Windows 10 reports kids internet viewing to parents

Windows 10 has brought a raftload up updates to tens of millions of users around the world. Many of these new features are welcome but some are a bit more problematic.

According to reports the new operating system sends a detailed weekly report to parents on their children’s computer activity.

That includes the number of hours they’ve spent logged in as well as the apps they’ve been using. Most significantly of all, it also reveals exactly which websites have been visited online.

Naturally this only extends to accounts which are linked between parents and children but the implications are pretty significant.

You could argue that it’s an attempt to keep kids safe but it really just becomes a system of monitoring which ensures they never feel like they have any kind of personal freedom.

Another issue which has been raised is about the possibility of LGBT people who are open about their sexuality online but haven’t yet come out to their parents.

That’s the kind of information which could be hugely damaging within a family and could even lead to mental or physical abuse.

The information about this reporting is freely available on Microsoft’s site- where you can tailor any number of items including manually checking their activity.

Here you can also block website you don’t want them to see and restrict their access to games or apps. You can even choose how much screen time they get, forcing the conputer to time out after a certain number of minutes.

You can also turn this reporting off entirely with these settings, giving your children the kind of freedom which you also get to enjoy online.