With the recent push to work-from-home, remote and hybrid school, we’re all spending a lot more time at home. Kids are home most days. What can’t you find on the internet? The internet is a massively powerful resource yet a nightmare for parents at the same time. How do you safely kids browse the web?
On an exciting announcement from Microsoft, Edge is getting a Kids Mode. Not yet widely available, kids mode is currently being rolled out to Edge Insiders in Microsoft’s Canary test channel with plans to send it to the dev channel soon after.
Once available, you may enable kids mode by selecting it in the Microsoft Edge profile picker, similar to enabling the kid’s profile for streaming services.
What does kids mode for Microsoft Edge do? It does what you would expect of a web browser that has the intent of keeping kids safe while browsing online. Edge Kids Mode has Bing SafeSearch on by default while setting tracking prevention to strict mode. So what is tracking prevention? Websites often use trackers to collect data on your browsing behavior. Strict mode blocks potentially harmful trackers and most trackers across sites.
Users will be able to customize the interface and content delivery when in kids mode, allowing you to choose between customized Edge themes and a filter that will show content that is safe for kids. Parents will also have the option of creating a list of allowing/blocking websites.
Microsoft will also provide some options that you may choose based on the age of your kids. In Edge settings, you will find different sections in the ‘Family’ tab, which will provide all the information you need on how to customize Kids Mode within Edge.
“Kids Mode is a convenient browsing mode inside Microsoft Edge that’s designed for kids. With its kid-friendly features and safety guardrails in place, Kids Mode is a great place for children to safely explore the web. Kids Mode includes features like custom browser themes, kid-friendly content, browsing based on an allow list, Bing SafeSearch set to strict, and a password requirement to exit. Also, Kids Mode doesn’t require a child account or profile (Microsoft).”
While there is no official timeline on when Kids Mode will be available to everyone, it is currently available in the Canary build and working in the Windows and macOS US English variant. It should be coming to the Dev channel soon.
There are no details available yet on what the ad policy will be within kids mode. It is exciting to note that kids will not need their own accounts within kids Mode, increasing the safety of the data available on them. To exit Kids Mode, you will need to use a password, preventing kids from simply disabling kids mode.
While there should not be too long of a wait for Kids Mode in Edge to be available to everyone, if you are not willing to wait for it, you may download the US English Canary version to use kids mode. It is worth noting that Edge Kids Mode is not officially launched, and there may still be unfinished features and bugs to work out in this version.
