As technology continues to develop, we are constantly investigating and implementing new ways to help keep our users secure online. Today, we share several updates based on our existing protective measures for less than 18 users, which helps them protect them online while accessing the many benefits the Internet offers, giving parents and guardians further peace of mind.
Protective measures for children and teens
In recent years, we have taken many important steps to give age-passing experiences to children and teens across our products, including a number of changes for all users under the age of 18: breached our security study filter that limits sensitive ad content, GATING AGE- Limited content on YouTube & Play that incorporates Teen Well -being protection on YouTube and additional protective measures in our generative AI experiences. We also roll a new sensitive content warning feature in Google messages, this feature is Opt-in for adults, managed via Android settings and is opting out of users under 18 with parental control for monitored accounts.
As we continue to find new ways to deliver age -related protective measures, one of the most complex challenges is to understand the user’s age. This year, we start testing a machine learning -based age estimation model in the US This model helps us estimate if a user is over or under 18, so we can use protection to help provide more age experiences. We bring this technology to more countries over time.
Additional family -focused checks
What is right for each family is different, which is why we built the Google Family Link to give the parents the tools to create healthy digital habits while respecting their choices with technology. Today we make an update to the family connection that brings the most important tools and resources to control screen time at the forefront. This allows easier control of more children’s online experiences across their Android and Chrome devices.
We also add capacities to the family connection that help children stay focused in class by minimizing distractions from their personal units. In the next week, we will start rolling out school time to Android phones and tablets for parents to automatically limit or adjust telephone functionality and limit app access during school hours.
From next month, parents will be able to add contacts directly to their child’s device and choose to limit phone calls and text calls to only these contacts. These parent-approved contacts can help promote safer and more intentional connections.
Helpful experiences for children and teens
We are required to bring the best from Google to all our users – including features and products for young people like Fitbit Ace LTE and Samsung Galaxy Watch for kids, YouTube kids and monitored experiences and gemini for teens both at home and school. Here are some new ways we help children and teens safely explore, grow and play online.
For monitored Android users according to the current age of consent, we bring the opportunity to press pay from an Android phone. In the spring, parents will be able to add a debit card to their child’s Google Turnbook to TAP to pay transactions in stores. Parents will be able to approve new cards, easily remove cards and see the recent transaction story. Children can also add things like gift cards and tickets to events.
We want to prepare teens with the skills and tools they need to thrive in the future where generative AI is found, and teach them how this technology can be used to unlock creativity and ease learning. Based on our responsible approach to generative AI and additional policies to protect teens, we have made a number of features and products available to teens for the past two years, including AI listings, Gemini and Circle for searching. Over the coming months, we will continue by responsible to expand access to teens, including learning about, a feature that uses generative AI to provide interactive learning experiences, and notesbooklm, a personal AI research assistant that can summarize facts, explain complex ideas And brainstorm new connections based on the sources you choose.
We will continue to invest in technologies that help protect and strengthen children and teens across all Google’s platforms, and we are also obliged to work with stakeholders around the world to help promote smart and strong political approaches To keep youth more secure online.