Vodafone has announced it is to launch a new parental control app for children’s mobile phones following growing concerns among parents about the dangers of unrestricted phone and internet use.
The new Vodafone Guardian service will allow parents to stop unwanted contact by blacklisting certain numbers or transferring malicious messages into a secure folder to prevent them being exposed to bullying calls or texts .
Parents can also set up approved lists for outgoing calls, deactivate a phone’s camera and restrict use of the internet – either by blocking access to the web completely or at certain times, such as during school hours – to prevent their children from being put into contact with strangers.
The service, which can be downloaded as a free mobile app on Android mobiles, does not block emergency numbers and can automatically text the parent if emergency services are called from the phone .
Andrew Dunnett, director of the Vodafone Foundation, described the app as the first safety feature of its kind to be launched by a major mobile operator, and revealed that a considerable number of parents have expressed an interest in the service.
The Vodafone Guardian app will be officially launched next week in the UK and Ireland, as well as Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, New Zealand and Egypt.
