Database Users

[Q] Multiple users accounts

Hi,
is it possible to have more than one google account on one Nexus7 device?
(this thread should be at Nexus7 Q&A)

Moved to Nexus 7 Q&A.

EDIT: Never mind, I was wrong, you get the option of choosing which account to use as the person below me has said.

I have a second Google account on my Desire Hd.
Its not much of an issue, when you are using google apps eg. YouTube, G+, Gmail you get a choice of which account you want to use and you can logout and choose the other whenever you want.
Syncing is not a problem either, whichever account you pick when you make changes they will be saved to only that account.
My YouTube widget changes depending on which account i am using when i exit the YouTube app.
Hope this helps
Sent from my Desire HD using xda app-developers app

I use multiple Google accts on my phone (ICS/CM9). Sync'ing, etc works just fine. Whenever it gets to a point where you have to choose the account you want something under, it prompts you. The issue/solution for me for Facebook (for my wife & I) will likely be Friendcaster (which allows multiple accts).

I was thinking more about choosing an user after waking-up the tablet. Just like windows has. One for me, other for my wife.
The perfect solution would be face to unlock, but I don't think it would be avaliable soon.

Tablets feel like windows 98 all over again. I guess this is because of their phone roots (the thought being one user owns a phone). But with tablets, many want to share.
As your example of you and your wife. Or even security. I'm at my bro's and my nephew wants to play with my tablet, and he's pretty responsible, but he could actually start reading/deleting my email, uninstall apps, buy apps via google market. Btw, I expressly choose never to save anything to google wallet, I've only made a few purchases and have been careful of this, but last thing I bought, my credit card info was all ready to go. Sigh.
But yes not only would I like multi-users I would like to make others have limited functionality, as in they can't install/uninstall apps etc. Even a simple thing like letting my nephew play a game I was in the middle of playing, well he cleared all the stages so I have to remember which stage I was on each time I launch it, or clear them all and start over.
But I suspect it'll be this way for a long time.

gieja said:
I was thinking more about choosing an user after waking-up the tablet. Just like windows has. One for me, other for my wife.
The perfect solution would be face to unlock, but I don't think it would be avaliable soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SwitchMe sounds like what you may be looking for?
N.B. I haven't used it.

Thanks Salty Wagyu for the link. I'm gonna try it as soon as i get me N7. It might be what I'm looking for.

Salty Wagyu said:
SwitchMe sounds like what you may be looking for?.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow... I wasn't aware of that app, either. This is from one of the reviews, though:
Log out does not really work like Windows where you log out and then select another user but rather you have to go into the App and say SWITCH user. Once you do SWITCH user, you actually have to wait for the device to reboot into the other user so it is not running multiple instances
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd think that if the dev on this app could get help from or work with the devs on the popular launchers, better integration would ensue... Like the review said, though... great start...

I've actually installed this app and ran it. You do have to reboot whenever you "switch" which for me isn't a big deal. I haven't had a chance to mess with it too much yet but it looks like the closest option to running multiple accts. From what I can tell you can add a pic for each profile and u can choose which acct to load which is nice, but the lite version only allows 2 profiles, you have to buy a key for more.
1 caution though, it may mess things up a bit with the play store. I tried buying a key after switching back to my profile, and I got an error saying my order could not be processed try again. I'm going to give it some time & try again in a few hours & see what happens.

Using it now too. Seems pretty cool. Seeing as EVERYONE loves wanting to see your phone. LoL!! There is an experimental switch feature that swtiches without rebooting, but I'm not too sure that's working just yet. LoL!!
I'll give this a try too. It may seem worth it.
And a question for the OP. Is that your comment I seen in the store? About the wife and kids? LoL!! =.P

I noticed that switching to a different profile doesn't retain apps between users. Say for instance on the admin profile (mine), I have Plex purchased and installed. On the newly created profile with a different account, it doesn't show up in the apps page (which makes sense because it's a different account). This could become a problem for those with the 8gb model (like myself) where you might have duplicate apps installed based on the user(s) which would take up more space. I think for the sake of saving space, it may be wise for me to install only maintenance/tool type apps on the admin profile for tablet management, then, anything else (games, productivity etc) can be tied to the newly created profile so that I'm not duplicating installed apps.

