Field of invention:
This invention relates to a method of digital parenting application to increase parental
control over children's activity on Internet, mobile devices and social media. The invention
is system and method application as a front end and uses a cloud hosted web technology
application as the backend and proviues a digital parenting application as a service. This
application helps to connect the electronic device of parent with the device of th?. child
through the web application and provide parental control and supervision over areas such
as web content that may be accessed by the child. This cla!:lsiflcation is based on the age
of the child and content classification of the site being accessed. The system facilitates
Parent to set custom blacklist and white list specific to their children. It also delivers safe
search results, across prominent search engines. The system envisages to deliver internet
access restrictions based on time of day as well as to ensure only permitted applications ·
which can be used by the child.
Background of the Invention
In the present era of communications and technology, parents provide devices such as
smart phones, tablets and laptops to children for learning, education and entertainment
purpose. Parents also provide their children with these devices for an emergency call and
safety concern. Parents do not have enough insights and information into what their
children are doing in the digital world and whether what they are doing is appropriate for
their age group. Physical supervision by parents at all times is also neither possible nor
desirable. Parents need better ways to monitor what their children are browsing on the
Internet and/or what they are doing in the social media. Therefore, there is requirement to
provide a system and method which provides a streamlined process for providing notice to
parents and obtaining parental control and process for parents to manage their children's
digital accounts, calls and allowing a child to browse the World Wide Web and/or in the
social media.
In past, there have been few attempts to provide children safe browsing environment and
few software products have been launched, which had adopted simple process to block
certain activity. In some cases filtering software is provided that enables a parent to block
certain web sites from access. The method currently in usage existing technologies are
Internet Firewall, Parental Control Settings from OEM manufacturers, Passive Parental
Control offered by other Technology that is predominantly covering security on PC and
Laptops, usage and activity reports that represent bygone activity with no interactive
ability.
The disadvantages of these systems include the inability to provide a solution by which
parents can remotely monitor and control their children's activity on internet and social
media and the inability to provide any real~timc alerls to· parents. The present systems
also do not offer any solutions for Mobile Application Management and Usage Time
management.
There is therefore a need for improved systems and methods which allow parents to
provide their children real-time protection from various online risks remotely and allow a
child to use the devices such as smart phones, tablets and laptops to browse the World
Wide Web or interact across various social media platforms in a safe and secure manner.
With the advent and penetration of mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets, there
is an utmost need for a system which offers a comprehensive solution for the mobility
platforms and across all forms of digital media which a child has access to such as internet,
social media, instant messaging, phones and mobile text messages as well parentsremote
control in selecting the web sites and individual web pages that the child may access.
Objectives of the Invention
The primary objective of the invention is to provide a method and system toparents for
remotely supervising, monitoring and controlling their child's internet and social media
activity on a real-time basis.
It is another object of the invention is to provide a method and system for providing
controlled access to an online resource to provide system for superior real-time internet
filtering and content blocking technology, which can filter and block inappropriate and
harmful internet content.
It is another object of the invention to provide method for real-time notifications and breach
alerts to parents.
It is another object of the invention to provide method and system for monitoring a child's
activity on various online social media platforms, instant messaging platforms, text
messaging and phone calls.
It is another object of the invention is toprovidemethod and system for digital child activity
profiling, digital behavior analysis and provide unique insights about the behavior and
activities of kids, when they are online and on the move. These insights are provided
through high quality data analytics and dashboards and can help parents be aware of the
changing preferences of their children. It can help parents to adapt technology to make
better and more informed decisions about their children.
It is another object of the inventionis to providemethod and system which integrate
location-based services with digital security of children into one single platform to provide
parents with complete information about their child's physical location and digital activities.
It is another object of the invention is to provide a method and system to parents for
remotely supervising, monitoring and controlling their children's accounts, calls and
allowing a child to browse the World Wide Web at an affordable cost.
Description of the Invention
The present invention is the first and most comprehensive digital parenting application as a
service for mobile devices which provide a significant improvement in advanced Internet
filtering and content blocking technology and provides a method with software application
consisting of Parent mobile Applicatio.n which has been developed to run on popular
Mobile Operating systems, the Parent Application provides the Parent Dashboard that
provides all relevant information on
Searched words, Time spent on the
Details and other Notification details.
