Android and Apple iOS Updates – March 2017!

Boomerang for Android v5 and Apple iOS v3

It’s the first time we’ve launched a version of our app in tandem for Android and iOS users. Why? Well, we’ve added several new features that require our users to use the same version to have the best experience. Here’s a list a what’s new!

Family Messenger (Android and iOS)

Family Messenger-Smartphone mockups

Communicate as a family, anytime with our built-in messaging feature. It only allows devices logged in with your family Boomerang account to communicate keeping the conversation safe within your family! Send group messages to all family devices, or to individual family devices. You can even add a selfie to customize your device’s icon when using Family Messenger! This is available for both Android and iOS devices.

YouTube app monitoring (Android-only)

Parents can now get insights into what videos their child is watching searching for inside the YouTube app. Viewing history is shown in our web dashboard under it’s own YouTube tab for each Android device. YouTube’s settings also have a Restricted Search option that can be enabled (it’s not on by default). We can block access to the Settings of the YouTube app so parents can enforce the following tips we recommend enabling.

  1. Open the YouTube app on your child’s device
  2. Tap on Settings > General
  3. Uncheck Autoplay and check Restricted Mode. Read more on how to enable Restricted Search.
Parent Mode: Auto-turn protection back on on Android Child Devices (Android and iOS)

For parent using our Parent Mode, you can now turn off protection for a specific duration of time. Once that duration is up, our protection will turn itself back on automatically on your child’s Android device! No more forgetting to turn the protection back on! It’s also easy to turn protection back on from the child side too – simply tap on the notification banner or open Boomerang and tap to re-enable!

ProtectionOnOffParentChild
Improved Daily Emailed Reports (Android-only)
  1. App ratings for Android apps installed / uninstalled
  2. Breakdown between Always Allowed Apps used and all other apps used
Overall app improvements
  • Easiest onboarding setup for child devices – configuration is 80% done after following our setup!
  • We don’t collect data when protection is off – prevents massive email notifications when protection is turned back on!

And of course, we’ve done the usual bug fixes and improvements that continue to enhance our overall user experience. We’d love your feedback!

Get the latest version by either signing up for an account or updating via the Play Store or App Store.

JP

Dad, Cyber Safety Influencer, Product Evangelist, Avid Cyclist, Hobbyist Musician. Battling the constant love/hate with tech.

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