It’s quite tough to keep track of your kids’ online activities. Kids are smart and can easily hide their internet history and online activities from you. The only way to find out what they are doing is by using parental control software.
There are plenty of apps available on the Play Store that lets you keep an eye on your kids’ phone usage and allows you to restrict them from accessing certain apps or websites.
Here are some of the best parental control apps for Android that you can use in 2020:
Best Apps For Parental Control Android
The best parental control apps for Android and iOS give you an idea of what your kids are doing online, which should give you some peace of mind or at least alert you to what’s going on. Many also offer Windows and Mac software for your kids’ computers, providing an all-encompassing view.
If you’ve got young children or teenagers, you know it can be hard to see what they do online. Do they have Snapchat, WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger installed on their phones? Do you even know what those apps are?
Or have you seen your children hiding their phone screens as soon as you walk into the room? If so, then they’re probably concealing something from you and you definitely need one of the best parental control apps.
The best parental control apps for iOS and Android can also help you find a child’s physical location or tell you if the child isn’t in school during school hours, rivaling the abilities of the best GPS trackers for kids.
They can tell you to whom your kids talk online, can schedule and limit kids’ internet-access time and can block inappropriate websites. A couple of these apps log calls and texts or can even show you the content of texts and instant messages, although Apple and Google now make it more difficult to do so.
Overall, these apps work best when they’re part of a comprehensive approach to teaching kids how to behave responsibly both online and off. Talk to your children about how to act online and to be wary of uncomfortable situations. Listen to them if they think your approach is too heavy-handed. And be clear with them that you’ll be monitoring what they do online.
One note: We don’t review any parental-control app that can run in “stealth” mode so that the child won’t know it’s there. Such apps are often used to spy on spouses or other adults, and this so-called “stalkerware” can be a factor in domestic abuse.
We also stay away from apps that can record phone conversations. Doing so without the consent of at least one party involved is illegal throughout the United States, and several states require all parties to consent.
There’s no parental exception to phone-recording laws. Courts have ruled that a parent cannot record a child’s conversation with another person unless the parent truly believes the child is in immediate danger.
What are the best parental control apps?
No parental-control app is perfect, but Net Nanny consistently delivered the best mix of web filtering, location tracking and app management on both Android and iOS devices. It also works on Amazon Kindle Fire tablets, Windows, Macs and Chromebooks that support Google Play.
Norton Family offers almost all the features a parent could want, including recently added geofencing, although its app-management abilities don’t work on iOS. Along with smartphone and tablets, it also monitors Windows PCs but not Macs.
Many antivirus products, including some from Norton and Kaspersky, have parental controls built in. To see how well those stack up against the stand-alone services, please see our overview of the best (and worst) antivirus software for parents.
All these parental-control apps can see and do more on Android than on iOS, due to Apple’s tighter app restrictions and system control. If you’re really serious about keeping tabs on what your kids do online, get them Android phones.
Just be wary of any Android parental control app that you need to “sideload” on your own. There’s usually a good reason that app isn’t in the official Google Play store. (We’ll make an exception for Qustodio, whose sideloaded version has abilities the Google Play app doesn’t.)
Editor’s note: Future, the parent company of Tom’s Guide, has chosen to stop doing business with Russian companies, including Kaspersky. We remain committed to helping our readers to source and find the best products and will offer multiple alternatives in the categories affected.
Parental-control-app news & updates
— Norton has added geofencing and automatic location alerts, plus customizable schedules for school days.
— Qustodio has added support for Chromebooks using Google Play and a browser extension.
— ESET Parental Control for Android is cutting its subscription rates for multiyear plans, with two years of service going for $45 and three years for $60, representing discounts of 25% and 33%, respectively.
The best parental control app you can get
The best parental control apps: Net Nanny
- Net Nanny
The best parental control app out there
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
VISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Intuitive, consistent design
+Unmatched web filters
+Reliable geolocation and time management
REASONS TO AVOID
-A bit expensive
-Lacks some features on iOS
Net Nanny, which we think is the best parental control app, has a modern, intuitive design and excellent web-filtering technology that analyzes pages rather than just blindly blocking them and lets you create filters of your own.