Can anyone that has done this estimate how much space an extra profile consumes? My 8 GB nexus 7 stock out of the box has ~5.75 GB available. Will adding a second profile consume another ~2 GB plus any additional apps, data, etc? I'm hoping that some of that 2 GB is due to medium format, and other reserved space...

Profiles and paid apps... And now what?

Let's think a common situation with the N10:
I have a lot of paid apps attached to my gmail account. The first thing I will do with the N10 is create 3 different profiles. Mine, my wife and my daughter. Every one with their own gmail account.
I have read that when one user gets an app from google play that is already installed by other it won't be downloaded again, and that's fine. But what happens with paid apps?
I'm pretty sure another user with other gmail account won't have access to bought apps by a different person in Google Play....
The situation I will face will be very common. I have bought several apps for my daughter (I have an Asus TF101) and I'd like to see them in her profile in the N10.
The only solution I can guess is to add my gmail account as a secondary one in her profile, but to keep things separated won't be a reality.
What do you think?

If it's the same as the n7 I think any users can use the same paid apps on that device, whether they bought it too or not. Much like a pc.
Unless they've changed this it worked with the hack to enable multiple accounts that was embedded in jb before.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

skibadee said:
If it's the same as the n7 I think any users can use the same paid apps on that device, whether they bought it too or not. Much like a pc.
Unless they've changed this it worked with the hack to enable multiple accounts that was embedded in jb before.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's good news. Let's hope the final version works that way.

That's why I have been purchasing my apps with a seperate family account for a while now. It only has the app licenses and some shared calendar items, which are thus available on my wifes phone and mine. And of course will be on the Nexus 10 on any family profile.

you are talking about several separate things here.
it was stated, that apps that are already installed on the device, but under a different user account, will be available instantly, and do not require to be downloaded again.
that is true, in the android developers office hours emea edition yesterday and last week, this was confirmed. however, it was not clearly stated, what the space requirements are in such a case. obviously, the apk itself must be stored on the device at least once. since all user settings are individual, the shared preferences files will be present twice and all apps that require external data, such as game data on the sd card, must be updated, to not store this data twice. the last point goes especially for apps with expansion apks on the play store, whether apps with data downloads from 3rd party servers (like rockstar games etc.) will work with this model, time will tell.
the way this entire system works, is through encryption and file system permissions.
even the same folder on the sd card, say /sdcard/Music/ can look differently to different users.
Also, up to now, this has not been tested with devices with external sd cards (for obvious reasons) and only works on ext4 file systems.
The licensing question is entirely different from that. the play store, while being able to check a lot of things about you and your device, primarily looks at your google account when you are looking for an app, and the app licenses you buy always are registered to your account (i.e. you as a person), as opposed to your device, which is great, if you are one person with several devices. mixing this system with per device licenses would create a massive issue, as people could just willy nilly create legit play store licenses for apps by adding friends' user accounts on their device with paid apps and the apps would be licensed for the friends as well (again, including all their devices).
of course the same goes for any other play store purchases as well (movies, music, books, in-app purchases etc.)
this has not officially been stated by the android developers office hours, but it only makes sense this way, again, as mixing per-user licensing with per-device licensing would open a hell-hole of piracy.
so, considering, what google officially stated about these things, i would not count on the feature being anywhere similar to the existing multi-user feature of 4.1. if it had been ready and perfected at the time, it would have been published in that state, but after another half a year of work, i expect it to have changed, much like the rest of the os.
if you want all of this information directly from google and in even lengthier explanations, check out the office hours:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IeU_sQzl3U&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z92fwFQntG8&feature=plcp

