V-0.3 Demo, what we’re building for launch

We’ve recorded a quick video to talk you through the current product, and written a brief description below of how it will work for those who prefer reading.

‍As always, feedback is not just welcome, it’s encouraged and appreciated! After all, we're building this for you!

‍An iPad App for kids and parents

‍ASTROSAFE (Prev. URSOR) V-1.0 is going to be an iPad App, with a Kids section, and a Parents section. Here are the features you can expect in each, and what you can do as both a parent and a child:

‍Kids section (Kids browser and search engine)

‍This is where children can be left alone to discover new interesting content on the internet safely and independently. Kids will be able to:

1. Search the web for information. From the dock, children can access a search bar, input words, and produce what we call a thought board, which is a curated board of content, pulled in from the internet, filtered for safety, and presented to them inside URSOR. We’re essentially providing them useful content whilst removing distractions, and without letting browse other websites.
   
   
2. Consume content in a focused and calm way. Thought boards are presented in an engaging and quiet UI. More like Are.na than Google, allowing kids to focus on individual pieces of content for each of the searches they make. The goal is to break away from erratic searching and allow children to pause and think about what is in front of them.
   
   
3. No Youtube rabbit-holes, no ads, no tracking. We’ve found a way to show individual Youtube videos while blocking all adverts, and also blocking the automatic recommender. In other words, if we’re showing your child a video of “how to tie a bow-tie” they won’t be able to go further and find themselves in places they shouldn’t be.
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4. ‍Save and pin the content they find. Children will be able to pin the facts, videos, and images they found while browsing. Their homepage effectively acts as a “bedroom wall” for the curation of knowledge. An important part of learning as humans is the ability to store and access what we discover, which is what we wish to facilitate with this feature.

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‍The parent’s Section (Parental controls dashboard)‍

This is the password-protected grown-ups part of the app, where parents can access the monitoring and safety tools. From here parents will be able to:

1. View Weekly statistics on app usage. Initially, we will show you how much time your kids are spending on URSOR every week, how many searches they’re making, and what content they’re saving. This feature is meant to be helpful, facilitate conversations, and keep their Internet usage healthy. We’ve started simple, and we look forward to learning more about what statistics matter to you.
   
   
2. Block specific search terms. Because every family is different, we’ve given each parent the ability to add specific terms they wish to block that may not be picked up by our safety filters. After all, we're not here to replace parents, we’re here to provide a support tool.
   
   
3. Monitor and block found content. Parents will be able to see a child’s search history and the content URSOR presented to them. Then they can block specific content they do not wish their child to see. If you know what they’re searching for, you know what to talk to them about!
   
   
4. Subscribe to Free Superboards. In response to a popular request for URSOR curated educational content, we’ve created Superboards. They are free to subscribe to, internally curated boards on future-facing educational topics, rich with quality content, updated monthly.
   
   
5. Set screen-time and block other apps. A step-by-step guide on how to use the screen-time tools on your iOS device and lock other apps while using URSOR. Over time we will develop features that allow parents to do this inside the URSOR app, but we’re not there yet, and we have to start somewhere!

‍It’s only the beginning
We listened to our customers. We’re now developing what we feel is the simplest, but most loveable product parents are willing to pay for, and children will enjoy using. We have so many things we want to develop! We probably have a roadmap of features for the next 5 years that will make the URSOR experience awesome, super smooth, and super safe, but we’ve got to start somewhere, and we’re happy to be taking you along for the journey!

Let us know what you think, tell a friend about us if you feel like it, and see you all soon!

With Love
Team ASTROSAFE