Web sited visited, Web categories accessed ,
internet, Applications installed I deleted, Account
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The system also embodies real time/ near real-time alerts from web application which
informs about breaches and other notifications and messages sent from the child device.
By using the Parent Application, the parent can change settings and customize his child's
internet experience in real-time like Account Settings, Web Categories, Internet Timing;
Notification Settings, Family Time Setting::;, Application Allow/Block and Application access
timing. These settings can be changed using the Parent Application and the changes
would be remotely i=lpplied to the child's device in near real time. The Parent application
communicates with the web application using application program interface (APis) and
also has a local database to store dashboard, notification and settings information. If in a
scenario when the parent is not connected to the internet, the application accesses the
local database to display information and also to store any setting changes made by the
parent. These changes will synchronize with the web application as soon as the parent
connects to the internet and will be updated on the web application and the child's device.
Another embodiment constitutes of Child Mobile Application is a dedicated Child application
that is installed on the child's mobile device or Phone or tablet. The application has a built
in Private gateway that works to direct traffic generated from the Childs device to the
present invention's web application. The gateway is built into the child application and can
be installed and activated for all kinds of internet connection including Wi-Fi, 2G/3G during
the application installation process. Further, the http I https traffic generated for applications
is bypassed and not re-directed to the present invention web application. Once the Child
Application is installed on the child's device, it cannot be uninstalled or stopped by the child
and the application enables the child to browse the web to any popular browser or search
engine and will yet display safe results. Further, it also allows I blocks websites based on
web categories that been deemed safe by present inventions for a child, depending on
his/her age which could be any defined age brackets.
Another embodiment constitutes of Web Application which is the centre of all activity. This
application receives all traffic from the child device, passes it through various rule engines
set for the child and allows /denies access to respective web page or application. The web
application that is hosted on the cloud is deployed on a three tier architecture consisting of
Web Layer, Application layer and Database layer.
,~ I
Dedicated web communication layer that have all the API's that connected respective
services to the Parent and Child application. The Application logic and rules engines are
developed on Object Oriented programming platform. All data (Masters and transactional)
are stored in the database layer and uses relational database as the storage container.
There are continuously running services on the server that keep listening to Parent and
child devices to collect transactional data and apply the defined rules on the same.
The web categorization system is also an component of the present invention uses traffic
from the child device passes through the dedicated gateway on the child device and is sent
to the present invention web application using an API which sends the http/https (URL)
information to an external system called under different titles and delivers the
corresponding web category to which the URL belongs. This web category can be mapped
to several parenting web categories and based on the rule defined for the particular child
the URL is entire rendered or blocked.
The invention relates to a system and method which is a comprehensive online protection
for children across various mobility platforms which delivers comprehensive digital
protection and digital profiling irrespective of Telecom operator and Internet Service
provider.
The present invention is designed as a Mobility application to address specific issues for
mobility users and platforms with Dedicated Parent Mobile Application. The unique active
parental engagement by means of a Parent Application engages parents in real time. The
real time notification uses Simple Notification mechanism and sends Push notification to
the respective parent device on alerts or boundary breaches that have occurred by using
the child device. When a child performs a particular activity EG: access a particular URL,
attempts to search for a particular key word, attempts to access the internet at a said time,
attempts to access any application installed on the child's device .. the request is pushed
through the dedicated gateway on the child's application to the web application on the
server. The server validates this using the rules engine and either allows the use or denies
the use based on rules set by the parent. If there is a denial then an API is triggered that
sends the corresponding notification informing the type of the attempted breach of the
respective parent using SNS (Simple notification service) that is an internet based
....
notification system. This enables parents to know what is happening in the system
comprising method to show real-time alerts and take appropriate action to ensure their
children's safety and security. The invention further provides method for comprehensive
social media monitoring wherein protection would be provided to kids from falling prey to
cyber bullying, online grooming, inappropriate web content and other forms of online
security risk.
