Your Kindle Fire already allows you to lock out in-app purchases, but these free apps from Kiddoware do much more than that.
Kids Place With Child Lock enables you to create a customized access interface, just for your children or anyone else who might borrow your Kindle, but with whom you might not want to share all your apps and content. This app carries an average review rating of 4.6/5 stars across 207 reviews. From Amazon:
If you let your children play with your Android device then the Kids Place – With Child Lock app is for you. Childproof any app just by adding the ones kids use on your phone to Kids Place. The custom launcher will display only parent-authorized apps. Use the Child Lock feature to protect your data and the Toddler Lock setting to enforce locking for apps launched from Kids Place. Other settings let you disable wireless signals as well…
Reviewer Bufo Calvin says:
…There have been some concerns expressed within the Kindle community. Three common issues:
* The Kindle Fire’s Carousel displays all of the books in your archives, and recent websites visited (although you can remove the latter). That can be awkward when someone else wants to see the device, and makes for a very busy screen
* The Kindle Fire doesn’t have a built-in way to limit purchases (except for in-app purchases)
Kids Place resolves all three of these issues. The app lets you create a new “homescreen”, and control what apps are on it. You can also turn off web browsing (which also prevents purchasing). Access to unauthorized apps is controlled by a user-created PIN (Personal Identification Number). I did have a few navigation quibbles, but they were far outweighed by the value of this app. Parents will appreciate the options it gives them. Everyone will enjoy being able to open to a clean screen with just the things they want displayed. If you own a Kindle Fire, this is an essential app…whether or not you have kids using the device.
Kids Place With Child Lock has been such a hit, the developers at Kiddoware have also released a beta version of a new app, Kids Place Video Player, and it’s also free. Reviewer Rachel Gordon gives it 5/5 stars, and says:
I have the original kids place and picked this up right away… though still in beta form I have yet to find bugs.
So if you’re looking for more complex parental controls or just want more control over your home screen, Kiddoware has you covered, for free!