I am willing to bet that the shared APK system is based on the Play Store and might even only work when installed from there. In that case, in order to have an app available on another profile, you would need to "download" it from the store, only that it just registers it as visible somehow. That would require the corresponding google account on every profile using the app.
When it comes to additional files, I guess the "official way" introduced a while back with the two additional archives will be handled just fine, as it is done by the system itself. When the app downloads those themself, we will have to wait and see like you said. The same goes for other files - will I be aple to see e.g. the photos from other profiles? If not by default, can you manage the access rights? Devices with SD cards might prove quite interesting here, but they may as well be handled the simple way: if you use that storage, it is open for all.
However that turns out to work, multi-user will broaden the versatility of tablets, even if some scenarios don't work out as they might be wished or expected.
What I didn't get from your post - are you accusing me of abusing the multi-device functionality? If so, I don't feel ashamed of sharing paid apps with my wife (for now) and children (later on when they get smartphones). We also do not buy separate DVDs for each viewer or multiple instances of books.
Sharing a google account with paid apps with a multitude of friends as you described however could prove quite problematic. Who gets to register his credit card? Who decides which apps are bought? I guess it would be much easier to find a cracked version if unwilling to pay.

no no, i was not accusing you.
i was just presenting the official google standpoint of licensing and that with a per-device licensing in combination with a device with multiple users, it would be possible to create free licenses illegally.
let me elaborate on that, because i meant it entirely different from your last paragraph:
let's say, i have a nexus 10 and have bought a paid app with my account. if that meant, every user on my tablet would inherit an own license from this one purchase, i could theoretically have friends coming over all day, logging into my tablet with their account, and immediately have the right to this paid app (and all my paid apps) as well, so it would be licensed to their account and they could install it on their phones as well. that way, you could create an infinite account of pseudo-legit licenses for apps or generally all play store content. this is the reason, why i think it is impossible that google would use the per-device licensing all of a sudden.
actually, i forgot to mention, your model with a combined family account is actually a good way around such issues.
i am sure, many couples or entire families use this method and it is perfectly fine. at least, the app purchase is legit. sharing one account with two people, especially in this case on one device is something completely different from the fraudulent model i was talking about before.
my entire earlier post was about the question in the op, whether one paid app can be used from multiple accounts and again, technically, legally and morally, no.
i agree with your dvd example, translating that to apps, one account on multiple devices allows multiple app installations and whether both devices are operated by the same person or a couple does not matter.
long story short:
the only difference in the play store experience is that apps that are already installed don't have to be downloaded again (to save time), but the play store will still feel exactly the same, i.e. requiring a purchase for an app, that has not been bought with that account yet.

Chef_Tony said:
no no, i was not accusing you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was just asking to prevent misunderstanding.
i could theoretically have friends coming over all day, logging into my tablet with their account, and immediately have the right to this paid app (and all my paid apps) as well, so it would be licensed to their account and they could install it on their phones as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even if you could just use any app installed by any profile (which as I described above is not the way I assume it will happen), at what point does that enable them to download the app to their devices? That would require them to have your profile (with your account details) on their devices.

PlanetJumble said:
Even if you could just use any app installed by any profile (which as I described above is not the way I assume it will happen), at what point does that enable them to download the app to their devices? That would require them to have your profile (with your account details) on their devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no it wouldn't require them to have your profile in this hypothetical story, here is the thing, as i understood the first couple of posts in this thread, this would be a possible scenario (but isn't):
User A has a phone, let's say a Gnex and a google account [email protected]
User B has a phone, let's say an S3 and a google account [email protected]
User A buys a Nexus 10.
User A logs in and has access to all the same paid apps as on the Gnex.
User B logs in and has access to all the same paid apps as on the S3.
User A installs a free app on the Nexus 10.
User B installs the same free app on the Nexus 10. it does not require another download, it is just there.
(so far, so good, all true, could happen)
User A buys an app from the play store on the Nexus 10.
User B looks at the same app on the play store on the Nexus 10.
(here comes the initial question: will he get this app for free, since it is already installed on the device?)
Situation 1:
User B gets the app for free on the Nexus10, since it is already present on the device, it does not even need to be installed again, it is just there.
User B looks in the play store, the app should now be listed in "My Apps", since it was installed on the device with the account [email protected]
User B gets his S3 and has the same app displayed as purchased on the play store, since he once was able to legitimately install it from his account (on the Nexus 10), which makes it his app on all his devices.
User B installs the paid app on his S3 for free, since it is present on his account.
User B's account gets removed from the Nexus 10.
Rinse and repeat through User Z. 25 free licenses, that can be replicated to all of the users' devices since they get the app transferred to their accounts if they once inherited it on the Nexus 10.
Situation 2:
User A looks at the app on the play store, it costs .99$. He buys it and installs it.
User B looks at the app on the play store, sees it costs him .99$
User B buys the app.
The app gets installed instantly, as it is already present on the device.
All I wanted to say with my two previous 2 posts is:
Situation 1 is never going to happen. Situation 2 is how it's going to be. If User A and User B are 2 separate Google Accounts on the same tablet, they need to buy apps twice.
People tend to confuse the instant install feature with an ability to share apps or transfer apps between accounts, but all it does is save you time and internet traffic. it does not influence paid apps at all. also, apparently, the half implemented multi-user feature in 4.1 gave wrong impressions as well.
P.S. i actually think, we were on the same page all along, just had different approaches to give examples of the situations.

