Comments on: How to Have a Safe iPod Touch and a Happy Kid

By: Mary Kay

Mary Kay — Mon, 06 May 2013 23:10:00 +0000

I’m sorry to hear about your problems with Ranger and K9. We also recommended AVG browser.

By: Cm

Cm — Sat, 04 May 2013 12:13:38 +0000

We have tried the K9 and the Ranger and can’t get either to work on my 10 year old’s ipod. The folks from Ranger and K9 have not been able to help. We can still bring up any explicit content on his ipod.

Ranger is not working at all. K9 blocks BUT then down at the bottom of the page it asks the child if they would like to search in google instead…. if they click this they can still get to anything on the planet…. a real design flaw, no? K9 says even if they click that google link it will still block but guess what it does not… we have tried.

I am so frustrated and desperate and there seems to be no way to keep my child safe. If you can offer any help I would greatly appreciate it

By: Mary Kay

Mary Kay — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 22:17:54 +0000

Sparkles, you are a smart teen. If you have younger siblings or cousins, in addition to your good friends, I hope you encourage them to do the same. That’s fantastic.

By: Sparkles

Sparkles — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 21:01:03 +0000

Hi guys, I just wanted to say, I’m a teen and I SET MY OWN RESTRICTIONS because I don’t like explicit things. Just wanted to say that Apple lets you do this is great.

By: Mary Kay

Mary Kay — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 19:34:47 +0000

Hi Caroline, I just replied to Barb. Please see my response and let me know if you have any other questions. I hope this answers your question!

By: Mary Kay

Mary Kay — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 19:33:52 +0000

Hi Barb,

Yes, sorry for the confusion. Regardless of which browser you go with, you should make an attempt at enabling YouTube Safety Mode by following the steps that I mention in this article. That being said, however, if you want to get rid of Safari altogether, then I recommend going with something like the AVG Family Safety Browser, or if you want more control over the content your child can access, you might want to consider an app like Ranger Browser.

By: caroline

caroline — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 11:36:11 +0000

Hi I have the EXACT same questions as Barb above and look forward to a reply soon so that I can make my 10 year old son’s ipod touch safe without being overrestrictive.
Thanks for all the useful information Mary!

By: Barb

Barb — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:11:07 +0000

I have a question about setting up the safety version for YouTube: You said at the beginning that you turned OFF Safari, but then near the bottom of the article you said: “The last thing I did was go to the Safari app and set up YouTube Safety Mode.” Did you turn Safari back on so the iPod Touch could use it to access YouTube? Or did you open whatever other safe browser you had installed and use the safe browser to set up YouTube in safety mode?

Also, someone said that the K9 browser won’t even allow you to go onto YouTube. Would you have a recommendation for which browser you would use for an iPod Touch in the hands of an 11 (almost 12) year old? My daughter is begging to have access to YouTube like “all her friends” do, and this safety sounds like the answer, but I want to make sure I have it set up correctly! Thanks much for the information!

By: Denise

Denise — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 07:07:54 +0000

I found out if you have gmail, you can do a “plus email”. No set up required, and it comes to your email! Example: your email is myemail@gmail.com you can make theirs myemail+child1@gmail.com.

Our iPod touches we got for our boys this past Christmas (4th gen) have iMessage on it. I used these “plus emails” to set up their own texting capabilities that are additional email addresses added to your main Apple id account. (I just had to verify them via email link with my Aple ID when I added them.) I then added myself, my husband, grandma, and teenage aunts and uncles to their contact list (we don’t live by family). Then in notifications under iMessage, I chose that they can only receive messages from those in their contact list.

I felt I safeguarded them from spammers and ads on free texting apps, and have kept it in only their contact list. I don’t think I will add people they talk to everyday (yet, until they are older). However I love that they can contact family when they want! Oh and their iPods only leave the house when we travel or doctors appointments so far.

Thanks for your safety suggestions! I thought I set ours up well before they got them, but didn’t realize the issues with safari and YouTube. Thanks for your article!

By: LF

LF — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 17:41:32 +0000

Regarding kids email and being able to monitor…. I have set up email accounts for my kids (they are 12). But, I also set up their email accounts to be viewed on my iPhone. That way, I (can) see any emails they receive or send – and I see when they come in. I don’t necessarily read all of them, but I can if I feel the need. An added bonus is that I’ve been able to know then when my children have tried to reset their passwords for various apps. It’s been a good way to give them some independence/privacy to correspond with out-of-town family, yet gives me a way to monitor who they are corresponding with. It’s opened the door for several meaningful conversations about online safety.