Google has recently announced a series of changes in its new policies to give children a safer experience online.
The search giant in a blogpost announced its new policies to limit the exposure of teens to explicit content, including blocking advertising targeted at the under-18 age group. Here are the some of the new policies announced by Google to protect kids online.
I am a parent. Can I remove the images of my children from Google Image result?
Google will soon introduce a new policy that enables anyone under the age of 18, or their parent or guardian, to request the removal of their images from Google Image results. "Removing an image from Search doesn’t remove it from the web, but we believe this change will help give young people more control of their images online," Google said in a blogpost.
How can I protect my children's safety on YouTube?
As a part of the new policy, Google will change the default upload setting to the most private option available for teens aged 13-17.
How can I censor Google searches for kids?
One of the protections Google is set to announce is SafeSearch, which will filter out explicit results when enabled.
Google says that it is already on by default for all signed-in users under 13 who have accounts managed by Family Link.
In the coming months, Google will turn SafeSearch on for existing signed-in users under 18 and make this the default setting for teens setting up new accounts.
How can I keep my child from turning on location services?
Google said that it will soon ensure that Location History will remain off for users under the age of 18 globally, without the option to turn it on.
How can I decide if an application is right for my kids?
Google is also rolling out a new safety section that will let parents know which apps follow the company's family policies.
Apps will be required to disclose how they use the data they collect in greater detail, making it easier for parents to decide which application can be installed by their kids.
What can I do about the ads my kids see online?
The company is expanding safeguards to prevent age-sensitive ad categories from being shown to teens, and will block ad targeting based on the age, gender or interests of people under 18. "We’ll start rolling out these updates across our products globally over the coming months. Our goal is to ensure we’re providing additional protections and delivering age-appropriate experiences for ads on Google," added Google in a blog post.
How do I monitor my child's YouTube time?
In Family Link, parents can set screen time limits and reminders for their kids’ supervised devices.
In the coming months, Google will roll out new Digital Wellbeing filters that allow people to block news, podcasts, and access to webpages on Assistant-enabled smart devices.
On YouTube, the company will take a break and bedtime reminders and turn off autoplay for users under 18. And, on YouTube Kids Google will add an autoplay option and turn it off by default to empower parents to make the right choice for their families.
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