'Circle With Disney' Helps Families Manage Kids Internet Use

Disney has partnered with independent developers to create a device that will ultimately help parents manage the way their kids use the internet.

The device called “Circle with Disney” is a nifty $99 box that connects to the Wi-Fi. And via the use of an app, parents are given total control over their kids' internet usage.

Tech Times reported Circle with Disney is a device that was originally put on Kickstarter in 2013 by makers Jelani Memory, Lance Charlish and Tiebing Zhang. It was just named “Circle” back then, while Disney didn't partner with them yet, However, their initial efforts failed.

“Kickstarter was what I like to call a really great failure,” Circle Media founder Memory told Wired.

Now, two years later, the device came as a reality, and Memory thanks Disney for it.

“They’ve been a great partner in terms of helping us think about the product,” said Memory. “...but also honing the brand and leveraging their brand for all the goodness and trust that it brings.”

Circle with Disney is even more promising, thanks to the way it can be used by parents. Unlike other similar devices that offer parental controls, like routers and Amazon's FreeTime, Circle offers more granular, personal control over specific devices connected to the home Wi-Fi.

“One of the decisions we made really early on was not to be the router,” Memory explained. “People treat their routers like they treat their water heaters; they don’t want to touch it unless it’s broken, and if it’s broken, they’re really frustrated.”

Once Circle is connected to the Wi-Fi, parents can then use the Circle with Disney app to assign unique profiles to each family member at home.

Parents can set time limits on a child's use of any internet-connected app, social media, or any platform. They are also able to see the total amount of time a child spends online in a day, via “insights.”

Parents can set the time in which the internet will turn off (bedtime) and on (wake up) for a specific device. This will help put kids to sleep.

Filters are also customizable for every device, helping parents sift content based on a child's age. Additionally, parents can pause the internet, which makes it easy for the whole family to get off that video or social media, and into the dining table for dinner.

Circle gives these, along with MyCircle, which gives access to many things Disney.

Circle with Disney will be coming real soon, priced at $99.

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