families
Google’s Family Link updates reflect the pandemic’s impact on how parents view screen time
Google is making changes to its parental control system, Family Link, that aims to better reflect parents’ changing views on children’s screen time. In the pre-pandemic world, parents were
Apple teams with Common Sense Media to curate podcasts for kids
Apple announced this morning it’s teaming up with Common Sense Media to curate a selection of kid-friendly podcasts in the U.S. in light of what appears to be growing interest in spoken-word ent
YouTube to launch parental control features for families with tweens and teens
YouTube announced this morning it will soon introduce a new experience designed for teens and tweens who are now too old for the schoolager-focused YouTube Kids app, but who may not be ready to explor
Streamers, including Netflix and CBS All Access, roll out new family-friendly features
As competition in the streaming service market heats up, services are looking for ways to differentiate their offerings. One area of increased interest — especially in light of fierce competitio
A tween tries Apple’s new ‘Family Setup’ system for Apple Watch
With the release of watchOS 7, Apple at last turned the Apple Watch into the GPS-based kid tracker parents have wanted, albeit at a price point that requires careful consideration. As someone in the t
Amazon rebrands FreeTime to Amazon Kids, expands paid catalog for Amazon Kids+
Amazon today announced it will rebrand its kid-friendly services formerly known as Amazon FreeTime and Amazon FreeTime Unlimited to Amazon Kids and Amazon Kids+. In addition to the name change, the se
Google launches Google Kids Space, a ‘kids mode’ feature for Android, initially on Lenovo tablets
Streaming services have built-in kids’ profiles, so why not devices? Google today is responding to parents’ demand for a better way for their children to interact with technology with the
Roblox launches Party Place, a private venue for virtual birthday parties and other meetups
The coronavirus pandemic and related government lockdowns have led to a surge in online gaming — particularly on social platforms where people can connect with real-life friends in a virtual ven
Facebook and Instagram launch a week of grad-themed events and features
Facebook today revealed its plans to celebrate the 2020 graduates this week across both Facebook and Instagram. The series of events, starting today on May 11, will include the company’s previou
Google Play adds a ‘Teacher Approved’ section to its app store
Google today is making it easier for families to find quality educational apps with the addition of a new “Teacher Approved” section to Google Play. All apps found in this section are vett
National Geographic launches a homeschool hub for parents and teachers, NatGeo@Home
The COVID-19 outbreak has closed schools across most of the U.S., impacting more than 55 million students who are now learning at home. That’s created an increased demand for homeschool resource
How child care startups in the U.S. are helping families cope with the COVID-19 crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the lives of billions of people around the world. For many parents with young children in the United States, shelter-in-place orders implemented in different areas ov
YouTube to invest $100M in kids’ content that showcases character strengths, like compassion and curiosity
YouTube in September announced a $100 million fund to invest in new children’s video content, following its $170 million settlement with the FTC over children’s privacy law violations. The
2020 will be a big year for online childcare — here are 6 startups to watch
Over the weekend, media and digital brand holding company IAC announced that it had agreed to buy Care.com, which describes itself as “the world’s largest online family care platform,” in a
Following FTC complaint, Google rolls out new policies around kids’ apps on Google Play
Google announced this morning a new set of developer policies aimed at providing additional protections for children and families seeking kid-friendly apps on Google Play. The new policies require tha
Spotify ends test that required family plan subscribers to share their GPS location
Spotify has ended a test that required its family plan subscribers to verify their location, or risk losing accessing to its music streaming service. According to recent reports, the company sent out
YouTube Kids adds a whitelisting parental control feature, plus a new experience for tweens
YouTube Kids’ latest update is giving parents more control over what their kids watch. Following a change earlier this year that allowed parents to limit viewing options to human-reviewed channe
More Alexa ‘blueprints’ arrive, offering customizable voice apps for families and roommates
Earlier this year, Amazon rolled out a new feature that allowed Alexa device owners to create their own custom skills using preconfigured templates. Today, Amazon is expanding Alexa Blueprints, as the
Amazon’s children’s book subscription ‘Prime Book Box’ opens to all in the U.S.
Amazon today publicly launched a new perk for Prime members with young children, with the broad release of the new subscription-based “Prime Book Box” service. The $22.99 per box offering
Amazon’s new ‘Alexa Blueprints’ let anyone create custom Alexa skills and responses
Amazon this morning is introducing “Alexa Blueprints,” a new way for any Alexa owner to create their own customized Alexa skills or responses, without needing to know how to code. The idea