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Microsoft Edge Has Launched A New “Kids Mode”- Safe Or Not?

All About Microsoft Edge's New Kid Mode

Have you heard about Microsoft Edge Kids Mode? 

Internet is a strange place. Your children can get immediate access to information about the whole Universe through the internet. They can stay connected with friends and family, do online studies and learn literally everything. But, children can also encounter inappropriate content like pornography and violence while being online. Apart from good, there are many unhealthy elements present on the internet that you wouldn’t want your kids to interact with. 

To ease parent’s concerns, Microsoft has come up with a way to make the internet a safe space for children. Curious to know how?

Microsoft Edge has debuted with a new handy Kids Mode. 

Wondering, what difference it will bring to web browsing for children? Stay with me to know about it all! Firstly, let me tell you what Microsoft Edge Kids Mode means.

About Microsoft Edge “Kids Mode”

The Kids Mode in the Edge Browser is designed specifically for making the browsing experience more convenient for children. Over the recent years, children are spending a lot of time online. Moreover, many families are sharing their devices. There is a lot of online content that may be appropriate for you, but definitely not for your children. To solve these issues, Microsoft Edge has launched a safe environment for little ones in form of Kids Mode. It can provide peace of mind to parents by customizing a protected digital environment for children even on the shared devices. Also, Edge Kids Mode can make the web experience better, upgraded, and secure for children.  It is designed specifically for young children and tweens aged 5 to 12. Currently, Edge Kids Mode is available in only English US language.

Now, let me tell you about the features and highlights of this Kids Mode.

Microsoft Edge “Kids Mode” features

All the features of Microsoft Edge are designed keeping in mind usability and safety factor. For starters, in the edge browser, the Kids Mode can be customized into two age groups.

Kids Aged 5-8

Kids Aged 9-12

Now, Edge has provided four fantastic features to provide safe navigation for children:-

Age-inappropriate Content

Using this feature, you can choose the age-appropriate experience for your children. For kids aged 5-8 years a “Simplified browsing experience” should be chosen. And, for tweens i.e. children aged 9-12 “Interesting kid-friendly articles and news mode” should be chosen. There is an allowed list of websites present in the Kids Mode, which has over 70 websites. Kids are allowed to access only those. But, that doesn’t mean parents cannot change this list. Parents can fully customize this list by tweaking the settings of the Edge browser.

News For Children In Microsoft Edge

This feature is specifically for the age group 9 to 12 years. This tool is for improving the IQ of tweens and let them explore the world through curated news. For that purpose, it includes a wide range of content from animals to science and even fun facts.

A Safer Experience Just For Children

This tool pre-selects child-friendly sites and security settings. Furthermore, your children will be able to access only the filtered content. This will ensure a secure browsing experience.

Spark Creativity With Kid-Friendly Themes

Microsoft Edge has included cutesy animations and colorful themes such as Finding Nemo in their Kids Mode. This will flourish child’s creativity by giving a boost to their imagination. 

Apart from this, Kids Mode also disables keyboard shortcuts that can take children back to normal browsing. That being said, this feature is only available for Windows and not for mobile browsers.

How to Set Up Kids Mode in Edge Browser?

The Microsoft Edge browser is known for its feasibility. It reflects in its Kids Mode too. Microsoft Edge has made setting up Kids Mode very simple and hassle-free. At the same time, coming out of this mode is not a kid’s task.

How To Enter Kids Mode

You can enable Microsoft Edge Kids Mode very easily through the below-mentioned steps;-

  1. When you download Microsoft Edge and install it, it asks you to set up your profile. For enabling Kids Mode, you need to access the same profile by clicking on the icon at the top left corner. 
  2. There you will see a Browse in Kids Mode option. You need to toggle it on.
  3. In the next step, the edge browser will ask the age group of your kid. Choose 5 to 8 or 9 to 12 accordingly. This will enable Kids Mode in your browser.

You can even customize this mode according to the maturity and resilience of your kid. For tweaking the settings, go to Settings, then More. There, choose Family. In this tab, you can customize the allowed list of websites. You can also enable family-friendly features in this tab only. 

How To Exit Kids Mode

For coming out of this safe space, children will have to need parent’s permission and authentication. To exit Kids Mode parents need to:-

  1. Choose the Kids Mode icon visible at the top of the web page. The icon looks at the face of an alien and it is purple in color. 
  2. Choose Exit Kids Mode.
  3. There you need to enter your credentials and password. Fill in the details and also click confirm.

Our Thoughts On Microsoft Edge Kids Mode

We think Microsoft Edge has done a great job in doing something that Google Chrome and Internet have not even given a thought to. It is the first step to make the browsing experience for children safe and secure. But, frankly speaking, it is not enough! Microsoft Edge Kids Mode is still missing many features necessary for safe navigation for kids. Tools like screen time management, browsing history data and time limits are necessary for the overall mental, emotional and physical well-being of teens and tweens. We recommend downloading a reliable third-party parental control like Bit Guardian Parental Control in addition to enabling native controls. Also, it will ensure appropriate digital exposure as well as safe navigation for your children in the online world as well as offline environment.

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About author

Somya Shrimal is a content writer by profession and by heart. She loves to write about technology, lifestyle, fashion and books. Being an electrical engineer , she has a passion to learn and try new things. Somya likes reading, writing, travelling and of course food.
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