Chef_Tony said:
P.S. i actually think, we were on the same page all along, just had different approaches to give examples of the situations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think so too, and I fully expect to skip the second payment with each profile having the personal and the shared family account.

Exactly. For 2 persons you make 3 accounts. One shared account for paid apps that both use, so you'd just need to purchase them once and 2 individual accounts for the two persons to have their personal email and other individual settings and files.
That seems to be the ideal solution. A week from now, we'll know exactly, how the separation works.
Can't wait to have the device here.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

Chef_Tony said:
Situation 1:
User B gets the app for free on the Nexus10, since it is already present on the device, it does not even need to be installed again, it is just there.
User B looks in the play store, the app should now be listed in "My Apps", since it was installed on the device with the account [email protected]
User B gets his S3 and has the same app displayed as purchased on the play store, since he once was able to legitimately install it from his account (on the Nexus 10), which makes it his app on all his devices.
User B installs the paid app on his S3 for free, since it is present on his account.
User B's account gets removed from the Nexus 10.
Rinse and repeat through User Z. 25 free licenses, that can be replicated to all of the users' devices since they get the app transferred to their accounts if they once inherited it on the Nexus 10.
Situation 2:
User A looks at the app on the play store, it costs .99$. He buys it and installs it.
User B looks at the app on the play store, sees it costs him .99$
User B buys the app.
The app gets installed instantly, as it is already present on the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see why it has to be only one of those two options. Why not this:
Situation 3:
User A buys and installs a $0.99 app on the play store.
User B Looks at the same app and Play store is smart enough to check that the app is already installed on the device and allows him access to it on this device but does NOT update his account information to say that he has purchased the app.
User B Looks at the same app on his phone, and it still shows up as costing $0.99.
Not saying that's definitely the way it will work, but that's the way I'd prefer it. That would allow a parent to buy and install apps for his children that they have access to on their profiles, without having to associate his own account and credit card information with his children's profiles, opening up the possibility for them to make purchases without his approval.
Another question I have about multi-profile access to apps is this: I keep hearing that the second user to install an app will not have to download it again. That's certainly nice for ease/speed of access to the new app, but it doesn't answer the question of how the app is stored on the device. Is there just one copy of the apk that all users can access? Or does the system make a copy of the apk for each profile that installs it, thus using up more storage space?

Profiles are just profiles under one GMail account I'd imagine, and not a completely separate and independent accounts.

BoneXDA said:
Profiles are just profiles under one GMail account I'd imagine, and not a completely separate and independent accounts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah, that doesn't make sense, you don't want to be sharing an email account or whatever, it will be a separate (optional) account per profile.
As for the app purchase crappy, who cares, get titanium backup, use its profile switch option which works on all android versions to swap out apply and game data so multiple people can use them on the same device.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

You don't seriously say using titanium is easier than native integration?
@je55ter only a few more days and we will know for sure.

