amazon Echo. I hadn’t ever set one up and hadn’t really looked into them so I didn’t have many answers for her at the time. She told me why she had asked: her daughter likes to ask Echo to play songs that she likes but she’s young and her words don’t always come out sounding like they should. This causes the Echo to mis-hear what is said and the devices has, more than once, played a song that is not from any playlist they’ve set up and is not at all appropriate for a young toddler. With the increasing popularity of the Amazon Alexa and Google Home parental controls are becoming a major topic on tech forums and blogs. The reason it’s such a major part of the discussion is because there aren’t (yet) any real parental controls.

    On the Amazon products you can set a pin to make purchases. This will keep your child from making an order and you being shocked to find a two hundred dollar doll house at your door. That’s about it, though. There aren’t any music or video rating limits that you can set. There aren’t any separate voice commands that will let Alexa know the child is in the room. So far, there isn’t much. Google only has the filter settings you’ve given YouTube to protect from inappropriate content. These filters are strictly for video content though and won’t block explicit lyrics.

    It’s likely that more effective parental controls will become a reality on these popular products sooner rather than later but until then you should take precautions to keep your children from encountering more of the internet then you’re ready for them to connect to. 

    What Parents Should Know

    My advice is to hold off on extensive use of Alexa, Echo, or Google Home until real parental control options are made available. If you have already been using these devices or you’ve decided you can’t live without them I recommend setting up what restrictions are available. Protect yourself from surprise purchases with a pin on your Alexa or Echo and set your YouTube filter to protect your children from videos you wouldn’t want them to see. Other apps or web video and audio services that have parental controls may protect your family when connected through your smarthome device as well. Right now this is about all you can do but if you’re going to use these devices then something is better than nothing.

    Should Your Home Be Connected?

    The level of connectivity in your home is obviously a choice your family has to make. There are absolute benefits to having your house connected to a network and working together to make your life easier. The reality, though, is that these conveniences could come at a cost. Some may feel the cost isn’t that high and some may say it’s unfounded fear or foil hat conspiracy theory. My advice is to just stay informed. No matter your decision become a student of the way your connected home works. Reset passwords often, and don’t store your personal data somewhere that is easily accessible through your smart home device network. If you just use common sense and think ahead of the potential risks you may be able to be wired up like it’s the year 2025. Just do it with wisdom.

  • Protect Your Whole Family for A Buck a Month with Net Nanny

    Protect Your Whole Family for A Buck a Month with Net Nanny

    I recommend two major tools for protecting your children online. Accountability software and an internet filter. You know about our connection with Accountable2You but now I’m excited to have partnered with one of the best internet filter options out there, Net Nanny. The best part is that for the next couple weeks, they’re offering their best deal at an even bigger discount, %35 off.

    What is Net Nanny?

    Net Nanny is an internet filter and time management software. With customizable filters, remote management, and filter reports it’s one of the best options on the market.

     

    You create your admin account and can set up everything from there. With different users you’re able to customize your filters depending on who you’re protecting. Social media monitoring will report cyberbullying, sexting, privacy concerns, and any unexpected contacts by potential predators.

    Internet filters are critical for protecting your children and teens from unwanted content online. There are, however, ways to get around many filters. Some of the most common ways are image searches, i.p. address lookups, and proxies. These things are all problems for some filters because of the way that filter works. Many filters use the name, address, or metadata (informational tags built into web pages) to know if the content on the site is inappropriate. If the site is one that is trying to engage young users, they can often hide their content with unrelated metadata. They can also put their sites behind something called a proxy. The proxy will disguise the address and i.p. of the site so a filter doesn’t know what kind of content is on it.

    Net Nanny can’t be fooled so easily. Their system’s specialty is the ability to read the content on the page in real time to determine whether or not the site contains adult images or language. This allows them to block web pages no matter how you get to them. If you have younger kids it may not seem as big of a deal to have such a foolproof system. Unfortunately it’s getting harder and harder to protect them from content that may try to get through. If, however, you have caught your teen or child looking at something inappropriate you will definitely want to equip your computers and devices with the best filter software available. I think Net Nanny is one of the best.

    If you click the link you can sign up for their “Family Protection Pass.” A year of access to Net Nanny for just $60. That’s 12 bucks a month to cover up to five devices. $.99 per month per device. If you have more to cover you can get their next level to protect 10 devices for $89.99. There is also an option for coverages for 15 computers, smartphones and tablets for $119.99. Whichever option you choose, the link below will include us as affiliates and contribute a portion of your payment to BecauseFamily. This will help us continue to do free workshops and educate parents on how to protect their families online.