Peace of mind for families as new Kids Safe Mode launches on Sky Q

Sky is making TV even safer for kids with the launch of a brand-new Kids Safe Mode on Sky Q.

Kids Safe Mode will provide a safe space for kids to watch child-friendly TV at home. The new setting will allow parents to lock their Sky Q box in the Kids section, by simply selecting the setting and entering their TV PIN. Once activated, all non-kids’ content including live TV channels, recordings, on-demand shows and apps will be blocked, meaning that the little ones will only be able to see and explore content (up to the age 12) that is just for them.

Kids Safe Mode is the latest feature being rolled out as part of Sky’s commitment to ensure children are safe whilst watching TV and spending time online.

Stephen van Rooyen, Chief Executive UK & Ireland commented: “At Sky, we go further than anyone else to ensure we put families first when developing our services. Sky Q’s new Kids Safe Mode is a super simple way for parents to have ultimate peace of mind when their children are watching TV.”

Kids Safe Mode will also be joined by a new parents guide set to launch later this year from Sky and Common Sense Media to help parents make more informed choices about what their children watch. This along with Sky’s existing family-friendly features will give customers access to the most comprehensive protection across TV and online.

Tools already available to customers include:

Sky Broadband Shield: The free tool that allows users to filter which websites are seen in the home, protecting against malware and phishing infected sites across all internet connected devices.

Sky Kids App: The dedicated streaming service where kids can watch their favourite shows and play games in a child-friendly environment. Parents can create personalised age profiles for their children using the Sky Buddy avatars, so they can only access the content that is right for them.

Parental control settings: Sky’s Family setting, is on by default, helping to protect younger viewers from inappropriate content. Customers can also block access to apps and online video, to ensure any movies over a certain rating are PIN protected automatically and even PIN protect specific recordings with the ‘Lock’ function.

Kids Safe Mode will roll out to Sky Q customers from this Spring.

Notes to Editors:

•  Once activated, Kids Safe Mode will lock viewers into Sky’s kids’ section which contains   content for 0 – 12 year olds.
•  Kids Safe Mode can be activated on any Sky Q box in the home, allowing parents to watch   their favourite shows in one room and the kids to watch TV safely in another. 
• Kids Safe Mode will still be enabled after switching your box on from standby, re-boot or power failure.
• Sky recommends parents change their PIN from its default to help protect younger viewers from accessing unsuitable content across live channels, on demand and recordings. 
• Sky Broadband Shield is available at no extra cost to all Sky Broadband customers.
• The Sky Kids app can be downloaded by all new and existing customers with the Sky Kids pack from Google Play and Apple’s App Store using a compatible tablet or mobile.
• Common Sense Media: The new content parents guide will launch on Sky Q later this year.

About Sky: 

With 23 million customers across seven countries, Sky is Europe’s leading media and entertainment company and is proud to be part of the Comcast group. 

We have 31,000 colleagues and together we want to connect our customers to more of what they love, including our award-winning original productions, like Patrick Melrose and Save Me, and great shows from our partners including, HBO, Showtime and Warner Bros. And our cover improving technology makes it even easier for customers to watch more of the shows they love with personalised recommendations and voice control and, our online streaming service, NOW TV, bring all the enjoyment of Sky with the flexibility of contract free service. 

We treat our customers better than anyone else in our filed, as Ofcom’s complaints date shows, and we look after our staff too. Sky is one of The Times Top 50 employers for women and we’re in Stonewall’s list of Top 50 LGBT-Inclusive employers. 

We also use our position as the leading entertainment business in Europe to do the right thing. As part of Sky Ocean Rescue campaign, we’re committing to be completely single use plastic free by 2020, we’re investing £25million over five years in ocean-saving tech and we’re supporting the WWF to protect our oceans with designated Marine Protected Areas.