PROTECT WITH RESPECT
A new app developed in Cape Town is changing the way that parents can monitor their children’s online activity in a non-intrusive way that doesn’t curb independent exploration.
As kids begin using online devices, they might begin to face all sorts of new threats in the digital realm, from cyber bullying and online predators to harmful and unsafe content. For mother and tech innovator, Rachelle Best, there had to be a solution to both responsibly monitoring her daughter’s online activity while still affording the teen reasonable autonomy and decision-making powers. Thus, FYI play it safe was born.
Drawing on AI and Machine Learning, Best’s team has developed and launched FYI play it safe. The new app monitors all the content of children’s online activity and alerts parents of potential signs of online predator contact, cyberbullying, engaging with content around various mental health issues and accessing adult content without parents needing to do any phone and computer checks.
FYI play it safe monitors every online interaction and all apps, as well as in-game chats. New accounts and apps are included by default without the need for your child’s account credentials. Yet, the app is not spyware and it is not clandestine. Instead, it provides parents and teens with the opportunity to mutually agree on the best way to stay safe in the digital world.
Enabling Conversations
“This is the driving value of FYI play it safe,” says Best. “We recognise that the quality of the parent-child relationship and the openness of communications is integral to the optimum way to keep children safe. The app provides an extra layer of protection whenever your child is online. It is not a substitute for parental control apps but works with widely used free software such as Google Family Link.”
“What it does is eliminate the need for parents to conduct invasive checks on devices, chats and social media accounts, which can lead to conflicts and resentments. Through natural language processing, FYI play it safe picks up signals of potential harm or danger as it happens. This means the parent or guardian gets an alert that they can act on. With the right information at the right time, parents can step in exactly when their child does need help. FYI play it safe is an enabler of the conversations that parents need to have with their kids.”
Real-time alerts
By automatically including any new apps or sites that your child uses or visits, parents are alerted the moment their child ventures into a potentially unsafe digital space. “This feature is essential,” Best points out. “The range of digital environments where your child is spending time is unlimited and ever-changing. It’s extremely hard for a parent to keep up when it’s impossible to see, minute-by-minute, what our children are doing online.”
In this way, FYI play it safe serves as a basic safety measure that parents and children can agree on, like wearing a helmet when riding a bike. Best says, “Apart from saving parents time and providing far more effective, in-time monitoring, FYI play it safe can strengthen your relationship with your child as it reduces potential conflict around your oversight. It finds the balance between failing to do enough to oversee your child’s online activity and over-reaching.”
