The Greek government has announced a strategy aimed at reducing internet addiction among young people, introducing a new app called “Kids Wallet” to protect minors. This initiative is part of a broader effort to enhance parental oversight of children’s mobile device usage, with the app set to launch in March 2025.
Dimitris Papastergiou, Greece’s Minister of Digital Governance, revealed that the “Kids Wallet” app will focus on safeguarding children under 15 from excessive or inappropriate internet use. It will operate within a widely used government services platform and work alongside an existing app for adults that carries digital identification documents.
Papastergiou described the app as a significant change, noting it would integrate advanced algorithms to monitor usage and apply strict authentication processes. “The Kids Wallet application will do two main things: It will make parental control much easier, and it will be our official national tool for verifying the age of users,” he said.
The government aims to have the app pre-installed on smartphones sold in Greece by the end of 2025. In addition to the app, the national strategy includes a dedicated website for parents to explore available tools for keeping their children safe online.
While the plan has faced criticism from some digital rights and religious groups, government-controlled apps and services are widely popular in Greece, particularly for bypassing bureaucratic delays. The measures go beyond existing regulations in other European countries, marking a more direct role for the government in online child protection.
