Zift Advisory
The Baby Lock app is a touch proof video player for parents with small children. Available for iOS devices only, the Baby Lock app can be downloaded for $1.99. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements. This app is safe for kids but parents may want to consider the fact that iOS already provides more efficient features for free.
What is Baby Lock?
The Baby Lock app is a touch proof video player for parents with small children.
Available for iOS devices only, the Baby Lock app can be downloaded in the App Store for $1.99. There are no further in-app purchases and no in-app advertisements.
How many times have parents played a video on their phone or tablet, in an effort to occupy a fussy toddler? During those times, it's inevitable that little fingers will get happy and tap the screen with videos playing, either stopping the video or exiting out of the app.
Even worse, those little fingers can easily tap on a pop-up advertisement on YouTube, taking them out of their video and to a third party site. The result is frustration for both parent and child which is what the Baby Lock app was designed to alleviate.
Baby Lock is a touch proof video player that locks videos in full-screen mode to keep young children in the app even if they touch the screen.
Parents simply play YouTube videos through the app and touch 3 icons in the corners of the screen to unlock when finished. Within the Baby Lock app, parents can bookmark favorite videos and play them in an endless playlist.
While Baby Lock sounds great on paper, the actual app isn't quite as helpful as many users can attest. In fact, one of the biggest user complaints, and part of the reason the Baby Lock app has just over a 1-star rating in the App Store, is that the Baby Lock app does not lock the home button, essentially rendering the app useless.
Because Baby Lock is only available for iPhones and iPads, the developer is counting on frustrated parents to overlook their built-in parental controls, and instead downloading this redundant app.
Is Baby Lock safe for my kids?
In fact, Apple's Guided Access for iOS devices features more controls than the Baby Lock app and it comes with those devices free of charge. Guided Access functions as a built-in accessibility feature, limiting users to one app and preventing them from leaving the platform or returning to the Home screen.
Those users not familiar with their Apple device's built-in parental controls will be pleasantly surprised to learn that lock screen is only one of the many features they can control. To enable Guided Access on an iOS device, users need to navigate to their device Settings.
Under the Settings menu, users will select General and then scroll down to select Accessibility. In the Accessibility menu, users scroll down to the bottom of the menu options and tap on Guided Access, located under the Learning heading.
Once in the Guided Access menu, parents will want to adjust their passcode settings, and either set a Guided Access passcode or enable Touch ID.
In addition to locking children into an app, parents can set a time limit on the device which will sound an alarm from one of the available alert tones or record a message telling your child that their time is up and it's time to give the device back.
Parents may also opt to have a timed warning set to alert children to their remaining screen time.
Once Guided Access is activated, parents simply navigate to the app their child is going to be interacting with and triple click on the Home button.
This will launch the Guided Access screen, and give the option to Cancel, Start, or explore Options. The Options menu allows users to set time limits, as well as disable items such as volume control or keyboard access.
Apple users have much more control with their built-in Guided Access feature, rendering the Baby Lock app redundant for iPhones and iPads.
This app is safe for kids but parents may want to consider the fact that iOS already provides more efficient features for free.
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