Microsoft’s Family Safety app now available on Android and iOS

Microsoft has made its Family Safety app available for general download on Android and iOS.

The tech giant’s Family Safety app launched earlier this year was previously available for limited preview on iOS and Android devices. Now, general users can also download the app from their respective app stores.

The app is meant to ensure “digital safety” for family members, especially children amid shelter in place orders. Parents can monitor their children’s activities through the app and limit screen times across Windows and Xbox devices through the app. They can also set tie limits for specific apps and games as well to avoid inconvenience while children learn from home.

The app also lets parents put in place certain search and web filters for browsing content on Microsoft Edge. They will also be notified when children try to download an app that is above their age limit from Microsoft Stores.

Every week, parents and kids will receive an email with highlights of the child’s digital activity.

The app also enables location sharing for family members. Members can also save frequented locations such as home, work, or school.

“We added location clustering to see when multiple family members are at the same location (i.e. when multiple people are in one place you can see that there are 4 people and zoom in to see who it is),” explained Liat Ben-Zur, Corporate Vice- President, Modern Life, Search, and Devices.

More features coming

The team is planning to introduce two more features to the app for premium users with a Microsoft 365 Family subscription. These features include “ drive safety to help build better habits behind the wheel with insights on driving behaviour and location alerts to notify you when a family member arrives or departs a specific location.”

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