Alphabet Inc (GOOG)

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Google Boosts Parental Control With Family Link on Chromebook
By: Zacks Equity Research | December 14, 2018

Alphabet’s (GOOGL - Free Report) division Google has expanded the availability of the parental control software — Family Link — to the laptop series, Chromebooks.

The latest move will facilitate concerned parents to check on their child’s usage of Chromebooks and enable them to set bedtime alerts as well as usage time limits.

Further, they will be able to restrict unwanted websites and search results from children’s accessibility with the help of Google’s SafeSearch. Notably, this feature will filter content on Chrome.

Additionally, a child’s Google Account can now be managed by parents on Chromebooks with the help of Family Link.

Courtesy of these benefits, Google is well poised to gain traction among parents as well as their kids.

Parental Control Holds Promise

The recent move bodes well for Google’s efforts to enhance accessibility and availability of Family Link software. Notably, the software is already available for Android as well as iOS operating systems.

Recently, the company introduced an advanced version of the software for teenagers. With this, the parents will now be able to track smartphone activities of their children aged above 13 years.

In terms of availability, Google has recently rolled out Family Link in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama and Peru.

Further, the software was launched in Europe in mid-2018.

All the above mentioned factors are likely to enable the company to rapidly penetrate the global market for parental control software. Per a report from Future Market Insights, the market is likely to reach $223.1 million by 2028, at a CAGR of 9.4%.

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Gaining Competitive Edge

In the modern times, safety and security has become very crucial with the rise of cybercrime especially among kids and teens. Consequently, the demand for parental control features, apps or software is increasing.

Growth opportunities in the parental control software space are attracting several tech companies. Apart from Google, tech giants like Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , Apple (AAPL - Free Report) and Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) are also trying to gain traction among parents with their strong initiatives.

Notably, Amazon FreeTime — a subscription service for kids — is featured with Parent Dashboard that enables parents to monitor screen time when their devices are being used by children. Also, the feature allows them to chat with kids to know what they’re doing on their devices.

Further, Apple introduced Screen Time this year in which the Content & Privacy Restrictions setting on iPhones and iPads allows the parents to restrict access to unwanted apps and content.

Meanwhile, Microsoft also offers parental control features which helps in monitoring kids’ activities when they are logged in to Microsoft Account on any Windows device.

Nevertheless, Google’s strong endeavors toward innovation of Family Link as well as expansion in international markets are expected to strengthen its competitive position against the above mentioned companies.

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