Different setting on two devices

[Anonymous User]

I have a NowTV box and a NowTV stick on one account. Is there any way to stop apps that get added to the Box appearing on the Stick too? 

[schnapps]

Hi @Anonymous User 

I am not aware of a way to overcome this, where my understanding is that the Apps are account linked and not related to the individual devices.

Might be wrong though, where i have never looked into it in much detail to be honest.

Unless anybody else knows the answer, then the only workaround would be to have two different accounts which i wouldn't advise personally myself.

[RoyB]

@Anonymous User 

Beyond what @schnapps has said, what is the downside of the Apps appearing on both devices?

[schnapps]

Hi @RoyB 

My guess would be children, where @Anonymous User doesn't want certain Apps to be on their device where unfortunately you can't use a security pin when adding an App from the Apps Store.

Though i might be barking up the wrong tree.

[RoyB]

@schnapps 

Yes, @Anonymous User has made another posting more oriented to the issue of apps being downloadable by anyone with access to a device irregardless of Payment PIN, which is slightly different from the automatic propagation issue.

I wonder what Apps we are talking about here; maybe it is more that access to them needs to be controlled by the Parental PIN and the PEGI rating?

[schnapps]

Hi @RoyB 

For example the YouTube App is one concern for some Parents where there is no way of restricting the type of content they can watch on this App (not sure if this has changed with recent software updates on the NowTV YouTube App and haven't checked to be honest because this doesn't really effect me).

My understanding the App is the responsibility of YouTube to make it safer for children to use, though NowTV should offer the option to prevent Apps being added to their devices maybe by some sort of security PIN should Parents not be keen of having certain Apps such has YouTube for example on their children's NowTV devices.

i am just speculating and might be totally off the mark here and will leave it to @Anonymous User to explain the reason for the question about having control on which Apps are added to two different nowtv devices.

Should it be safer parental control of what Apps are added to the NowTV devices, then my non recommend suggestion of a second account would be pointless and wouldn't achieve anything with regards to this.

[RoyB · Accepted solution]

@schnapps @Anonymous User 

I just tried YouTube on a NowTV Stick, and there is a Setting, Restricted Mode, that ‘helps hide mature videos’.

Strictly in the interests of research, I used the search term ‘naked women’ in both Modes. 

It did seem to operate largely as described.

The trouble is, anyone who is in the app can toggle it, so from the point of view of imposing the setting on someone else, rather than choosing it for oneself, it is entirely ineffective.

A signed-in NowTV account, on a device you don’t have entirely under your control, is a hostage to fortune; the Payment PIN stops anyone else spending your money, the Parental PIN establishes some age-appropriate controls, and for those with NowTV Broadband, Broadband Buddy might help too.

But maybe what we need is a sort of Read-Only Mode, in which other users of your device can use what is there, but can’t download any new Apps, or change any Settings, and so on.

[Anonymous User]

@schnapps

Thankyou gentlemen for your replies and excellent advice. For clarity, the situation I have is two foster children, one aged 16 and one aged 10, each with their own device in their room. Both devices are on one account (mine).  The 16y/o is allowed to use Youtube and other Apps on her device, the 10y/o is not.

I set up the 10y/o's device yesterday and removed all unwanted Apps but when the 16y/o started using her device she saw that her Apps (including Youtube) had disappeared, so she re-installed them, and, of course, they re-appeared on the 10yo's device.

I have found a solution that seems to work in our situation.

As I am using two routers, one in AP mode, to improve coverage in the house, I forced the 10y/o's NowTV device to connect to the AP router and the 16y/o's device to the main router using their MAC addresses. I then added a blacklist (including Youtube) to the AP router's filters. It no longer matters which Apps are on the device, the router blocks the connection to Youtube. Fortunately, the 10y/o's device is the only media device on the AP.

Regards

P

[RoyB]

@Anonymous User @schnapps 

Good fix, Phenolic, with some thinking outside the box there.

Thanks for the Accept - you are my magic 100th, and I can collapse in a heap and have a short rest now 🤗 😴