Opening Browsing Protection
Open Kiren, swipe to the Activity page, and tap the Browsing Protection card to reach the setup and status screen.
Setting up Browsing Protection
The setup screen is titled "Chrome protection set up" and opens with the following introduction:
"Block malicious websites that try to scam you out of money or personal information on Chrome. To get started, we need some permissions:"
Three permissions are needed. Each appears as a card with a short explanation and an action button, and each card collapses with a checkmark once its permission is granted. The cards should be completed in order, as the first one makes the second possible.
Card 1: Restricted permissions (button: Settings)
This card grants accessibility permission, which Android keeps restricted by default. Tap Settings to open the accessibility settings and turn on the permission for Kiren.
In some cases the permission cannot be switched on straight away. Kiren may appear in gray, disabled text, with a note such as "Controlled by restricted settings." If this happens, restricted settings must be allowed first. Follow the separate instructions for allowing restricted permissions, then return to this card and continue the setup.
Card 2: Accessibility permission (button: Allow)
Accessibility permission is what allows Kiren to detect the website being visited and automatically check its reliability for the user. Without it, the sites cannot be reviewed.
Steps on the card:
- "Tap "Allow" below to open settings."
- "Look for "Kiren" on installed apps."
- "Switch on the permission for this app."
Card 3: Overlay permission (button: Allow)
Overlay permission is what allows Kiren to show the website's rating on screen through the floating icon. Without it, the result of the accessibility check from Card 2 cannot be shown to the user.
Steps on the card:
- "Tap "Allow" below to go to device settings."
- "Under "Display over other apps", look for "Kiren". Sometimes you will find it under "Appear on Top"."
- "Switch on the permission for this app."
Once the accessibility and overlay permissions are both granted, a success message appears:
"Your browsing is now protected on Chrome! Explore how we block and explain the safety of your browsing there."
The message includes two buttons, Open Chrome and Done.
The on-page icon
After setup, a small icon appears on top of the web page while browsing in Chrome. The icon can be moved to a preferred position on the screen. Tapping it shows more information about the site currently open, including:
- Whether the site is reliable.
- Whether it is a genuine banking site.
- The site's shopping rating, if it is an online store.
Reviewing what has been blocked
The Browsing Protection screen also keeps a record of activity. A chart shows blocked attempts by Day, Week, or Month, and below it is a list of individual browsing events. Tapping an event opens its details, where the message reflects what was found:
- A blocked site shows "This website is not safe."
- A suspicious site shows "This website looks suspicious."
- An uncategorized site shows "Uncategorized link."
Each detail view also shows the full web address, the date and time, and a short description of the threat.