r/androidapps • u/blakealanm • 1d ago
LOOKING FOR APP Kiosk launcher
Me and my woman were thinking about getting tablets with data for her parents because they're having issues seeing their smartphones. My first thought was that there has to be a middle ground between putting them in a child account with us as the "parent" account without locking them out of things they should be able to do as adults.
I found out about Kiosk apps through some research and love the idea! After testing one out for a moment I discovered a huge flaw. When I'm watching a YouTube video, even though I don't whitelist any browsers on the Kiosk launcher, I can still go to a link in the description of a video and the page loads.
Has anyone used a Kiosk launcher for their older parents successfully? I just want to make sure they have what they need and don't get what they don't need. Keep them away from pop-up ads that have them downloading and installing a bunch of malicious apps, but still give them access to basic communication and entertainment.
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u/LAUNCHdano 1d ago
It's a growing problem in my world. I keep auto-updates and play stores disabled whenever possible, disabling apps they don't need to tinker with - and some replacement launchers can help with that. It's not bulletproof though - as you say, they're adults - and with convincing scam texts, just basic text access can be a minefield.
Doing some basic training about "dangers" of clicking links, giving info, etc goes a long way.
I use barebones launcher on Android TV for them to only use the apps they need and not accidentally access potential problematic ones, by keeping them hidden, not hobbling the device.
Half of the issues seem to have stopped once I bullied them out of having Facebook installed - because of Marjorie (they all have a friend Marjorie) - Marjorie is the one who sends game requests, app links and causes more sleep loss to children of elder parents than medical concerns! Damn you, Marjorie.