Among the parental-control apps we tried, Net Nanny comes closest to having feature parity between its iOS and Android versions. It can track your child’s location, display their location history, and set time allowances and schedules equally well on both platforms.
The iOS version lets you block more than 100 apps on your kid’s phone; the Android one lets you block them all. The built-in App Advisor gives you a heads-up on which new apps you should watch out for. (Tom’s Guide readers save $10 off each of Net Nanny’s plans.)
Net Nanny also includes content screening that works within social media apps and services, including Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, instead of blocking or allowing them entirely.
The only thing Net Nanny can’t do on a smartphone is monitor calls or texts. No apps we tested can do that on iOS, but a couple still do on Android.
Read our full Net Nanny review.
Kaspersky Safe Kids parental control app review
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Kaspersky Safe Kids
The best bargain among the best parental control apps
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
VISIT SITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Very affordable price
+Full-featured on both free and paid tiers
+Monitors PCs, Macs as well
REASONS TO AVOID
-Web portal slow at times
-Poorly designed mobile apps
Like Net Nanny, Kaspersky Safe Kids lets you monitor and control your kids’ activities on PCs and Macs as well as on smartphones. Even better, Kaspersky’s paid tier is only $15 per year (there’s a 7-day free trial) for an unlimited number of child devices, and its free plan lets you set screen-time limits, filter websites and manage other apps.
The paid plan monitors social networks and offers location tracking and geofencing that work in both iOS and Android, as do Kaspersky’s web monitoring and device scheduling. But app management is limited on iOS to blocking apps that have age restrictions.
Likewise, a feature that lets you block specific kinds of YouTube searches, and review YouTube search history if you’re a paid user, works on Windows, iOS and Android, including the YouTube Android app — but not on Macs.
The drawbacks, and they are minor, are that the mobile apps are clumsily designed, the web portal can be slow, and the web filters may not work with lesser-known browsers. Still, if you don’t feel a need to read your kids’ text messages (and in which case you’d need Qustodio), then Kaspersky Safe Kids is well worth considering.
We must mention that Kaspersky is a Russian company, although it has many operations around the world. It’s not yet clear whether the current Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting economic sanctions on Russia will affect the operations of Kaspersky software. For more on this issue, please see our note about Kaspersky software at the end of this page.
Read our full Kaspersky Safe Kids review.
Norton Family parental control app review
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- Norton Family
A strong option for kids who use Android and Windows
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
Norton Family Premier
$49.99/year
VISIT SITE
at Norton
REASONS TO BUY
+Great web filters and monitoring
+Unlimited children and devices
+Works on Windows
REASONS TO AVOID
-Mobile apps could be improved
-Doesn’t work on Macs
Norton Family’s power and features are ideal for Android (and Windows) households with many children, offering nearly every feature a parent could want from one of the best parental control apps, including recently added geofencing.
This service’s location-tracking, time-scheduling, and web-filtering and -monitoring capabilities work on both iOS and Android, but Norton’s time allowances are only for its Windows and Android software. App management doesn’t work in the iOS app at all.
However, Norton Family has very strong web filters, even on iOS, monitors Hulu as well as YouTube, and has a new feature called School Time to keep children focused during remote-learning class time.
Norton Family comes free if you spring for one of Norton’s more expensive antivirus suites, such as Norton 360 Deluxe, which is often discounted to as little as $50 per year. At that price, getting Norton Family along with Norton’s excellent antivirus protection is a no-brainer, unless your kids happen to use Macs.
Read our full Norton Family review.
OurPact parental control app review
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- OurPact
The best parental control app for iOS devices
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
OURPACT
REASONS TO BUY
+Excellent design and navigation
+Powerful iOS feature set
+Covers up to 20 child devices
REASONS TO AVOID
-Limited web filtering
-Can get expensive
Once the most powerful parental-control app for iPhones, OurPact’s abilities have been whittled down a bit by Apple, which temporarily threw OurPact out of the App Store. However, it can still manage or block any iOS app, just as it can on Android.
