It’s easy enough to childproof a computer, to keep kids away from the Web’s unsavory spots. But what about their Android smartphones and tablets? Google’s browser offers no parental controls to speak of, no filtering or monitoring or search guards.
Here’s an easy fix: Mobicip Safe Browser for Android ($4.99), which offers a familiar Web interface, but with a raft of protections designed to keep kids safe. (It’s also available for iOS.)
Designed for both phones and tablets (including the Kindle Fire), Mobicip closely resembles the stock Android browser, so the learning curve is short. Like the iOS version, this one can’t import existing bookmarks, a rather ridiculous oversight.
Mobicip does, however, offer a convenient, kid-friendly home page with quick links to sites like Google and Wikipedia.
Related stories
- Why Bluey Is the Best Children’s TV Show on the Planet
- iPad kids game Pok Pok Playroom is the perfect back to school app for families
- Fear Street: Author R.L. Stine on finding a new generation to terrify
The browser relies on Mobicip’s servers to filter inappropriate URLs and search results. Parents can choose from three predefined filtering levels: elementary, middle, and high school. There’s also a filtering engine for YouTube, a nice addition.
If you want more granular control, consider signing up for a Premium account, which for $9.99 annually lets you blacklist and whitelist specific sites, block specific categories (such as chat, shopping, or violence), view activity reports, set time limits, and so on.
Even with the free account, Mobicip offers more than enough protection to help parents rest easier. For a mere $5, you can keep your kids from accidentally (or intentionally) wandering into the Web’s red-light districts. Given how difficult it can be to monitor what kids do on a phone or tablet, I think it’s well worth the investment.