BoneXDA said:
Profiles are just profiles under one GMail account I'd imagine, and not a completely separate and independent accounts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is definetely not the case as one can see in all available hands on videos so far, the profiles are different google accounts, which will then automatically give you access to all your google content. have a look at the videos, like the first video from the verge, the demo device clearly has hugo barra's account on it, as indicated by his google+ avatar on the lockscreen. it was also confirmed that these profiles will fetch all kinds of information from the corresponding google account, so it must be multiple accounts.

PlanetJumble said:
You don't seriously say using titanium is easier than native integration?
@je55ter only a few more days and we will know for sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not saying it's easier, but if it turns out each user is supposed to purchase it, TB profiles is one solution.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

A very similar example would be the Xbox 360 or PS3. These are devices that use multiple users accounts. On both consoles paid content is available to all profiles on the console.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

Yes, X360 and PS3 are excellent examples... of how it will not work on Android!
Actually it really makes sense that different profiles got different apps, unlike on consoles. If you can cross-license over profiles on the same device some way will be revealed next week.

PlanetJumble said:
Yes, X360 and PS3 are excellent examples... of how it will not work on Android!
Actually it really makes sense that different profiles got different apps, unlike on consoles. If you can cross-license over profiles on the same device some way will be revealed next week.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What evidence do you have for how it will be implemented? You can make a pretty strong argument for both systems.
If there is no cross-licensing it would seriously reduce the appeal of this feature. Would most people purchase 2 copies of GTA3 for instance just so they can have their own saved game on their profile? I don't think so.

[ROOT] Instructions for Airplay Screen Mirroring / Display Extension on the FireTV

Long time reader, first time posting.
Install requires root.
Squirrel LLC just released an android version of their app Reflector ($7). This app can be installed fairly simply on the FireTV, turning it into an airplay receiver for screen sharing and display extension, not just video or audio playing.
This requires root (instructions here) and the google play store (instructions here- they are for kindle, but work) before you can install this program.
Once you have the play store installed and you are signed in, you will be able to install apps remotely. This is much easier, as the play store is somewhat difficult to navigate on the Fire TV itself. However, Google will think the Fire TV is not compatible with Reflector.
To circumvent compatibility restrictions, download Market Helper and install on your FireTV (sideload instructions here). This will allow you to spoof your device type and install the app. I used the Nexus 7 as the device type. Make sure you've run google play services and signed into the play store before you run this, so it can read your id. The activate buttons are invisible until you are selecting them, so just press down and over until you find what you want.
After setting up your Fire TV to look like a Nexus 7, head back to the play store and set Reflector to install remotely.
From here, you can use any airplay device to broadcast to the Fire TV!

Couldn't you use snappea instead of google play?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I wasn't able to get this to work in Extend Desktop mode with my Mac. Since there's only a 15 minute refund period, I already got the refund, so it's possible I was doing something wrong, but the Play description didn't mention Extend Desktop mode. I don't see how I was doing anything wrong though, since the only settings in the app is the Name and the Password (and I didn't set a password). I did remember to turn off AirPlay in my other AirPlay app before trying Reflector.
Prior to this, I was already using AirReceiver to handle IOS mirroring. If all you want is IOS mirroring, I believe it was less expensive. Since it was bought through the Amazon store, it shows up with an icon on main screen (in my Apps and Recent sections). I don't recall if you can buy it on the FireTV or not, but I think so. A Voice search for Air Receiver brings it up.

Thanks!
Hey Guys,
Sid from Squirrels here!
Thanks for the walkthrough and the instructions. We're glad you got everything working!
We've actually submitted Reflector to the Amazon Fire TV store. The approval process is a bit more lengthy and involved than normal Google Play submissions.
As for extended desktop from a computer. It should work alright. I'de be interested in seeing logs from this to see why it didn't work for you. You can email our support team and they'll be happy to get it working!
Thanks again for the instructions.