OurPact also gets kids involved in managing the daily allowance of screen time that you give them, and it does a good job of scheduling. Its Premium Plus plan lets you get screenshots from the child’s device, even on IOS, and you can block messaging and texting apps even if you can’t read the messages themselves.
Yet its website filtering simply blocks porn, and the time-management interface is a bit clunky. OurPact will tell you where your child is, and its geofencing will tell you when a child arrives or leaves specific locations, but it can’t tell you where your child has been.
Despite these drawbacks, OurPact’s well-designed interface and intuitive features make it a joy to use, especially if your kids have iPhones.
Read our full OurPact review.
Google Family Link parental control app review
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- Google Family Link
Well designed, very competent and totally free
Today’s best Google Family Link deals
Learn Google Family Link: For…
Udemy
$24.99
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Amazon
No price information
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REASONS TO BUY
+Utterly free
+Solid design
+Excellent performance
REASONS TO AVOID
-Doesn’t support kids’ iPhones
-Very limited web filtering
Google Family Link is the only option on this page that’s totally free. You may be pleasantly surprised by how powerful and useful it can be — as long as your kids happen to have Android phones or tablets.
Google Family Link gives parents control over the system permissions each individual app has on a child’s Android device. No other parental-control app we’ve reviewed has that ability. It also lets you decide which kind of apps, or any apps at all, your child can download from Google Play.
There’s no iOS version of the Google Family Link child app, but parents can use either iOS or Android to monitor kids’ devices. We recommend Android for kids’ apps anyway, as the Android versions of all these apps give parents much more insight and control.
A few drawbacks: Google Family Link has only one web filter, against “mature sites,” and it doesn’t work perfectly. The same single filter is available for YouTube. Location tracking is a bit primitive, and there’s no geofencing. But the time-management features work well.
If you’re primarily concerned about the apps your kids use, Google Family Link may be everything you need. And if you want an app that can do more, Google Family Link will work well alongside one of the other options on this page.
Read our full Google Family Link review.
Qustodio parental control app review
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- Qustodio
Wide multi-platform support, and can still log calls and read texts
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
Qustodio Premium Small
$54.95/year
10% OFF WITH CODE: QUST10
Qustodio Premium Medium
$96.95/year
Qustodio Premium Large
$137.95/year
VISIT SITE
at Qustodio
REASONS TO BUY
+Wide feature set at all prices
+Broad multi-platform support
+Call, text monitoring still possible on Android
REASONS TO AVOID
-Fairly expensive
-Unreliable web filtering
Qustodio supports iOS and Android devices, Amazon Fire tablets, Macs, PCs and Chromebooks. It also lets you set time limits for individual apps and individual devices.
This service’s location tracking works on both iOS and Android, as do its geofencing and a Family Locator feature that shows you where all your kids are at once. You can manage about 6,000 apps on iOS, and all Android apps, but the web filtering doesn’t work that well on either mobile platform.
However, Qustodio is one of the only apps we’ve recently tested that can still log a child’s texts and calls, view the content of text messages or block phone numbers, at least on Android — and you have to sideload a special version of the app from Qustodio’s website for it all to work. But if these features are important to you, then Qustodio may be the app to get.
The biggest drawback is that Qustodio can get darn expensive, costing up to $138 per year for 15 devices. (Tom’s Guide readers get a 10% discount.)
Read our full Qustodio review.
Best parental control apps: Screen Time
- Screen Time
Does one thing very well
Today’s best Screen Time Parental-Control App deals
Screen Time Parental-Control…
No price information
SCREEN TIME
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
REASONS TO BUY
+Intuitive design
+Handles access well
+Task/reward system
REASONS TO AVOID
-Pricey upcharges for location tracking, filters
-No text or call monitoring
Screen Time — not to be confused with the “Screen Time” feature in iOS — does an excellent job of managing and scheduling kids’ device access. Unfortunately, it doesn’t do a whole lot else, at least on iOS devices. App management and web filtering are for Android only.
Screen Time also has baffling upcharges for location tracking and web filters, both of which are arguably essentials and come standard with other parental-control apps. (You can get both features in the 14-day Screen Time premium trial.)
