<?xml version="1.0"?>
<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/" type="topic" id="introduction">
  <info>
    <link type="guide" xref="index#setup"/>
    <include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>
    <desc>Overview of parental controls, the <app>Parental Controls</app>
      application and its use in other situations where access restrictions are
      needed on a user.</desc>
    <link type="seealso" xref="creating-a-child-user"/>
  </info>

  <title>Introduction to Parental Controls</title>

  <p>Parental controls are a way to restrict what non-administrator accounts can
    do on the computer, with the aim of allowing parents to restrict what their
    children can do when using the computer unsupervised or under limited
    supervision.</p>
  <p>This functionality can be used in other situations ­– such as other
    carer/caree relationships – but is labelled as ‘parental controls’ so that
    it’s easy to find, as that’s what most people will be looking for.</p>
  <p>The parental controls for any user can be queried and set using the
    <app>Parental Controls</app> application. This lists the non-administrator
    accounts in tabs along its top bar, and shows their current parental
    controls settings below. Changes to the parental controls apply immediately.</p>
  <p>Restrictions on using the computer can only be applied to non-administrator
    accounts. The parental controls settings for a user can only be changed by
    an administrator, although the administrator can do so from the user’s
    account by entering their password when prompted by the <app>Parental
    Controls</app> application.</p>
</page>
