Microsoft Edge gets a Kids Mode all browsers should adopt
Microsoft’s Edge web browser is enjoying a new lease on life since a smart switch to the Google Chromium platform. Now the company is making the most of the new-found popularity.
The company has added a new Kids Mode, which it says puts a safety net around the web to help prevent them accessing inappropriate content, while maximising security settings.
The new new Kids Mode sits within the current Edge browser. Parents can find the mode within the account options and select an age group for a tailored experience for children. You can choose between 5 and 8 and 9 and 12.
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“Help your kids grow and stay safer online with Kids Mode. A custom kid-friendly web for them with peace of mind for you, built into Microsoft Edge,” Microsoft says on the app’s home page. “Kids Mode makes it easy for parents to customise a better, more enriching, and safer web experience for their kids.”
The Kids Mode ensures Bing’s SafeSearch is on full alert for inappropriate text, images and videos. There’s a 70 sites that are already available to kids by default, but parents can add more exceptions too. Microsoft has also curated news for kids aged between 9 and 12.
There are also some child-friendly designs, which Microsoft says could inspire creativity among young ones. It’s also pretty easy to exit Kids Mode and get back to normal browsing, but you’ll need to enter your credentials to do so.
Right now, Kids Mode is only available in Edge for macOS and Windows, but we’d sure like to see the makers of the other major browsers adopt. Safari does have a kid safe browsing mode, but it’s more a parent lock than a robust solution designed exclusively for the young ones. Firefox also has some parental controls, but nothing like this.
Will this convince you to give Microsoft Edge a chance to provide access to the web for your family? Let us know @trustedreviews on Twitter.