How the “School time” feature works | Video credit — Google
The “School time” feature can also be used outside of class when it’s time to focus or take a break from screens. For teens not supervised through Family Link, Android devices offer Focus mode to prevent notifications and limit distractions during a specific time period.
Google acknowledges that parental supervision needs evolve as children become teenagers. To address this, they are introducing new supervision features for parents of teens on YouTube. This update will allow parents to link their accounts with their teens, gaining visibility into their activity on the platform. Family Link also allows for supervision of all ages, providing parents with flexibility to determine app usage, monitor activity, and set digital ground rules.
For users under 18, Google has default safety settings in place, including SafeSearch on YouTube, content restrictions, and autoplay off. They have also recently implemented new safeguards to limit recommendations of potentially problematic videos, particularly for teens.
Google states it is committed to ongoing research and development to meet the changing needs of parents and children, which is timely considering there is currently legislation being proposed in the United States to ban smartphones from schools. By collaborating with experts in child development, education, and technology, they aim to shape a future where technology continues to facilitate learning and exploration without disrupting the learning process in the classroom.
