The Huffington Post

Yup, Your Child Probably Knows How To Bypass Parental Controls On Their Phone

Kids have been trying to sidestep parental controls for yonks (many of us will remember trying to figure out the code so we could watch 18+ films on the telly), but it seems plenty of parents are none the wiser that the youngest generation can also find ways to bypass controls on their smartphones. That’s according to new research by Uswitch.com , which found almost half (46%) of UK parents to children aged 11-18 years old either didn’t know, or didn’t believe, that hidden browsers and VPNs (virtual private networks) can bypass parental controls. Almost one-third (30%) of parents who have safety features in place said their child had managed to get around those restrictions, while one in five (21%) said their child had watched them type in a passcode to try to get hold of it. And it’s not just parental controls that can be easily swerved. According to the Independent , over one-third of kids have found a way to bypass online age verification measures, which came into play as part of the Online Safety Act, in a bid to access social media and gaming platforms. Research from Internet Matters found kids have gone to creative lengths to avoid the limits – one mum recalled how her son drew a moustache on his face with eyebrow pencil to get around online age verification. And it worked. Kids are also finding ways to ‘fake’ their own screentime stats so parents don’t get wind of just how much time they’re spending on their phones. UK search interest for ‘fake screen time’ has reached a five-year high, according to Google Keyword Planner data analysed by Bupa UK, and searches rose by 500% in the last year alone. Parents can manage and monitor their children’s screen time to prevent excessive usage. But kids are intent on finding workarounds – from using screen time faker apps, to more elaborate methods that leave even the most tech-savvy parents perplexed. How to stop kids from bypassing parental controls Ernest Doku, Uswitch technology expert, said VPNs and hidden browsers (where a person’s internet traffic routes through a remote server) “can undo parental controls in seconds, often without parents even realising it’s possible”. VPNs can typically bypass parental controls set at the Wi-Fi or router, but can’t usually bypass controls installed on the device itself. That said, Doku recommended “enabling parental approval for app downloads” so that children shouldn’t be able to install a VPN or a hidden browser without permission. “And many home broadband routers have built-in network-level controls that apply to every device connected to your home Wi-Fi, adding another layer of protection when children are at home,” he added. Per the Guardian , you should be checking your parental control settings at regular intervals to ensure they’ve not been tampered with. It’s also worth chatting to your child about why the settings are needed in the first place. Good luck! Related... Teens Will Be Able To Access GCSE Results On Phones This Summer Teens Are Falling Out Of Love With Reading. Teachers Share What They Think's Behind It Psychotherapist Shares The 'Most Powerful' Question To Ask Teens Over Exam Season