"Our kids are growing up online in a way most of us never did, and it can be hard to know what they're dealing with," said Hari Ravichandran, Founder and CEO of Aura. "Knowing your child spent three hours on their phone doesn't tell you if their wellbeing is being affected, or if they're truly safe. Aura Parents uses AI to notice what a busy parent can't, like changes in how their child is using technology, and gives them a heads-up when something looks unusual. Being recognized by TIME is an incredible honor, and it fuels our commitment to helping kids thrive online and off."
Developed in partnership with clinical psychologists and digital safety experts, Aura Parents uses AI to move past the limits of traditional parental controls. Instead of just counting minutes and blocking apps, it helps parents understand how technology is shaping their child's safety, behavior and wellbeing. Parents still get the basics, like blocking apps and sites, screen time limits, bedtimes and a one-tap Pause the Internet®. Now, they also get a clearer picture of what their kids are doing online and how those activities impact their wellbeing, with AI helping make sense of the patterns behind the screen time. Standout features include:
- Wellbeing Score: A 0-100 indicator built on Aura's Digital Wellbeing Index, developed in partnership with Aura's clinical psychologists and data scientists from 17 dimensions of digital life in the company's Techwise study. It helps parents see how their child's digital wellbeing is holding up and notice when something shifts.
- AI Chat App Alerts: Parents can see which AI chat apps their kids are using, get notified when their child starts a conversation with a high-risk AI app, and see the volume, theme and tone of those chats so they know when to check in.
- Messaging Insights: A view of where kids are messaging across games, social media and texts, including tone, volume and timing.
- Risk Signals: Alerts when a child's messages may indicate a risk of self-harm, so a parent can reach out sooner, with care, and get support if needed.
- Daytime & Nighttime Usage Trends: A look at routines and overnight device use, so parents can spot shifts in sleep, activity and social habits before they become bigger issues.
- Weekly Snapshot: A simple weekly summary of the highlights, built to start conversations instead of arguments.
The result is less guesswork, fewer battles over screen time, and more of the trust that helps kids build a healthy relationship with technology.
TIME's annual Best Inventions list recognizes 300 extraordinary innovations changing our lives. To compile this year's list, TIME solicited nominations from editors and correspondents around the world, as well as through an online application process, paying particular attention to growing fields such as health care and AI. Each contender was evaluated on several key factors, including originality, efficacy, ambition and impact.
The full list of TIME's Best Inventions of 2026 is available at https://ti.me/best-inventions. To learn more about Aura Parents, visit aura.com/parents.
About Aura
Aura (ASX: AXQ) is a global leader in online safety and wellbeing. Built on the belief that people deserve a trusted, always-on layer of protection, Aura's AI-powered platform delivers protection for individuals, families, and enterprises — from proactive protection against identity theft, financial fraud and online threats to tools that help schools and parents protect children from cyberbullying, harmful content, and threats to their wellbeing.
Aura's platform spans the environments that matter most — home, school, and work — empowering people of all ages with end-to-end protection for every aspect of online life.
SOURCE Aura
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