ZillyDilly App Review

 Zilly Dilly Price: Free For: iPad Since the iPad has been marketed for its educational and enriching benefits, and comes with full internet browsing access, I think we will see more apps like ZillyDilly, from MyDigitalFamily, in the near future. ZillyDilly is an app that allows users to restrict their children’s internet browsing to sites selected by parents. It is NOT just a blocker for mature and/or pornographic websites. Its goal is essentially to narrow the focus of the iPad almost exclusively to be a learning tool for children to use under the guidance of their parents, educators, or supervisors. After registering with the ZillyDilly website (www.zillydilly.com) the adult user can select from an array of websites that have been “pre-approved” by ZillyDilly in five categories: “Family Relationships,” “Socialization,” “Values Education,” “Education Enrichment,” and “Entertainment” (many websites overlap in multiple categories). The supervising user can then turn off Safari and any other third party browser, (as well as the ability to purchase apps) under the iPad General Settings, so that the only websites the child can view are those approved by the supervising user (through the ZillyDilly app, not a web browser). The website options vary depending on the age of the child, and supervisors can add up to five child users. The usefulness of ZillyDilly obviously depends on the views of the user towards the children in their care. As mentioned earlier, ZillyDilly is not just for blocking inappropriate websites. The app was invented by Dr. Eitan D. Schwarz, a professional psychiatrist, with a view to making the iPad a family, rather than individual, device. ZillyDilly has a huge amount of available websites—more than I would try counting—and users can recommend websites to approve, so the database is bound to grow. But compared to the diversity of the internet, the selection is minimal. So in practice, the app largely eliminates web browsing. It allows parents to take advantage of the educational potential of the internet and cut out everything else. On the other hand, learning to use the internet effectively, and learning to ferret out the useful information from the rest, is probably the most important task for internet users. So although the oldest age group for child users is 17-22, I think this app is most effective for young children.