Tech Tools: iKydz

Take control of your family internet connection with this easy-to-use device

iKydz: allows you to restrict access to certain sites or limit specific devices from accessing your router
iKydz: allows you to restrict access to certain sites or limit specific devices from accessing your router

Want to limit internet usage in your house? We’ve all heard the tales of how best to get your children to bend to your will – changing the wifi password every day, for example – but it seems like a bit too much like hard work. So enter iKydz.

The device is made by a Wicklow-based start-up and allows you to restrict access to certain sites or limit specific devices from accessing your router, and thus your internet connection.

It can all be done by through an app on your phone and a box that plugs in to your router, and the most important thing of all is that it can be used by anyone – no IT experience necessary.

On the app, each device connected to the router is listed individually, allowing you to control what access each device has.

At mealtimes, you can push a button that kills the internet access for all devices, and at other times you can restrict usage – a games console that can only access the internet for two hours on a weekend, or removing a laptop’s wifi access after 10pm. Perfect for parents, a nightmare for kids.

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Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien is an Irish Times business and technology journalist