The Reality of Using Parental Control Applications in Palestine

With the growing popularity of smart devices, a plethora of parental control applications have been developed to monitor children and protect them from online security risks. The study aims to identify the reality of parental control applications and their use in Hebron Governorate from parents' viewpoint. Using the descriptive approach, the researchers distributed a questionnaire to a sample of 500 people chosen at random from the 274,500 total study population. The findings revealed that parental control applications were used by 20.6% of the total study population, which is a relatively small percentage. A greater percentage of females than males preferred parental control, and that parents under the age of 25 had greater preferences than parents in other age groups about their children's use of smart devices. As the number of children grows, so does the preferences for parental control. The study recommended that parents' awareness be increased by holding seminars on parental control preferences and application features. The study further recommended that the relevant authorities educate children about the risks associated with smart devices and their various applications.