Kaspersky Safe Kids

Device use

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With device use monitoring, you can track and limit the time your children spend on their devices.

Device use monitoring offers the following features:

  • Select device control options

    You can select one of the following device control options:

    • Statistics only. The device is never blocked, regardless of how much time the child uses it. No warnings are displayed to the child. You can view the device usage report, which has details on how much time and what applications the child has used.
    • Show warnings to child. A few minutes before your child reaches the limit on device usage time, Kaspersky Safe Kids displays a notification to your child about the approaching break. Your child can heed the warning and leave the device or ignore the warning and continue using it.
    • Block device. A few minutes before your child reaches the limit on device usage time, Kaspersky Safe Kids displays a notification to your child about the approaching break. When the time is up, Kaspersky Safe Kids does the following:
      • On your child's Android devices, Kaspersky Safe Kids blocks all apps except the Phone and Contacts apps. The child can make and receive phone calls on the device. The child can also use the apps which you have already added to the list of exclusions.
      • On your child's iOS devices, Kaspersky Safe Kids displays a notification that it's time to take a break.

        iOS devices cannot be blocked due to operating system limitations.

      • On your child's Windows computers and Macs, Kaspersky Safe Kids forwards your child to the login window and prevents them from logging in again.

  • Limit device use by hours per day or by schedule

    There are two ways that you can limit device usage for your child:

    • By hours per day. You can specify how much time your child can use a device. For example, no more than four hours on Monday or six hours on Sunday.
    • By schedule. You can create a weekly schedule for your child's device and specify time intervals during which device use is forbidden. For example, you might forbid use of the device from 9 AM to 1 PM on weekdays.

      You can set up a schedule for device use only in the Premium version of Kaspersky Safe Kids. After you create the schedule, you can combine it with hours allowed per day.

  • Allow app use on blocked device

    You can configure Kaspersky Safe Kids so that the child can use a limited set of applications even when the device is blocked. For example, you can allow your child to send SMS, e-mails, messages via a messaging service, take photos, or use the calculator or other system applications even when the device is blocked.

    The applications that can be used while the device is blocked are added to the list of exclusions. The time limitations that you specify for these applications are still effective. The child cannot use the applications longer than, or during blocked hours, from those that you specify.

    This functionality is applicable for Android child devices only. Child iOS devices cannot be fine-tuned this way.

    Applications that are included in the list of exclusions are not shown in the general device usage statistics.

    In previous versions of Kaspersky Safe Kids, the settings of the list of exclusions are ignored for both parent and child devices.

    If you have more than one parent device with different versions of Kaspersky Safe Kids and in the new version of Kaspersky Safe Kids you configure the list of exclusions, your modifications will be lost when you edit the device use monitoring settings on the device with the previous version of Kaspersky Safe Kids. Parent devices with different versions of Kaspersky Safe Kids do not share information.

  • View device use reports

    You can find these reports on My Kaspersky in Kids > Device use > Reports or in the parent's mobile app in Summary > Device use.

    Kaspersky Safe Kids records the device use history if monitoring of the specified device is turned on.

    Reports are available only in the premium version of Kaspersky Safe Kids.

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[Topic 204223]

How to configure device use settings

You can manage the device use settings through your parent's account on mobile device or through My Kaspersky. If you use a Windows / Mac application, it will redirect you to My Kaspersky automatically.

To create a device use schedule:

  1. Go to the Kids section.
  2. Select the profile of the child.
  3. Go to the Device use subsection.
  4. Open the Settings tab.
  5. Click Settings on the panel of the device of interest. You may need first to flip on the feature toggle switch.
  6. Perform one of the following actions:
    • If you want the app to show a warning when the child is not allowed to use the device, in the Type of monitoring section, select Show warning.
    • If you want the app to block device use when the child is not allowed to use the device, select Block device.
    • If you just want to get reports on device use, select Statistics only.

      iOS devices cannot be blocked due to operating system limitations.

  7. In the Schedule section, click Edit on the day of interest.
  8. Specify allowed use and forbidden hours for that day:
    • Use the Daily limit toggle switch and the drop-down menu to specify how many hours your child can use the device.
    • Use the Downtime toggle switch and the Add link to specify time intervals when the child is not allowed to use the device.

      The Downtime feature is available in the premium version. You may need to update your child's app to the latest version.

  9. Edit other days of the week.
  10. Click Save.

Additional time requests

When the daily limit is exceeded or downtime is scheduled, your child can request additional time using the app. You will get an email or push notification with the request.

When you allow additional time, your child can use the added hours anytime on the day of the request until midnight. The scheduled downtime will be ignored by the app. The hours past midnight will also be ignored. The request is one-time and does not change the pre-defined schedule.

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Combined schedule

The combined schedule feature allows a child to use a device at permitted intervals but without exceeding the set daily limit. For example, you can set the downtime from 19:00 to 7:00 and the daily limit to 2 hours.

Special considerations for using additional time

Case

Consideration

A child has asked for additional time to use the device for which the combined schedule is set.

In response, you can allow additional time in hours and minutes. Additional time:

  • Is added to the set daily limit.
  • Can be used at any time of the current day, even during the downtime.
  • Can be used entirely in a single session or divided into several separate intervals during the day.

In response to the request for additional time, you allowed more time than was left until the end of the day.

The allowed time will be limited to the current day.

For example, the request for additional time from the child comes at 20:00, and you allow additional 5 hours. In this case, the child can only use the device until 00:00.

Combined schedule settings in Kaspersky Safe Kids for Android and in My Kaspersky

Case

Special considerations

You need to set up access so that a child cannot use the device at night between 23:00 and 7:00 on weekdays.

To do this, you need to set the downtime for weekdays from 23:00 to 7:00. After setting the interval that passes through midnight, it will be divided into two intervals: from 23:00 to 00:00 of the current day and from 00:00 to 7:00 of the next day.

With this setting for weekdays, there will be no downtime on Saturday and Sunday.

The specified start time for the downtime is later than or equal to the end time, for example: from 15:00 to 14:00.

The downtime will be moved to the next day. Two intervals will be created: from 15:00 to 00:00 of the current day and from 00:00 to 14:00 of the next day.

When setting up the schedule, you specified several downtime intervals, some of which overlap. For example, from 12:00 to 14:00 and from 12:00 to 15:00.

The overlapping intervals will be combined and displayed as one: from 12:00 to 15:00. The exception is when the interval crosses midnight.

You set up a combined schedule for one day of the week and then set up a schedule for weekdays or weekends.

When new intervals are set for the options "Weekdays" or "Weekends", they replace all previously set intervals from Monday to Friday for weekdays and from Saturday to Sunday for weekends.

You set up the schedule for weekends or weekdays and then changed the schedule for a specific day.

The schedule will only apply to this specific day.

The settings for the other days of the week will remain unchanged. The message No common settings will be displayed in the settings for weekdays or weekends.

You set up the device so that a specific application is always available to the child. For details, see this article.

If a child uses an application that was added to exclusions at allowed intervals, that time is subtracted from the set daily limit.

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Add computer time on a child's request

Your child can request additional computer time in Kaspersky Safe Kids. This feature lets you remotely adjust Kaspersky Safe Kids settings as needed.

How it works

A few minutes before your child reaches the daily limit on computer time, Kaspersky Safe Kids provides a notification to your child about the approaching break. In the main application window, your child can click Request more time to request additional computer time. The requests are displayed on My Kaspersky.

You communicate your decision to your child using the Allow or Decline buttons. Your decision is automatically displayed on your child's computer.

The weekly schedule is not changed.

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[Topic 204612]