Microsoft’s Family Safety app is now available on Android and iOS.
The Redmond, Washington-based company first announced Family Safety alongside its new Microsoft 365 subscription service earlier this year. Family Safety aims to bring a unified safety toolset that works across Android, iOS, Windows and Xbox. For example, Family Safety can provide parents with reports on app usage and overall screentime, lets them set app time limits and allows children to request extra app time.
Thanks to its cross-platform nature, Family Safety should help parents manage control of everything from gaming to social networking.
On top of that, Microsoft added web and search filters to the app. That should allow families to limit web browsing to kid-friendly websites. Plus, the filters work across Microsoft’s Edge browser on Windows, Xbox and Android. For now, most of these filters will only work on Android mobile phones, but Microsoft plans to bring them to iPhones too.
Family Safety can help prevent kids from spending a bunch of money on apps or games through purchase request emails.
For when kids get offline and head outside, Family Safety offers location sharing between family members. Microsoft also added a ‘location-clustering’ feature that shows when multiple family members are in one location. Microsoft plans to add a notification for when family members arrive at or leave a place, such as your home. However, users will need to subscribe to Microsoft 365 for that.
Finally, the Family Safety app will eventually include a driving feature designed to help build better driving habits. It’ll also provide insights on driving behaviour. The driving feature will launch in the U.S., U.K., Australia and Canada.
Those interested in trying out the Family Safety app can download it for free from the Google Play Store. It’s worth noting the app needs a Microsoft account to use, although you don’t need a Microsoft 365 subscription. You can sign in with an existing account or make one for free.
The app is also available on iOS for free.
Update 07/29/2020 at 9:50am: Microsoft confirmed to MobileSyrup that the app launched on iOS. A download link was added to the story.
Source: The Verge
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