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BrightCanary

FAQ

Questions about our product. Please review below and reach out if you have any additional questions.
Q.
What does BrightCanary do?
A.
BrightCanary helps parents teach their kids how to safely use the internet. Our app uses natural language processing and machine learning models to keep parents informed of the online content kids are consuming and the communications they’re engaging in online. A single dashboard helps parents understand their kids’ digital habits on an ongoing basis. This serves as a complement to the screen time monitoring tools that Apple and Google have integrated into at the OS level. Unlike the other solutions currently available, BrightCanary is only installed on the parent's phone. No other software or apps required on any other devices. We also provide parents with resources such as in-depth guides to each social platforms, a digital device contract template, and customized talking points for difficult conversations with your kids via our AI chatbot Ask the Canary.
Q.
How does it work?
A.
BrightCanary is simple to use. Add your child and then connect BrightCanary to their accounts on YouTube, Google, Instagram, or TikTok by logging in with their username and password. BrightCanary constantly tracks what they're viewing and posting in the background, providing you with a daily summary of their activity and alerting you if there's anything concerning about the content. You can check their activity summaries periodically, review content alerts as needed, and use our anonymous AI chatbot Ask the Canary for advice on how to talk to your kids about specific digital parenting topics.
Q.
I got a new phone, do I need to buy a new subscription?
A.
Nope! Just download from the App Store and get started by connecting BrightCanary to your child's accounts on YouTube, Google Search, Instagram, and TikTok. We're busy parents too, we've tried to make using BrightCanary as easy as possible. If you run into any trouble, please email us at support@brightcanary.io for help.
Q.
Do I need another subscription for each of my children?
A.
No, one subscription to BrightCanary will cover your whole family.
Q.
What will my child think about me using BrightCanary for content monitoring?
A.
We believe a tool like BrightCanary helps parents keep an open dialogue with their kids about what they're seeing and reading on the internet. Our goal is to help parents build smart, savvy internet users by keeping them involved in their children's content consumption during their formative pre-teen and teen years. Most children are open to their parents using BrightCanary once they understand the goal is only to alert parents when their kids are getting into something that might be dangerous or inappropriate.
Q.
What services does BrightCanary monitor?
A.
BrightCanary currently monitors your children's activity on YouTube, Google Search, Instagram, and TikTok. We’ll be adding more services soon!
Q.
Does BrightCanary Content Monitoring work if my child uses iOS? Android? A computer?
A.
Yes. Currently the parent needs to use an iOS device, but your child can use any device. BrightCanary connects directly from your phone to content services like Instagram and YouTube to access your children's viewing history. Nothing needs to be installed or maintained on your children's phone, tablets or computer.
Q.
What exactly does BrightCanary monitor on each platform?
A.
Here's a detailed breakdown of exactly what we cover.
Q.
What does BrightCanary analyze? Text? Video? Images? DMs?
A.
BrightCanary uses advanced machine learning systems to analyze text, images, videos and direct messages your kids are reading, viewing, and posting to online services. Our sophisticated models determine the probability that they contain inappropriate content, and alert you according to the settings you determine.
Q.
Is Content Monitoring 100% accurate?
A.
No. We try hard to make BrightCanary as accurate as possible. That said, we are using advanced machine learning systems to classify images, video, and text your children are watching and posting. It's possible those systems could incorrectly alert you about content that is actually not worrisome, or could miss something. While we think BrightCanary is a valuable tool for parents, it's not a replacement for the work of parenting a child.
Q.
Why do I need my child's account login for YouTube, Google, TikTok, etc?
A.
BrightCanary connects directly to your child's account on their favorite online services to analyze what they're reading, viewing, and posting. If you don't have your child's login information, we encourage you to explain to your child why you're using BrightCanary – to help keep them safe on the Internet.
Q.
Why should my child have their own account for Google, YouTube, TikTok, etc.?
A.
As your child gets older, they will want to have their own favorite creators they follow, and they might even want to post (appropriate) content of their own. Having their own account makes it easy to use tools like BrightCanary to help you feel good about what they're doing on these services.
Q.
What categories of content will BrightCanary alert me about?
A.
BrightCanary uses advanced machine learning systems to evaluate text, images, and videos your children are seeing and posting. We can alert you about: Nudity and sexual references Weapons Alcohol and Drug references Offensive/hate signs and gestures References to extremist ideologies Graphic violence, blood, wounds, gore Profanity Discriminatory insults You can control which type of content you see more or fewer alerts about by going to Settings → Manage Family → Adjust Our alerts system is still a work in progress so you are likely to get some false positives (or occasionally, false negatives), but we’re continuously working to improve this. We’d love to hear from you about how it’s working at feedback@brightcanary.io.
Q.
Help me configure Apple Screen Time on my child's iOS device
A.
Apple Screen Time is a great free tool on iOS and MacOS devices to set up rules on when your child can use apps and websites on their device. It also allows you to block adult-oriented websites from their device. iMore has a great tutorial on setting up Screen Time that you can view here.
Q.
Help me configure Google Family Link on my child's Android device
A.
Google Family Link is a great free tool on Android and on ChromeOS devices to set up rules on when your child can use apps and websites on their device. It also allows you to block inappropriate websites from their device. AndroidAuthority has a great tutorial on how to set up Google Family Link for your child.
Q.
How does BrightCanary work with Apple Screen Time or Google Family Link?
A.
BrightCanary is a great complement to Apple Screen Time and Google Family Link, and we encourage every parent to consider using those free tools to help maintain a safe and healthy relationship between your child and their favorite apps. BrightCanary goes beyond monitoring which apps and sites they use to monitoring the actual content they're reading, viewing, and posting on their favorite internet sites. Screen Time and Family Link can show you how much time your child spends on YouTube, but BrightCanary can tell you what they were watching and alert you if it's something you should be aware of.