So why root?? Why not just side load reflector??
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

1975jamie said:
So why root?? Why not just side load reflector??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reflector is a paid app, and I have no experience sideloading paid apps / getting a signed apk out of one. I found it to be easier to root and install the play store than to bother with that. If you are aware of an easy method to get the APK out of a paid app, I'd love to hear it- I always pay for my apps, but sometimes I need to install them in a dev environment where the play store isn't available, and I'd like to know.
If you're concerned about rooting, I'd consider the advantages. Rooting is a piece of cake now thanks to Towelroot, and it gives you uped duper more functionality than you have without it, especially if you are using this device to run XBMC primarily.
sidneykeith said:
Hey Guys,
Sid from Squirrels here!
Thanks for the walkthrough and the instructions. We're glad you got everything working!
We've actually submitted Reflector to the Amazon Fire TV store. The approval process is a bit more lengthy and involved than normal Google Play submissions.
As for extended desktop from a computer. It should work alright. I'de be interested in seeing logs from this to see why it didn't work for you. You can email our support team and they'll be happy to get it working!
Thanks again for the instructions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the good customer support. I figured it was the Amazon store's lengthy submission process that was holding things up and not an actual compatibility issue, which is why I decided to hack this together.
I own no other Amazon devices (and probably won't), so it's to my advantage to keep all my purchases within one ecosystem. You may consider adding a little walkthrough on how to use the google play store to run your app on the firetv to your page, if you guys aren't fearful of the wrath of Bezos. I'm sure there are a lot of people like me who bought the firetv for the android, not the amazon.
Taige said:
I wasn't able to get this to work in Extend Desktop mode with my Mac. Since there's only a 15 minute refund period, I already got the refund, so it's possible I was doing something wrong, but the Play description didn't mention Extend Desktop mode. I don't see how I was doing anything wrong though, since the only settings in the app is the Name and the Password (and I didn't set a password). I did remember to turn off AirPlay in my other AirPlay app before trying Reflector.
Prior to this, I was already using AirReceiver to handle IOS mirroring. If all you want is IOS mirroring, I believe it was less expensive. Since it was bought through the Amazon store, it shows up with an icon on main screen (in my Apps and Recent sections). I don't recall if you can buy it on the FireTV or not, but I think so. A Voice search for Air Receiver brings it up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure what happened there for you. Extended display was the default for me. That being said, the other app could have interfered, or maybe your settings in OSX weren't correct. I wish I could help you more, but Airplay is finicky enough as it is, without adding third party software. Maybe get in touch with Sid about that.
If anyone else is interested in this, my brother managed to get airsquirrel to work with reflector on the firetv, but it seemed to be more laggy than with true airplay. I'm not sure if that was the fault of his laptop or the software, so that might be worth looking into if you're a diehard windows user like I used to be.

hotterpop said:
Reflector is a paid app, and I have no experience sideloading paid apps / getting a signed apk out of one. I found it to be easier to root and install the play store than to bother with that. If you are aware of an easy method to get the APK out of a paid app, I'd love to hear it- I always pay for my apps, but sometimes I need to install them in a dev environment where the play store isn't available, and I'd like to know.
If you're concerned about rooting, I'd consider the advantages. Rooting is a piece of cake now thanks to Towelroot, and it gives you uped duper more functionality than you have without it, especially if you are using this device to run XBMC primarily.
Thanks for the good customer support. I figured it was the Amazon store's lengthy submission process that was holding things up and not an actual compatibility issue, which is why I decided to hack this together.
I own no other Amazon devices (and probably won't), so it's to my advantage to keep all my purchases within one ecosystem. You may consider adding a little walkthrough on how to use the google play store to run your app on the firetv to your page, if you guys aren't fearful of the wrath of Bezos. I'm sure there are a lot of people like me who bought the firetv for the android, not the amazon.
I'm not sure what happened there for you. Extended display was the default for me. That being said, the other app could have interfered, or maybe your settings in OSX weren't correct. I wish I could help you more, but Airplay is finicky enough as it is, without adding third party software. Maybe get in touch with Sid about that.
If anyone else is interested in this, my brother managed to get airsquirrel to work with reflector on the firetv, but it seemed to be more laggy than with true airplay. I'm not sure if that was the fault of his laptop or the software, so that might be worth looking into if you're a diehard windows user like I used to be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an android phone that I download the google play app to and then use Es file explorer to back up the app. Then sideload it to the firetv.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Securing Moto G4 for my son.

