Based on its performance in 2021, Kaspersky Safe Kids has been recognized by AV-TEST as having a comprehensive split of features necessary to protect children across devices using Android, Windows and iOS. AV-TEST noted a high level of website category detection and the ability to manage such access. The test results also showed a reliable level of restriction to inappropriate web pages, which provides safe browsing for little ones.
Nowadays, kids use devices from a very early age (around five-nine years old) giving them access to the Internet. To keep their children’s digital experience safe and secure, parents are turning to parental control apps. These applications help to protect kids from inappropriate content on the web, regulate the time spent on devices, and even show the child’s physical location, if their gadget has a tracking app installed.
Among the notable achievements of Kaspersky Safe Kids, AV-TEST specifically mentioned a high level of website protection. Kaspersky Safe Kids managed to block an overall average of 90% of potentially inappropriate links on Windows and 85% on Android. The highest result among the blocked content categories was received in “Adult content”– where 100% of links were detected and blocked in Windows. It is worth noting that Kaspersky Safe Kids blocks websites from 14 different categories across 15 languages.
Lab tests also revealed the over-blocking detection rate significantly decreased in 2021 – down to 6.7% for Windows (from 9% in 2020) and 6% for Android (from 8% in 2020).
As for the other features in Kaspersky Safe Kids, AV-TEST noted the Application Control. This lets parents block apps by category on Android and Windows. On iOS devices, this option works by using the age criteria set up in the App Store. For example, parents could limit access to all social media apps, or a specific one, and restrict the amount of time it is being used by children.
According to the test, Kaspersky Safe Kids also has a comprehensive and informative reporting feature. It shows detailed search results and activity across social media as well as highlighting the web content visited or if there has been any attempt to evade the parental control app. Such reports can help parents effectively track their kids’ digital activity, as well as to help to better understand their hobbies and interests.
Other noteworthy features mentioned by AV-TEST are the search engine monitoring, which makes sure only appropriate content can be accessed online; geofencing and location tracking of the child’s mobile gadget as well as device battery monitoring and low-battery alerts; and time and schedule restrictions to foster a balanced amount of device use.
“AV-TEST tested Kaspersky Safe Kids for the sixth time in 2021. The Parental Control by Kaspersky is steadily improving every year it is evaluated. New protection features are extended and existing ones are improved. It provides very comprehensive protection and can provide parents with some confidence in letting their kids online, as well as providing some safeguards in the offline world,” said David Walkiewicz, Director Test Research at AV-Test.
“Parental control apps do more than just provide a secure online experience for kids by allowing adults to manage access to inappropriate content. With the help of such applications, parents can also form their child’s relationship with devices as they see fit, and establish certain habits. We are very pleased that Kaspersky Safe Kids was recognized for providing comprehensive protection tools for children and their devices, as well as for the ever-increasing quality of website categorization,” comments Marina Titova, Vice-President, Consumer Product Marketing at Kaspersky.
The full report “Kaspersky Safe Kids: Parental Control Certification Test 2021” is available via this link.
