Children and the internet can sometimes be a volatile mixture with bad consequences. This is why social media companies and other online platforms are pressured to make their services safe for kids. This involves making it harder for them to find harmful content, and this is the basis of what Google is doing. Google Assistant has a vast reservoir of information, so it’s important for parents to be able to monitor what their children have access to.
This is why Google is rolling out parental controls for Google Assistant
Digging deeper into the settings, parents are allowed to monitor the kind of content that their children can consume. It’s able to, based on your preferences, control the type of music and video services kids can access through the assistant. This means that it can block songs with explicit lyrics or even ban music and videos altogether. You can also control the types of news and podcasts your kids can have access to as well. You will also be able to control which Google Assistant features your kids can use. This includes features like Actions for Families, the types of responses they get, and making video/phone calls. Parents will be able to restrict access to certain Assistant-connected devices if they so please. You will also be able to choose what times of the day kids are able to access those devices. If you’re concerned about what types of answers kids will have access to, there’s good news. Kids will have access to a kid-friendly dictionary. This means that kids will only get answers that are appropriate for young ages. They will not get any results that are about any sensitive or explicit matters. The Google Assistant parental controls will be rolling out over the next couple of weeks to both Android and iOS devices. In order to use these controls, you’ll need a Google account and you’ll also need Family Link with Voice match.
