Google extends parental controls with screen time tools, approved contacts, and more.

Google on Wednesday announcement A series of updates to Parent Control Software Google Family Links And the plan is to test new machine learning technologies to estimate the age of users so that more age-appropriate experiences can be applied to children’s devices.

The company previously said it would be using it soon. Machine learning to determine the age of YouTube users For better recommendations, Google tells TechCrunch that it will also test this feature at the Google account level. This means that it can be applied to Google products, including, but not limited to, YouTube.

These tests of age estimation models begin in the US this year and expand to more countries over time. Other social media services like Facebook, Instagramand Tiktok Already using age estimation and verification techniques.

Meanwhile, Google’s Family Link Parental Control software has also gained some improvements. The app is designed to allow parents or guardians to restrict access to their child’s content and control a variety of privacy and security settings across a variety of services, including Google Search, Photos, Assistant, YouTube, Chrome, and more. Masu.

Currently, Family Link has been updated and includes tools to manage your child’s screen time across Android and Chrome devices, while also helping children stay focused at school.

A new feature called School Time will start to roll out to Android phones and tablets next week, allowing children to “automatically restrict or adjust” devices at certain times, restricting access to certain apps .

Parents can then add contacts to their child’s devices, set controls and restrict their children to only call or text to approved contacts. This is useful when giving a call to younger children who need to call moms, dads and grandparents but may be able to call others.

Google says the addition will begin rolling out in March.

Children using Android devices can pay in-store using Google Wallet later this spring. According to Google, parents of Android users monitored under the age of consent say they can add payment cards to their child’s Google wallet so that their children can tap and pay. Parents can also approve new cards, delete cards, add gift cards and tickets to children’s wallets, and view their children’s transaction history.

Teens will be able to access “more AI-powered features” later this year.Learn about“Generic AI-equipped tools that provide interactive learning experiences and AI research assistants Notebooklm. These are already participating in AI features aimed at teenagers, including Google Search’s AI Overview, AI Chatbot Gemini, and Circle to Search.

Under the threat of stricter regulations in the US and overseas, Google and other tech giants have begun introducing additional protection and privacy features for minors. For Google, users under the age of 18 have started defaulting to safe search filters, restricted sensitive ads, and age-group content on YouTube.