Parental controls
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Due to the Data (Use and Access) Act coming into law on 19 June 2025, this guidance is under review and may be subject to change. The Plans for new and updated guidance page will tell you about which guidance will be updated and when this will happen.
Control measure: There are parental controls in place to allow parents or guardians to place limits on a child’s online activity.
Risk: Without parental controls, there is a risk of online harm to a child, inappropriate access to services or content and mental or physical harm. This may breach article 5 (1) (a) of the UK GDPR and article 16 of the UNCRC.
Ways to meet our expectations:
- Include options to set time limits or bedtimes, restrict internet access to pre-approved sites or services only, and restrict in-app purchases.
- Provide resources to help parents explain the service to their child and discuss privacy with them.
- Provide resources to support age-appropriate discussion between a parent and child about potential online threats and harms.
- Provide easy access to information to help parents monitor the effectiveness of controls they have set.
- Ensure parental controls are easy to set up and manage.
Options to consider:
- Offer 'real time alerts' for parents, ranging from if a child attempts to change any privacy settings to when a child is exposed to inappropriate content.
- Remove parental controls automatically when a child turns 18, and inform both the child and parent that this has taken place.
Control measure: Age-appropriate information is provided to tell the child that parental controls are in place and monitoring or tracking is active.
Risk: If children are not aware that their use of all or aspects of the service have parental controls in place, there is a risk of a breach of article 5 (1) (a) of the UK GDPR and article 16 of the UNCRC.
Ways to meet our expectations:
- Provide children with age-appropriate resources so that they are aware that their activity is being monitored by their parents or their location tracked.
- Monitor and stress test the controls regularly to ensure they remain fit for purpose while still protecting children’s rights and freedoms.
- Present children with a clear and obvious sign when parental controls are active (eg a lit up icon).
Options to consider:
- Provide information or explanations on parental controls and monitoring using graphics or visual content. This supports accessibility and understandability.