Vancouver start- up creates smartphone safety app
Ranger browser can filter Internet content, set times of use and even let you know when your kids stray too far from home
Ranger browser by Mobsafety.com, IOS, Android, free, GPS version $ 1.99
Warning: Kids, if your parents find Ranger browser and put it on your smartphone, it could spell an end to those hours spent surfing or Facebooking friends when you’re supposed to be listening to your teachers in school or in bed and asleep.
As for parents, you can thank Vancouver start- up Social-scanner Technologies for giving you some control over just what your kids do on their smartphones when you’re not around to supervise. No matter how much you monitor your kids’ computer time, it’s a wasted effort if they have a smartphone that gives them the power of a computer without the hassle of mum or dad peering over their shoulder.
Socialscanner has recognized that with its Ranger browser, which once installed on an iphone, ipod touch, ipad or Android smartphone, can be turned into the default browser allowing parents to set limits on the time their kids spend online, where they go and who they interact with. You can filter Internet content to keep your kids off porn sites and other inappropriate and risky online locations, monitor your child’s browsing history and set times. So for example if you don’t want your child surreptitiously surfing the Web when they’re supposed to be asleep or at school, you can set time limits.
In the GPS version, a paid app at $ 1.99 both for Android and IOS, you can create a “geo fence,” creating boundaries for your child’s whereabouts. For example, if you live in Vancouver, you could make Boundary Road one of the geo fencelines for your child, so if he or she crosses it, you get a text message letting you know.
Ranger browser is a mobile browser and in the IOS version there’s no way to control other apps, so if you want to manage the time your child spends on Facebook or other social networking sites, you’ll have to drop the Facebook app from your child’s smartphone. That means the only way your child can access Facebook is through the browser on the smartphone and that gives parents control through Ranger browser. It’s a bit complicated, but Nick Murray, founder and CEO of Social Scanner, told me that the company will have a new version of Ranger browser for Android devices that will incorporate an app lock so parents will be able to secure web browsing on their child’s smartphone and also lock down social network apps such as Facebook or Twitter. You can learn more about Ranger browser at mobsafety.com.
Applock App Protector, Android, free App Locker, Android, free
A couple of apps that could help you manage your child’s smartphone use can come in handy for securing your own phone.
Both Applock and App Locker let you protect content on your smartphone, app by app.
So for example, if you want to add an extra level of security to your Gmail account or your banking app, you could lock down SMS or Facebook, photos or other content on your smartphone.
The app would then need its own password to access it.
If you don’t already have your smartphone password protected, make sure you do that first, so if your phone is lost or stolen, someone else doesn’t have instant access to all your personal data.
And if you need an extra measure of security, add an app that lets you selectively lock down your applications.