Since multiplayer gaming shifted away from in-person, split-screen competition to online play, whole virtual communities have sprung up around video game streams. While video streaming platform Twitch is home to many of these communities, its relative lack of parental controls makes it a risky environment for young players. Enter Safe Play, a new app that aims to provide a secure online space for kid gamers.
Launching today from Harena Data, Safe Play features many of the same gaming-related features offered by services like Twitch. According to a press release, the app lets young gamers “participate in video game events and tournaments, livestream exciting events among peers, and chat with diverse participants across the world, organize engaging conferences, and set up robust matches for one another.”
Focusing On Protecting Kids
While these features are currently available on other services, Safe Play stands out for its heavy focus on protecting younger users. While Parentology previously found Twitch to lack much in terms of parental controls, Safe Play is launching with several options for parents to keep an eye on their young gamers.
“It’s incredibly important that we protect our children in today’s digital environment where we can never be too safe,” said Harena CEO Derek Pew. “Millions of kids play video games online efvery day and we want to endure they are engaging with other age-verified kids in a sound, safe, and controlled environment.”
To this end, Safe Play’s age verification process requires parents to provide a birth certificate for the user to a certified third party, a representative told Parentology.
Safe Play also provides parents with a unique verified login that allows them to see what their kids are doing on the app. Using this feature, parents can monitor all their kids’ communications on the app, keep track of their friends, and see what they’re playing and posting.
“Our technology is advancing and further strengthening the safety of our children online,” Duane Musser, CTO of Harena, said in a press statement. “Safe Play will have the incredible age verfication tools to make sure its only for kids, fraud detections algorithms to catch any potential threats, and safety overview functions for parents to check in in and see what their kids are up to.”
The Safe Play app is currently available for download from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
Safe Play App — Sources
Bill Dever — Chief Strategy Officer, Harena Data
Harena Data