Buzz
Microsoft announced the Family Safety app in March when they rebranded Office 365 to Microsoft 365. The company began accepting registrations and made the Preview version available for testing in May. Now, after several months of testing, Microsoft has announced that the service will be available on iOS and Android platforms starting this week.
Microsoft Family Safety app lands on iOS and Android
Download Family Safety on Android and iOS devices:
Microsoft Family Safety empowers users to monitor the online activities of their family members. Parents can set app usage limits, restrict access to specific websites, and even track the location of family members through the location-sharing feature. Besides these functionalities, parents can also receive weekly activity reports to track not only usage statistics but also the content their children are viewing.
In addition to usage reports, parents can also impose app restrictions for children to limit their gaming time or similar activities. The company has also enhanced the capability to block specific apps. Concerning web browsing, parents can ensure that adult content is blocked, and web filtering is applied to all search activities using the Edge browser on Windows, Xbox, and Android.
Alongside content moderation and usage constraints, the Family Safety app also enables parents to prevent unwanted or inadvertent purchases as they can activate purchase request approvals. This feature allows parents to approve requests sent via email when family members or young children make purchases.
Lastly, the location-sharing feature in Family Safety allows users to 'stay connected with each other in the real world.' Users can also designate favorite locations such as Home and ensure the safety of family members. The company is also working on adding location alerts to the app, a feature that notifies users when a family member arrives at or departs from a specific location. Another upcoming feature in the app is safe driving assistance, aiding users in cultivating better driving habits. Currently, there is limited information available about this feature.
While most features are already accessible to Android, Windows, and Xbox users, the ability to set app restrictions and filter searches will soon be available on iOS. It is also important to note that users need to sign in to their Microsoft account to utilize features like SafeSearch and other web controls in the Microsoft Edge browser on Android, Windows, and Xbox. Presently, Android users can download Microsoft Family Safety from the Play Store, while the iOS version is not yet available and will be released shortly.
If you are using the Firefox browser on an Android device, you may find the information about Mozilla releasing the final update for the old Firefox browser on Android quite intriguing.
