Google TV may get Restricted Mode along with the Kids Mode

Most of the Smartphones, Streaming services, and Smart TVs now have Kids mode, which restricts the contents that are not appropriate for Kids Watching. But when you enable this mode, Only Kid’s contents are watchable. We don’t always allow kids to mode as a default. What if your family has to watch some content and appropriate content shown on the home screen or suggestions. To avoid those awkward situations, Google is working on Restricted Mode, Which will work fine with other contents and hide the contents you selected not to watch.

The Restricted Mode feature is coming to Google TV Launcher.

The folks from 9to5Google discovered some nagging issues in the latest update to the launcher that suggests adult profiles will soon have the ability to block content that may be harmful to children. We’re still waiting for complete support for profiles on Google TV; the company is creating a new restricted Mode on profiles. This feature won’t be identical to the child profiles added in the past. It would instead block the content considered unsafe for children from auto-playing, mainly applying to trailers for free movies (referred to “samples,” which, certain) as well as ads-supported films and television shows. The restricted mode will require a PIN to access the settings.

The most recent release of the Google TV launcher app, v1.0.4233, is updated with strings that indicate several exciting new features to be added to the home screen. One of the significant new features that we’re witnessing in development is known by the name of “Restricted Mode.”

This new feature that we can tell is a new type of content filtering on the home screen of the traditional profile that is mature. If it’s turned on, it appears to disable autoplay on all “mature” applications, but the filter will only work for free content. Google’s description includes “free examples” (which we believe refers to trailers) as well as ads-supported movies and television shows.

Inside Google TV Launcher v1.0.1233.apk

In this “APK Insight” post, we’ve decompiled the most recent version of an app Google published to their Play Store. If we break the files (called APKs for Android applications), we can observe various code lines that indicate potential future features. Remember that Google could or might not release the aforementioned features, so our understanding of what they’re about could be inaccurate. We’ll be trying to allow those close to being completed, but we’ll show you what they will look like when released. With this in mind, continue reading.

New Watchlist option for Kids Mode

According to the strings in this most recent Google TV launcher update spotted by 9to5Google, It also seems that Google is working on the possibility to allow the Kids Profile to have its Watchlist. The Watchlist is a crucial function with Google TV that allows content to be saved through the TV’s recommendations and various other gadgets and links to the protected content within apps.

The text in question contains “Add to Watchlist” and directly refers to the profile. But it’s too early to know the exact location; this will be displayed on the Kids Profile home screen. At present, no Watchlist features are available within the Kids Profile mode on Google TV in any way.

Availability

Currently, the successor versions of Google TV apps have the Restricted Mode and Watchlist option for Kids Mode. So, you can expect the option in new updates.

Wrap Up

Individual Profile settings are not coming soon. But, We have Kids Mode and Restricted Modes to deal with real-time scenarios. The problem with Kids Modes is it will disable all the contents as per the rating. Kids Modes is presenting for that kind of restriction. But with Restricted Mode, we have additional controls to include or exclude the rules. Did you get the Restricted Mode and Watch List in Kids Mode on your Google TV? Share your usable experience below.

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Selva Ganesh

Selva Ganesh is the Chief Editor of this Blog. He is a Computer Science Engineer, An experienced Android Developer, Professional Blogger with 8+ years in the field. He completed courses about Google News Initiative. He runs Android Infotech which offers Problem Solving Articles around the globe.