Another embodiment constitutes of Internet Content Management and Application
Management which provides ability to define and modify online preferences for application
and internet usage in real-time while· on the move. Various platforms on internet provide
multiple applications and tools that are available to children when they use tablets or smart
phones. In such a scenario it becomes essential that parents are aware what applications
children are downloading and using. The Internet Content Management enables parents to
define a customized boundary for their children to access internet content are enabled by
the use of web categorization. This application has a repository of millions web sites and
have been grouped into various Parenting categories according to the need and the parent
can choose to either allow or block the site for their child. The application provides a default
set of allowed and blocked categories based on the child's age and this can be further
customized by the parent for their respective children.
When the parent, using the parent Application installed on the parents mobile phone,
accesses these categories and chooses to either allow I block them the same is stored in
the parent applications local database. A service that continues synchronizes the local
database with the rules engine and database on the web application synchronizes both of
them.
The invention embodies method containing Web Content Filtering which checks each web
page a child visits, in real time, and will allow or block a webpage based on the
preferences. It allows filtering and blocking by category of websites, as well as specific
websites.lt also provides monitoring features that are pre-set in line with child's age and
gender, which can be changed to suit the unique needs of each member of the family.
Thus it provides flexibility to determine the type of content the parents feel is appropriate
for a child.The Application Management enables parents to allow and block applications
....
that are installed on the child's device using a mechanism. By this function the invention
provides insight into the applications which the child is using and gives the parents the
ability to allow or block a specific application and define application specific usage timing.
By virtue of Access Control application, parents can set specific times of the day when
their child can use the Internet. The application also allows flexibility to parents to set
different usage schedule for different days of the week.The invention offers unique insights
about the behaviour and activities of kids, when they are online and on the move and
provides real time notiric;atlons on breaches to parents.
The present invention further comprises of Safe Search which enables better protection
while the child is searching content on the internet and helps block harmful websites from
search results. This feature will also allow protection against pornographic images when
doing an "image only" search. If a child attempts to turn off the safe search capability from
the search engine whichwill turn it back on in real-time as the search is occurring. The Safe
Search feature is delivered by enabling Safe Search feature that is provided by popular
search engines. On entering a search either as a word or a string, the same is translated in
to a URL by the search engine. By detecting the search engine that is generating the
search URL when in Dedicated Gateway module built in the present invention, the
corresponding Safe Search parameter is concatenated to the outgoing search string. This
then communicates to the search engine that the search results to be displayed to the child
need to be only safe (or child appropriate) results.
When the child enters any key word or string and submits the search, the same is scanned
to verify if it contains any words form this list of blocked key words maintained in the
present invention. If such a keyword is encountered, the search is terminated and a
notification using the SNS mechanism is sent to the parent.
The present invention also includes method and system comprising Location Services help
parents locate a child and inform them of their child's location. This application also provide
parents with the ability to define time-based Geo-fences for children and real time
notifications on boundary breaches and provides a bread trail map of their child's
movements to ensure their safety and security.
The web application in the present invention has a continuously running service that sends
messages to all registered child devises at regular intervals of time. This signal when
received by the child device, is reciprocated by an outgoing signal to the server application.
This message provides the server with the geo location of the specific child device. Using
this location signal, the server application communicates the same to the corresponding
parent device in a manner that the same is plotted on the map. This gives the location of
the child at any point of time to the parent.
The location of the chilrl is determined IJy the location of the Child's mobile device. The
present invention uses Internet based device location to plot the location of the child. The
location service is not independent of mobile service operators and does not use Cell
Tower triangulation to define the location. The application uses internet maps service to
determine the location of the child's device.
The Invention also enables the child to sends a Help message by a simple click of a button
to the parent. This function is enabled by fetching the Latitude and Longitude of the child's
device at the time of message initiation and plotting the same on a map. Then using a map
service the relevant address is identified and the same is sent to the parent using the SNS
service as a push notification and SMS to the parent.
The invention also embodies the Social Media Monitoring process which is implemented
as a customized Internet cloud-based monitoring application with analytical dashboard
that encourages parents to take an active role in their kids' lives and to be aware and
informed about their venture into cyberspace. The application with a robust feature set and
tools to help parents keep their kids protected on various social networks and keeps
children safe from online imposters, predators and cyber bullies. The invention also
enables parents to know on which social networks their children are active and have
registered accounts and can automatically detect and add new ones when discovered. It
helps parents know who their children's online friends are and what types of content and
information children are sharing.
