Seafy becomes Friendly WiFi’s first partner in the maritime sector, helping protect kids from harmful content online.

Friendly WiFi is delighted to announce that Seafy, the Digital Experience Platform for the ferry sector developed by IES Italia, has achieved Friendly WiFi certification for its onboard Wi-Fi service across 26 vessels, so that children and youngsters travelling with their families can go online safely while at sea.

Seafy provides passengers travelling across the Mediterranean with onboard Wi-Fi, entertainment and a range of digital services designed to enhance their journey. For many families, the crossing is part of the holiday, and children and teenagers are online throughout the trip to play games, watch videos and stay in touch. Ensuring that onboard Wi-Fi is not only accessible and reliable, but also safe for its youngest users, is essential.

Following a successful application and assessment, Seafy has demonstrated that its Wi-Fi service across all 26 vessels meets the requirements of the Friendly WiFi standard. This included providing technical evidence and completing the required testing to show that filtering measures are in place to block access to known child sexual abuse material and pornography, protecting children from inappropriate content whenever they connect to the onboard network. Friendly WiFi certification provides independent assurance of these protections, with annual renewal and ongoing testing helping organisations maintain their commitment to safer connectivity.

From 2027, Seafy will build on this network-wide protection with Child Safe, a dedicated onboard Wi-Fi package designed for families. Child Safe will add a further layer of filtering tailored to younger users, so that children and teenagers can browse, play and stay in touch in an age-appropriate online environment throughout the crossing. Available directly from the Seafy onboard portal, the package will allow parents to choose a child-appropriate connection in just a few taps.

As the first company in the maritime sector to partner with Friendly WiFi, Seafy helps ensure that children can enjoy their time online at sea safely, giving parents peace of mind throughout the journey. Alongside Child Safe, Seafy will also launch a dedicated Kids section on its onboard portal, bringing together age-appropriate content and entertainment for younger passengers and further expanding its digital offer for families.

Bev Smith, Director of Friendly WiFi, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Seafy to the Friendly WiFi community and congratulate them on achieving certification across 26 vessels.

“With more passengers relying on onboard connectivity, ensuring appropriate online protections are in place is an important responsibility. It is fantastic to see Seafy taking such a positive and proactive approach to safeguarding.

“This is an exciting development for Friendly WiFi within the maritime sector, and we look forward to working with Seafy as they continue to deliver innovative and responsibly managed connectivity services.”

Emilio Di Maria, Senior Vice President of Seafy, added: “Connectivity at sea should be simple, reliable and safe for everyone on board, starting with the youngest passengers. Achieving Friendly WiFi certification across all 26 vessels where Seafy operates sends families a clear signal: their children can browse safely on board, protected by independently verified standards. Safeguarding is part of how we design the digital journey.”