The latest child safety features for Google and YouTube
Some of these feature will hopefully alleviate the constant worry that parents have about their children being on the internet.
If you are a parent, an aunt or uncle, a teacher or an older sibling to a minor who consumes social media, please raise your hand and say 'I'. Welcome to a read that should hopefully ease all that stress that your child/niece/student/sibling induces from being immersed in the internet.
On Tuesday, Google revealed some new online safety features for children. These include a private setting for videos uploaded by teens and a safeguard for ads shown to users below the age of 18
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In a blog post on Google's 'Company News' page, they shared the different features that would enhance the quality of their experiences on such online platforms.
Mindy Brooks, Google product and user experience director, shared: "As kids and teens spend more time online, parents, educators, child safety and privacy experts, and policy makers are rightly concerned about how to keep them safe."
Google's "safe search", which excludes sensitive or mature content , will be the default setting for users under 18, which up to now had only been the case for under-13 users. This is a huge game changer in terms of safety and the type of content children and teens will be exposed to.
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YouTube also shared on their platform in a blog that they would be making content for children from 13 to 17 private by default.
In that blog by James Beser, head of product management for Youtube Kids and Family, he says: "With private uploads, content can only be seen by the user and whomever they choose."
One other cool safety feature added is that Google will turn off location history for all users under 18 globally, without an option to turn it back on. This is already in place for those under 13. So should you be anxious about an audience member or someone dangerous trying to locate your child, you can now take a long exhale.
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"In Family Link, parents can set screen time limits and reminders for their kids’ supervised devices. And, on Assistant-enabled smart devices, we give parents control through Digital Wellbeing tools available in the Google Home app," Mindy Brooks shared. This is necessary as you might not have to argue about time limits for as long as they are set. A healthier internet consumption by children seems possible with this in place.
One of the other great features is that Google will also make it easier for families to request the removal of a child's photo from image search requests.
In a world where everyone and everything is accessible simply through clicking and clicking through links, a child's safety needs to be prioritised and the aforementioned features all work towards that. Big ups to the level up, Google and YouTube!
Main Image Courtesy: Youth Wellbeing Project