Being a parent is definitely the most rewarding aspect of life but sometimes (or most of the times) it comes with its share of worries. And being a mom of 2 girls in which the elder one is at a vulnerable age of 9, gave me an endless number of sleepless nights; before I installed Happinetz in our home.
My point is, if we, sensible, mature adults can land in a soup anytime on the internet, how safe are our naive, curious kids? My elder daughter may be 9 years old, but she is already in Class 5. Those two years of online schooling have made her really tech savvy+dependent. When she started online school, she was just 6, slowly catching up with how to operate Microsoft teams. Over the months, she began learning new features everyday, like creating new teams with her friends, chatting with them after hiding from their teacher and numerous other activities, which I myself did not know how to do.
In those days of online classes, she used my laptop. Often I would find new games on the desktop, tabs open with absolute random things. That got me worried as all my passwords are saved on my laptop; what if it gets infected with a deadly virus or someone hacks it? I would be doomed, literally.
That's when we got her a new laptop. A new email on her name, which had very limited functions which she needed everyday, both for entertainment and education. She used my YouTube account to watch her favourite videos. But again, I had to check her history frantically and I just could not control her screen time. The need for a parental control internet system multiplied manifolds.
Fast forward two years, the world started getting back to normal. Schools opened and my kids would not be home for 7 hours. Almost every part of their routine changed barring one: their addiction to screens. Staying home 24*7 for two years made my kids dependent on the internet.
No matter how much I tried, I could not manage it all. My elder one got really smart while the younger one was learning from her sister. No matter how many outdoor activities they indulged in, screen time was an integral part of their lives. Rain or shine, exams or holidays, videos had to be watched. So much staring at the blue screens was detrimental for their developing brains and eyes and unlimited access to information kept me awake at night. I started searching for a parental control internet system but there wasn't any in the market at that time.
While these activities were absolutely harmless and showcased the mischief of childhood, it also got me pondering what all she can hide from me. What if she lands on an adult site? What if she downloads a violent game and gets scarred for life? The unfortunate possibilities were endless. That's when I wished for a parental control internet system. What if I could manage everything she did, without curbing her curiosity?
The best part about technology is that it is evolving every single day and someone, at some part of the world, is working hard to solve the challenges that technology throws at us. The parental control internet system that I had been long wishing for, was finally available, made in our very own country by Happy Parents Lab. I wanted to get my hands on it immediately, and when I finally connected it to our home router, it was like a dream come true!
So what is this parental control internet system? Happinetz, as it's aptly named, is a children's internet filtering system. It blocks out age inappropriate content for kids and gives us the control to limit their screen time too. It's just like we install an air filter or a water filter to keep out impurities, Happinetz keeps away adult sites and blocks and filters age inappropriate content. Ever since I connected my kids' laptop to Happinetz, I have been sleeping peacefully.
So how to connect Happinetz to the existing internet connection?
Installing Happinetz is a breeze. You just have to connect the parental control internet box to your existing router using the ethernet cable (which comes in the box). Then you have to install the Happinetz app on your phone and connect your kids' devices. You can connect up to 10 devices which include smartphones (Android and iOS), laptops, smart TVs and tablets.
Happinetz creates its own WiFi network and does not affect the parent network or the devices connected to it.
So what all features does Happinetz offer?
Happinetz monitors and tracks more than 110 million website and apps and blocks 22 million adult and unsecured ones.
There are 3 modes: Kids Mode (under 13), Teen Mode (from 13 to 17) and Parent Mode (over 18, in which all the filters and schedules are switched off by default)
You can fix time slots for your kids through the personalised screen time manager.
Insights: You can access the history of your kid’s device on your app. The sites she visited when and for how long can also be seen.
What features did I find really impressive about Happinetz?
The custom blacklist and whitelist. I mean how cool is it? I can specifically block a site if I don’t want my kid to access it. Similarly, I can whitelist one if I feel that it’s not threatening to my child’s safety.
It's browser agnostic, which means that the filtering system works across all browsers, even on incognito mode.
There is zero kid involvement. My child does not even get to know that the device is protecting her. No need to install an app on the kid’s device. My child is also happy playing with the Reward Cardz!
It’s a dynamic filtering system, which means that it is actively recognising and blocking new objectionable sites that are cropping up everyday.