Kid's Corner for Windows Phone 8
[ This article is for Windows Phone 8 developers. If you’re developing for Windows 10, see the latest documentation. ]
Kid’s Corner is a feature introduced in Windows Phone 8 that allows the user to put their phone in a special mode for kids, in which only the apps and media they specify can be accessed. An app can detect at run time if it is running in Kid’s Corner mode and modify its behavior and UI to be appropriate for a child user. Adding Kid’s Corner-specific functionality to your app is optional, and the behavior changes you implement is entirely up to you. Some features that you should consider disabling when running in Kid’s Corner include in-app purchases, launching the web browser, setting the lock screen, and the ad control.
To view or download a sample project that illustrates how to use this feature, see Kid’s Corner Sample.
Detecting when your app is running in Kid’s Corner mode
To determine if your app is currently running in Kid’s Corner mode, simply check the ApplicationProfileModes()()() property. If the value of the property is ApplicationProfileModes.Alternate, then your app is currently running in Kid’s Corner mode.
The following code snippet shows a page constructor that checks the property, and if the app is running in Kid’s Corner mode, a button that launches an in-app purchase is disabled.
Testing your app in Kid’s Corner mode
If you add Kid’s Corner-specific functionality to your app, you will need to launch your app in Kid’s Corner mode to test it.
To test your app in Kid’s Corner mode
On the device or emulator, go to Settings, and then select Kid’s Corner.
Make sure the Kid’s Corner slider is set to On.
Tap Apps and select your app from the list so it can launch in Kid’s Corner mode. You can tap launch kid’s corner from this screen to go immediately into Kid’s Corner mode.
To enter Kid’s Corner mode without going to the settings page, engage your lock screen by pressing the power button on your phone twice or, on the emulator, press the F12 key twice. When the lock screen appears, swipe to the left to enter Kid’s Corner mode.
You can launch your app by tapping its Tile or you can debug your app using Visual Studio.
To return to normal phone mode, bring up the lock screen by tapping the power button or F12 twice and then swipe up.