Balancing technology access with other activities is an age-old issue, when I was a kid it was TV, then Atari, for kids today there are a plethora of ‘screens’ they can interact with and keeping track and control of that can be difficult. Family link is one way that Google is trying to provide parents with tools to manage this complexity.
While Google’s kid’s accounts are far from perfect, from the complete lack of a first-party streaming music service for kids to an inability to authorise apps you want your kids to have if Google decides they can’t, it’s still a good base platform for managing access. Today Google has announced that they are bringing kids profiles to Google TV.
Basically, an extension of the existing parental controls in the family link app, although they are not pushing that association. You can now add Google TV device to the list of screens you monitor. Just like with other family link devices you can set wake up and bedtimes (eg when it will allow them to watch between), total access time, per-app access time as well as have oversight of what they are watching.
Once a child hits their limit the TV will display your time is up, and they won’t be able to watch anymore. You can of course use the app to grant additional time, immediately lock the TV as well as manage general preferences. Kids profiles on Google TV starts rolling out in the USA this month and globally ‘ over the next few months”.
