Digital Smarts - When it Comes to Parental Controls - Apple vs Android

When you hand a child a smartphone, no matter how sensible and responsible the child, it is easy for digital savvy to outstrip judgment says Caroline Knorr, the parenting editor of Common Sense Media. This is why setting parental controls is always a good idea. What smart phone platform has the most built-in parental controls to give kids (and parents) a fighting chance at doing the right thing? Apple, according to Brain Chen at The New York Times, and he describes the areas he evaluated in a recent article entitled For Parental Controls, iPhones Beat Androids.  What accounts for the differences? Android has an open source nature, meaning manufacturers can install Android on their phones and customize the system to their liking. Parental control settings are an example of something that can be added on later, but often seems to be an afterthought for software producers. Apple, on the other hand, controls the base package of what goes on its phones and has prided itself on trying to add control customization for end users.