Google presents the "School Time" feature to make it easier for parents to monitor their children

Illustration of the "School Time" feature, which Google is increasingly expanding to various Android devices, helps parents monitor their children even from afar. (ANTARA/Google Blog)

HOLIDAY NEWS - Google provides more options for parents to be able to monitor their children even when they are separated from school activities by presenting the "School Time" feature.

“School Time” allows parents to set their child's personal device to a special home screen with limited functionality during school hours, which helps children avoid distractions during class.

"We are announcing new settings for Android phones and other devices that empower parents to use the School Time feature," said Google Kids and Families General Manager Mindy Brooks in a blog post, Thursday (1/8).

With the "School Time" feature, parents can schedule and select the applications that are allowed while their child is at school.

The "School Time" feature can later be found in the Family Link option, a parental control application provided by Google.

Parents via this feature will also have the option to allow calls or texts from certain contacts. “School Time” can also be activated outside of class when it might be time to focus or take a break from screens.

For teens who are not supervised by parents via Family Link, Google offers a "Focus" mode on Android devices to prevent notifications and limit distractions for certain periods of time.

In fact, Google has introduced the "School Time" feature via the Fitbit Ace LTE smart watch, but later this feature will be available on more devices including cellphones, tablets and the Samsung Galaxy Watch. The hope is that this can increase children's productive learning time at school.

Apart from "School Time", Google also continues to develop parental control features into Google services.

For example, the monitoring feature for parents towards teenagers on YouTube. Apart from presenting children's mode, Google is now also providing monitoring features for teenagers and is preparing for release at the end of summer 2024.

Parents and teens can later link their accounts so parents can get visibility into their teens' activities on YouTube.

Then, through the Family Link application, parents will be able to supervise children of all ages.

This helps give parents the flexibility to determine the apps, products and experiences their teens can use, while also keeping track of their activity and setting digital ground rules like screen time limits or location sharing.

Finally, for all users under 18, Google has default security settings.

Including activating the "SafeSearch" feature, implementing content restrictions, and disabling automatic playback on YouTube if content is deemed not age-relevant.

Google hadirkan fitur "School Time" mudahkan orang tua pantau anak

Ilustrasi fitur "School Time" yang makin diperluas Google ke beragam perangkat Android membantu orang tua memantau anaknya meski dari jauh. (ANTARA/Google Blog)

HOLIDAY NEWS - Google beri lebih banyak pilihan bagi orang tua untuk bisa memantau sang buah hati bahkan saat terpisah kegiatan di sekolah dengan menghadirkan fitur "School Time".

"School Time" memungkinkan orang tua untuk mengatur perangkat pribadi anak mereka ke layar beranda khusus dengan fungsi terbatas selama jam sekolah, yang membantu anak terhindar dari gangguan selama kelas berlangsung.

"Kami mengumumkan pengaturan baru untuk ponsel Android dan perangkat lain yang memberdayakan orang tua untuk menggunakan fitur School Time," kata General Manager Kids and Families dari Google Mindy Brooks dalam unggahan blog-nya, Kamis (1/8).

Dengan fitur "School Time", orang tua dapat menjadwalkan dan memilih aplikasi yang diizinkan selama anak bersekolah.

Fitur "School Time" nantinya bisa ditemukan dalam opsi Family Link sebuah aplikasi kontrol bagi orang tua yang disediakan oleh Google.

Orang tua lewat fitur tersebut nantinya juga akan memiliki opsi untuk mengizinkan panggilan atau teks dari kontak tertentu. "School Time" juga dapat diaktifkan di luar kelas saat mungkin saatnya untuk fokus atau beristirahat dari layar.

Untuk anak remaja yang tidak diawasi oleh orang tua melalui Family Link, Google menawarkan mode "Fokus" pada perangkat Android mencegah notifikasi dan membatasi gangguan selama periode waktu tertentu.

Sebenarnya fitur "School Time" sudah dikenalkan Google lewat jam tangan pintar Fitbit Ace LTE, namun nantinya fitur ini akan hadir ke lebih banyak perangkat termasuk ponsel, tablet, dan Samsung Galaxy Watch. Harapannya itu bisa meningkatkan waktu belajar pada anak secara produktif di sekolah.

Selain "School Time", Google juga terus mengembangkan fitur-fitur pengawasan orang tua ke layanan-layanan Google.

Misalnya seperti fitur pengawasan untuk orang tua terhadap remaja di YouTube. Selain menghadirkan mode anak, kini Google juga menyediakan fitur pengawasan untuk remaja dan disiapkan rilis pada akhir musim panas 2024.

Orang tua dan remaja nantinya dapat menautkan akun mereka sehingga orang tua bisa mendapatkan visibilitas terhadap aktivitas anak remajanya di YouTube.

Lalu melalui aplikasi Family Link, nantinya orang tua bisa melakukan pengawasan pada anak untuk semua usia.

Ini membantu memberi orang tua fleksibilitas untuk menentukan aplikasi, produk, dan pengalaman yang dapat digunakan remaja mereka, sambil juga terus memantau aktivitas mereka dan menetapkan aturan dasar digital seperti batas waktu layar atau berbagi lokasi.

Terakhir, untuk semua pengguna yang berusia di bawah 18 tahun, Google memiliki pengaturan keamanan default.

Termasuk mengaktifkan fitur "SafeSearch" menerapkan pembatasan konten, dan menonaktifkan pemutaran otomatis di YouTube apabila konten dirasa tidak relevan dengan usia.