The present invention method also monitors SMS, Phone Call & Phone Media Monitoring
application wherein parents can monitor SMS and phone call, to and from their child's
phone. This protection is enabled through a method by monitoring of Phone logs,
Incoming /outgoing I missed calls Incoming /outgoing SMS, Photo and media library
information and contact list. This information is fetched from the database on the child's
mobile device by using a continuously running service which reads the data base on the
child's device and updates this on the server application in the child's ~transactional
database. Analytical tools are used on the server to read these database tables and
generate visual dashboards and graphs that provide parents with information 011 volume of
incoming calls nrade I received, time of maximum calls made I received, ou! of address
book calls made I receiveci, medi:::l (video I pictures) on child's device and SMS sent I
received.
The invention may further comprise method comprising Instant Messenger (IM) and Chat
Room Monitoring application which ensures that the text and messages that is exchanged
are reviewed for objectionable, profane, bullying and grooming content. It also provides
mood/ sentiment analysis of the transcript to ensure necessary alerts can be raised to
parents on detection of concern causing activity. Both incoming and outgoing text is
reviewed to ensure comprehensive protection. Real time detection and alerts helps keep
parents to be aware· and alerted in times of need. This function is also a cloud based API
that enables a parent to monitor a child's IM and Chat room activity on designated IM
accounts. This monitoring happens irrespective of whether the child logs in to the IM I
Chatroom using his/ her mobile phone or a desktop computer, or any other means.
Further embodiments and benefits are specified in the following description in connection
with the accompanying drawings.
Drawings
The following is a brief description of each drawing used to describe the present invention,
and thus, is being presented for illustration purposes only and should not be limitative of the
scope of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is an illustrative diagram of an Application Architecture. This diagram illustrates the
various modules, services and data models that constitute the application.
FIG. 2 shows an illustrative diagram of a Web Application Architecture. This diagram
illustrates the architecture and data flow of the Web Content categorization application/
module.
FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of an Application Architecture. This flowchart depicts the internal
structure and menus of the application. It helps portray the internal navigation built into the
system.
FIG. 4 shows High Level Application technology stack. It lists all the technology
components used to develop the solution.
FIG. 5 shows flow chart Social Media Registration workflow. It depicts the on boarding and
authentication process for parent and child devices to the corresponding family account.
FIG. 6 shows a diagram of Social Media & phone monitoring workflow. It depicts how the
invention accesses activity information of authenticated social media accounts and
respective phone logs, analyses the content and generates the necessary alerts.
FIG. 7 shows a diagram of Social Functional schematic diagram. This diagram provides a
detailed overview of the modules in the Social Media monitoring application and explains
the various components of the system.
The following is a brief description of each drawing used to describe the present invention,
and thus, is being presented for illustration purposes only and should not be limitative of
the scope of the present invention.

We Claim:
1. A method and system of digital parenting application as a service to increase parental
control about children's activity on Internet and social media controlling device and
comprising a communication interface configured for control communication with one or
more associated devices of the controlling device, with an integrated display device
configured to display a parental control user interface; a Parent Applir.ation engages
parents in real time to implement computer instructions as a parental control service that
is configured to rer.eive an input of a device control via the control user interface, the
device control for one or more of the associated devices the device control for one or
more of the associated devices that are controllable by the controlling device; and initiate
communication of the device control to the one or more associated devices.
2. A digital parenting controlling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the parental control
service is configured to receive Web Content Filtering which checks each web page a
child visit, in real time, and will allow or block a webpage based on the preferences which
allows filtering and blocking by category of websites.
3. A digital parenting controlling device as claimed in claim 1 , wherefn Safe Search which
enables better protection while the child is searching content on the internet and helps
block harmful websites from search results.
4. A digital parenting controlling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the Social Media
Monitoring workflow is implemented as a customized Internet cloud-based monitoring
application with analytical dashboard that encourages parents to take an active role in
their kids' lives and to be aware and informed about their venture into cyberspace.
5. A digital parenting controlling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein Location Services
help parents locate a child and in'form them of their child's location which provide parents
with the ability to define time-based Geo-fences for children and real time notifications on
boundary breaches and provides a bread trail map of their child's movements to ensure
their safety and security.
6. A system and method substantially as herein described with reference to and as
illustrated by the accompanying drawings.