Google Assistant Now Children's Friendly Thanks To The Parental Control Feature

Image Credit: Google Assistant / dock. Google

JAKARTA - Google is updating a number of features on its smart device, Assistant to make it more child-friendly by bringing new parental controls, child-oriented responses and more.

Previously, Google Assistant did not have parental control features. But now the company claims this device is more child-friendly because it can interact and parents can monitor them.

With parental control features, they can limit children from making calls, limiting the types of responses they can get from Assistant, even parents can choose which music and video providers their children can access, including YouTube, YouTube Kids, and YouTube Music.

Parents can also choose to turn off access to news and podcasts on their child's devices if they wish.

A new feature called Kids Dictionary is also added to offer the option for Google Assistant to provide a more age-appropriate answer.

When Google Assistant detects through the voice matching feature that a child asks a question, the smart device can switch to the Kids Dictionary to respond with a definition that is easy to understand and suitable for children.

Additionally, Google Assistant will also get four new child-friendly voices who talk a little slower and in a more expressive style, this is designed to improve the storytelling skills of the device.

Furthermore, parents can also manage the Google Assistant operating time. That way, children can't get past their bedtime to ask questions or just play music and games.

Launching TechCrunch, Saturday, November 5, the changes are part of a broader series of responses among tech giants in the face of increased scrutiny by regulators on how their tech products are used by children, how they protect or not protect children's privacy, what types of data are collected and how it is used.

Last year alone, Google also introduced increased protection for minors on its platforms, including Search, YouTube, and other apps.