cross-posted from: https://lemmy.nz/post/16690486
I am thinking about getting a phone for my son.
There are some really cheap android phones around.
But I also want to restrict what he can do on it while he is still young.
I was thinking something like net guard but with a password, so the settings can’t be easily changed.
I could just get a dumb phone, but I also have some old android phones hanging around.
What options are there for this kind of app/network control?
If you don’t mind Google, their Family Link works well.
Sometimes it’s a little overbearing in what it blocks. For that reason we also have the Aurora Store and F-Droid installed. But mostly it works well.
You probably could use an app hider and hide play store and browser after downloading apps. Download some non-predatory games, buy no-ads on them, remove all payment information, maybe download some educational apps as well. I heavily recommend the Offline Games app, it’s a collection of mobile games that aren’t scummy.
Honestly I think not being able to go online might be beneficial for the kid until they’re 16+. Spend time with your child so they won’t immerse themselves in social media for their missing human connection.
Honestly I think not being able to go online might be beneficial for the kid until they’re 16+.
or in a very controlled, supervised way, so that they may see the useful part of the internet and learn to use it, without getting dragged down by social media.
Agreed, the already has my old laptop which he uses at home sometimes.
I really just want to be able call him when he and his friends are away from the house.
But also have some apps like signal, and a chess game. The Wikipedia app… There really is a lot of good stuff available.
No social media, no unsupervised internet.
aus pol moment lol
How about enforcing dns restrictions at network level
NextDns comes with free version with much more configurations.
How old is he
Almost 9