I just purchased the Amazon Moto G4 edition for my son who is 8yrs old, and I understand he's a little young for a phone. However, a few of his buddies have phones and I thought it was a great way to help him read and type better through texting. I'm also not planning on paying for Cell service but rather use Wifi for SMS and Calls through hangout. And maybe get him freedom pop for in an emergency.
Now, with that said I created a gmail account that I control (my password, my recovery email/phone #, etc.) and then used this to setup the Play store. I set up all the restrictions in the play store to what I believe is appropriate and of course I locked it by setting up my own PIN code so he couldn't change them.
I also setup his own google voice number and tied it to google hangouts/dialer but I can also monitor what he is doing on my phone periodically if I wanted. I'm not interested in him using Snapchat, WhatsApp, or any other kind of social network.
I've also setup OpenDNS on the wifi account he uses at home. So I think I have things pretty much locked down with the exception of installing from Unknown sources. And although he probably isn't computer savvy enough yet, at some point he will be.
So, with that said is there anyway I can build a rom that disables installing from Unknown Sources? Also, any other recommendations and tips from others are welcome.
Thanks.

He can get rid of everything you did if he could factory reset

seth.dean02 said:
He can get rid of everything you did if he could factory reset
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Of course he could, but he's 8! He's probably not savvy enough to circumvent my efforts yet and when he is I'll change my approach.

pabdaddy1995 said:
Of course he could, but he's 8! He's probably not savvy enough to circumvent my efforts yet and when he is I'll change my approach.
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Try one of the apps that allows you to lock apps. One is Applock and you may be able to lock down settings. That would prevent him from changing anything. You've probably thought of it already but some type of tracking app is a necessary safety measure for a child's phone. LOL, when he becomes a teenager you'll need the tracking for many more reasons.

Best way to give kids LIMITED internet access on a Fire that has Play Store installed?

E.g., I want them to be able to use Disney+, and I want to be able to install new apps from Google Play, but I don't want THEM to install new apps or use a web browser.
All my kids are under 10 years old. They can figure out basic settings, usually. I can just hide certain apps but they tend to find them while messing around.
Google allows you to create child accounts, which can be controlled by parent accounts. However, it doesn't seem possible to sign into a child account on a Fire (I seem to recall that this has always been a limitation).
Amazon provides some sort of kid account mode but it doesn't work with Google stuff.
I can just not give them the Wi-Fi password, but that's the nuclear option.
I might be able to install LineageOS and do something with that, but I'd prefer not to go to so much trouble. Using the Fire Toolbox is much less time-consuming.
My best bet at the moment seems to be NetGuard, which can disallow certain apps from accessing the internet. It seems to work pretty well, but there's no way to password guard it, so they'd probably eventually disable it by accident or while trying things out.
Any methods I haven't thought of?

Sadly the only way you could do this is install lineage os

MiskerHotck said:
E.g., I want them to be able to use Disney+, and I want to be able to install new apps from Google Play, but I don't want THEM to install new apps or use a web browser.
All my kids are under 10 years old. They can figure out basic settings, usually. I can just hide certain apps but they tend to find them while messing around.
Google allows you to create child accounts, which can be controlled by parent accounts. However, it doesn't seem possible to sign into a child account on a Fire (I seem to recall that this has always been a limitation).
Amazon provides some sort of kid account mode but it doesn't work with Google stuff.
I can just not give them the Wi-Fi password, but that's the nuclear option.
I might be able to install LineageOS and do something with that, but I'd prefer not to go to so much trouble. Using the Fire Toolbox is much less time-consuming.
My best bet at the moment seems to be NetGuard, which can disallow certain apps from accessing the internet. It seems to work pretty well, but there's no way to password guard it, so they'd probably eventually disable it by accident or while trying things out.
Any methods I haven't thought of?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What fire os version are you on? If you're below 6.3.x.x you don't have to open the device up