Ender

Context

Ender is reimagining after-school clubs by creating safe, virtual spaces for kids to socialize, make new friends and explore shared interests. My role involves designing intuitive, engaging product experiences that feel fun for kids while giving parents the tools they need to manage their child’s online interactions with confidence.

Parental controls was a key feature I designed at Ender to give parents peace of mind while empowering kids to play safely. We focused on simplicity and clarity, allowing parents to easily set time limits, manage content restrictions and oversee other interactions. We implemented intuitive settings for parents while giving clear feedback for kids to make it accessible for all users.

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Problem

We noticed that managing screen time was a major pain point for families. Parents were constantly stepping in to enforce limits, while kids often felt confused or frustrated. At the same time, platforms like Ender faced growing pressure to ensure a safe environment. So the big question became - how can we design controls that empower parents without disrupting the experience for kids?

That became the core of my design challenge.

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Team

For this project, I collaborated closely with the core team. I led the design process from research, ideation, testing to final handoff. We maintained regular feedback loops to align on goals, address challenges and deliver a product that met the user needs.

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KPIs with targets

Feature Adoption Rate – 60%+ of parents enable parental controls
User Acquisition – Projected 20% increase in growth and conversion rate
Satisfaction Score – 4.5+/5 average rating from parent feedback
Retention – 70%+ of parents continue using controls after 90 days
Incident Reduction – 30%+ decrease in safety-related reports

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Moodboard

Before jumping into design, I spent some time exploring how other platforms like Netflix, Prime Video and Google approach parental controls. I pulled together a moodboard focused on clean, intuitive dashboards and user-friendly visual styles. I paid particular attention to clarity in layout, accessibility and how these platforms communicate restrictions to both adults and kids.

This helped ground the design in real-world patterns while giving me a foundation to build something fresh and tailored to our use case.

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User flow

I created a user flow that outlines the parental control setup for Ender, ensuring both new and existing parent can manage settings seamlessly. Parents can configure parental controls during the onboarding. For existing users, we also needed to showcase settings, allowing them to verify via OTP to manage child profiles and restrictions. The main challenge was integrating the parent controls seamlessly into the existing product experience.

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Giving parents their own space

One of the early concepts I explored was creating a dedicated parent profile, something that felt familiar and intuitive, much like how parents set up individual child accounts. The goal was to give parents a separate login and a personalized space where they could easily manage settings, track activity and control their child’s experience. This direction aimed to establish clear boundaries between the child and parent experience, while reinforcing trust and ease of use.
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To make sure only parents can access and manage controls, we introduced an extra layer of security through a one-time password system. This lightweight protection prevents kids from accidentally or intentionally tampering with settings, while keeping the login experience simple and secure for parents.

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Iterating for a smoother experience

Initially, I designed a simple control where parents could set one fixed limit for all days—but through conversations with stakeholders, we realized that wasn’t flexible enough for real-life routines. So we evolved the design to let parents set time limits per day. This gave families more control to align screen time with school days, weekends, or other commitments making the experience far more practical and personalized.

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Manage everything in one place

To simplify the experience for parents, I proposed a centralized dashboard where they could manage everything in one place. This includes managing child profiles, adjusting settings and restrictions, and eventually even handling account settings like billing and subscriptions. The idea was to create a clear, expandable space that gives parents full control over their child’s experience while also laying the foundation for future features like activity insights and usage history.

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Tradeoff

Dev time was a key consideration, while having a dedicated parent profile felt more intuitive, the existing child profile framework made it challenging to implement. To ensure smoother integration and faster delivery, we opted for an alternative approach that still delivered the core parental control features.
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Since creating a dedicated parent profile would have required major backend changes, we introduced a quick and practical workaround. Parents can access the dashboard by going to their child’s profile and navigating to user settings. This approach allowed us to integrate parental controls smoothly within the existing system, without adding friction or delaying development.

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Mobile-friendly experience

Knowing that parents often rely on their phones to quickly check in or make decisions, I made sure the experience was fully responsive. The goal was to let them monitor and manage their child’s settings anytime, from anywhere. Whether it’s adjusting time limits or checking activity, everything is accessible on mobile, making the controls both convenient and flexible.

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Setting boundaries from the start

We wanted to build trust with parents right from the beginning, so we integrated key parental controls directly into the onboarding flow. As new users create a child profile, they can set time limits, define access restrictions, and manage preferences up front. This proactive approach gives parents peace of mind and establishes a sense of safety and control early in the experience.

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Designing for the child’s experience

While designing controls for parents, we also made sure to consider how these restrictions show up for kids. Instead of sudden blocks or confusion, we designed clear, friendly messages that explain why access is limited whether it’s due to time limits or a blocked session. This helps kids understand what’s happening, reducing frustration and making the experience feel fair.

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Closing notes

75% of parents on Ender started using the parental controls within the first month of release.
On average, parents customized 3 settings per child, with "time limits" being the most used feature.
90% of parents reported feeling more confident about their child’s safety on the platform after the update.
85% of surveyed parents found the controls intuitive and easy to use.


Kids reported fewer interruptions in their play sessions, with parental restrictions clearly communicated in advance.
50% reduction in support tickets related to account management, as parents could handle settings themselves.

The parental controls in Ender empower parents to manage safety and screen time while ensuring kids enjoy a fun and secure gaming experience. This feature strengthens trust and aligns with Ender’s mission to create meaningful online interactions for families.