Android vs Iphone for parental controls

[Touch My Hamm]

I will be speaking around and assisting others in a workshop where one of the points are for family controls on both iphone and android and one of the questions they wanted answered is which is better. I personally am a huge android user but my wife and family use iphone as I can help put restrictions agreed upon with the younger users. What are your thoughts on one over the other. Some of the pre-questions they wanted answered which I setup are:

 

is this a huge invasion of privacy that children should be entitled to?

If yes or no (for the users present) why do you believe this.

Which is better for app permissions iphone or android for my child?

examples that make X better then Y

which one is easier to setup and change when the child is older and allowed more freedom?

other thoughts on family use for the family controls on mobile devices since they are almost a part of everything these days.

 

I thought it was an excellent conversation as privacy concerning younger users and giving knowledge to some users who may not be as tech inclined may not know of some of the dangers of the internet. Honestly I miss the day of getting notes and reading them in the classroom. I also remember my first cell phone and when texting became a thing and racking up a +$200 onto the bill and my parents freaked.

 

 

[AAVVIronAlex]

As far as I know Apple is the best when it comes to things like this.

[AAVVIronAlex]

Although, you should keep in mind that, on the Android side there could be some manufacturers that have better parental controls than others .

[Touch My Hamm]

 

2 minutes ago, AAVVIronAlex said:

Although, you should keep in mind that, on the Android side there could be some manufacturers that have better parental controls than others .

That is a odd issue for android. I wish they had a more universal one built in based on account like apple. I believe they have the family app but I dont believe its in base android or that companies have it installed at startup.

[AAVVIronAlex]

Samsung kind of has it, also, Google is a thing, but nonetheless, if you prefer Android I know Samsung has good parental controls.

[OhioYJ]

What are your actual goals? Me personally, when I thought it was time to give my son a device it was an Android. With the correct Android device I have complete control over what's on there. I only installed the apps I needed, blocked ads, gambling, adult websites globally, etc. As he got older older, its easy to just to reflash the OS with things back in place. 

 

No matter what you choose the solution isn't likely to work for a tech savvy user, especially for an older kid. So I would probably keep that in mind. 

[Touch My Hamm]

Some believe they wanted the ability to see all info including text/images shared, etc and full control while others were fine with having no control.

[ExInferis]

The stock Google one (Family Link) is not bad. We have our child's phone and tablet on it. We can: 

• Set app limits. This allows time limits for nominated apps and can ban apps like Tik-Tok.
• Set content restrictions. So we can manage search results, block sites, limit installs to age-appropriate app downloads. 
• Account settings. Sign-in controls and privacy settings. 
• Device status. Can see battery life, make the device ring, block install of apps from unknown sources (stops side-loading), and lock/wipe the device.
• Highlights. We can see screen time total per day/week, whether it has gone up or down, and a break-down of screen time per app.
• Location. Can see where the device is on Google Maps.  

What we can't seem to do is read messages. We are relying on good old-fashioned trust and education on that score.