Apps keep children safe against internet dangers

Nowadays, we hear about cases of many people including children falling prey to cyber crimes, online games that claim lives, blackmailing and so on. As children enjoy spending more time on their mobile or laptop, parents are worried about how to shield their kids from the dark side of technology. There are some firms that make apps which provide a safety net to combat the dark side of the net. Learntron is one such firm that works with over a dozen Indian schools and the Middle East where students use tablets as a tool of education. Learntron has introduced an app called  "Fokus", which allows the device to be controlled by the school administration. Kuljit Chada, co-founder, Learntron explains that with this app, the administrator can whitelist and blacklist apps including native ones. The administration has access to a centralized dashboard from where it can control all the tabs in one click. Thus, during school hours, students can only access the learning app and nothing else, unless permitted by the school. There is another firm founded by Noopur Raghunath called eKavach that offers website, app and time management. Here, the parent can set various schedules like study time, family time and choose the apps and sites that the child can access during those time periods. For every app on the child's device, app rating and applicable age details will be rendered to the parent. Thus parents will have complete control over the apps and sites which their child can access besides the time the child spends on the internet. Shefali Tyagi, principal, National Public School states that it is the responsibility of the parent to take age appropriate actions to detox kids from excess exposure to screen and over dose of technology.