One sign of the progress of civilization in the modern era is the rapid development of communication and information technology. This condition is characterized by the increasing ease with which people can obtain and utilize gadgets such as smartphones or tablets. Recently, the choice of gadgets has become more diverse in terms of shape and selling price, making it more affordable for almost all people.
In addition to having many positive impacts to facilitate the activities of modern society, gadgets can also have a negative impact if there is no supervision, especially for children. The phenomenon of toddlers and children dependent on gadgets is increasingly being found.
This situation motivated four young people from Bandung to create an android-based application called Kakatu in December 2014. This is an application for parental supervision that can make it easier for parents to control the use of smart phones for their children.
Muhamad Nur Awaludin, co-founder and one of Kakatu’s CEOs, said the idea came from personal experience. “We just realized that the problem is not just our problem. But many parents feel the same way. Gadget addiction is a global problem,” he explained.
In addition, the impact of online games on smartphones is very large on the growth and development of children. “I was once addicted to online games for ten years. My college time was wasted for two years,” said Mumu, her nickname.
Currently, there are seven features offered by Kakatu to protect children from online gaming addiction, protect from pornographic content, cyberbullying, and other negative impacts. The focus of Kakatu is for children aged 3 years-12 years, but it does not rule out the possibility of being used for ages above.
Parents can download the Kakatu application on the playstore provided by Google. The seven features include manage the time (timer), block applications, usage history, parent’s mode, check kid location, block incoming calls and parenting channel.
The manage the time feature serves to regulate the duration of device usage in children. Kakatu provides healthy duration recommendations for children, namely 15 minutes-20 minutes for children aged 3 years-5 years, 60 minutes for children aged 6 years-7 years and 2 hours for children over 7 years old.
Block applications feature to control what applications can and cannot be accessed by children. Kakatu also provides recommendations on which applications can be installed according to the age of the child. Usage history to see what children have accessed and how often the content is accessed.
Check kid location to check the location of the child. Parent’s mode is useful so that parents can access all applications. Block incoming calls serves to block some numbers from incoming calls, if there is a possibility of endangering the child. While the parenting channel contains tips and useful information about the world of parents and about parenting.
So when a smart phone or tablet is given to a child, select child’s mode, automatically the applications that appear should only be accessed by the child. After the child has finished using it, return it to the parent’s mode feature. The mode-switching setting is then locked with a six-digit PIN created by the parent.
Parents will manage which apps are appropriate and accessible to their children. Two Kakatu features can be accessed for free, while the other five are paid after 14 days. For full feature usage, users must pay a subscription fee of Rp 15,000 for one month, Rp 35,000 for three months and Rp 55,000 for six months. Currently Kakatu has been downloaded by almost 200,000 users, 90% from Indonesia, and the rest from abroad.
Almost two years running, the Kakatu application has won various awards, including Winner Top Ten Local App from TechIndonesia 2014, Global Brain Award in Singapore 2015, Finalist Global Brain Award in Japan 2015 and Startup Google Launcher 2016. “This year, Kakatu was also named as one of the seven startups that have social impact in Indonesia by Google,” said Muhamad Nur Awaludin, Co-Founder of Kakatu.
The obstacles he faced were the same as startup pioneers in general, namely funding. Understandably, when establishing Kakatu, Mumu and his three colleagues were still classified as fresh graduates. Mumu admitted that he received an injection of funds from Telkomsel as Corporate Venture Capital (CVC). In addition, several awards won by Kakatu also provide financial support, one of which is Google which provides development funds of US $ 50,000.
Mumu said there are still many plans that he wants for Kakatu’s development. In the future, he and his team want Kakatu to have wider access, not only for Android-based gadgets. Of course, followed by feature development and more recommendations for decent applications for children.
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