We did like how Screen Time lets you dole out additional, yup, screen time to kids who perform chores or good deeds. But you can’t block apps on iOS, and there’s no call or text monitoring at all, although geofencing and location history were recently added.
Read our full Screen Time review.
Best parental control apps: ESET Parental Control for Android
- ESET Parental Control for Android
Leaves room for improvement
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
ESET Parental control for Android
$29.99/year
VISIT SITE
at ESET UK
REASONS TO BUY
+Nice location features
+Unlimited devices
REASONS TO AVOID
-Confusing user interface
-No call or text monitoring
-Android only
ESET Parental Control for Android sticks to a single platform, but it doesn’t shine even there, lacking text-message- and call-monitoring (and number blocking) features and implementing clunky controls on what it does have.
The app management and time management you receive with the free version of ESET Parental Control for Android do work well, as do the location tracking and geofencing you’ll get if you pay for a subscription. (There’s a 14-day free trial, plus steep discounts for multiyear plans.) And we liked the feature that lets a kid send an SOS message to designated phones with a single tap.
Still, the $30 yearly plan is not worth shelling out for unless you get it bundled with ESET Smart Security Premium. That’s because Kaspersky Safe Kids does more than ESET Parental Control for Android on four times as many platforms and at half the price.
Read our full ESET Parental Control for Android review.
Best parental control apps: MMGuardian
- MMGuardian
The only app that can read messages on iOS
TODAY’S BEST DEALS
MMGUARDIAN
REASONS TO BUY
+Wide Android feature set
+Granular controls
+Can read texts, messages on iOS
REASONS TO AVOID
-Can get expensive
-Terrible user interface
MMGuardian has nearly every parental-control feature you might want on Android phones, including the ability to log, block and read text messages, and log and block calls.
It’s also the only app we know of that can still read texts and messages on iOS, although it can’t block them, thanks to Mac and PC software that combs through an iPhone’s backups.
But the user interfaces are outdated and frustrating on both platforms. The iOS and Android smartphone apps offer location tracking and excellent web filtering, and MMGuardian now has an artificial-intelligence component to spot nudity in saved images.
Time management and screen-time scheduling are Android-only, and the separate MMGuardian app for Android tablets has no location tracking.
On iOS, MMGuardian’s app management is primitive, and there is no call blocking. But if you’re really interested in what your child is texting, especially on iOS, then MMGuardian is worth considering.
Read our full MMGuardian review.
How to choose the best parental control app for you
What you need from a parental-control service mainly depends on how old your kids are. If you’re the parent of children under 12, you absolutely want to be able to block objectionable websites, but you might also consider an app that’s available on Amazon Fire tablets.
If you’ve got teenagers, you might want to let them have a look at objectionable things online, but only if you’re aware of it. You might also want to see whom your teens are talking to in messenger apps, and to see where they are late on a Friday night. And you might want to consider a service that monitors your kids’ Windows and Mac devices as well as their smartphones.
The best parental control apps will offer, at a minimum, a website filter, location tracking, screen-time limits including a scheduler, and an app blocker that works at least on Android.
Useful extra features include geofencing, which alerts you if a child’s phone leaves a designated “safe” area like school or a relative’s house. Most of these apps let you monitor your child’s phone from a desktop computer web interface as well as your own smartphone.
A couple of these apps let you block and log the calls and texts a child makes and receives, and even read a child’s text messages, but they require extra steps to do so. But none lets you listen in on a call, because that’s illegal.
See the chart below for what each of our reviewed parental control apps offers.
Feature comparison chart
Feature (bold = free) ESET Parental Control for Android Google Family Link Kaspersky Safe Kids MMGuardian Net Nanny Norton Family OurPact Qustodio Screen Time
Price Free to $30/year Free Free to $15/year Up to $70/year Free to $90/year $50/year Free to $84/year Free to $138/year Free to $40/year
Number of devices Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited 1 to 5 1 to 20 Unlimited 1 to 20 1 to 15 1 to 5
Platforms Android Android Android, iOS, Windows, Mac Android, iOS Android, iOS, Kindle Fire, Windows Android, iOS, Windows Android, iOS Android, iOS, Kindle Fire, Windows, Mac, Chrome OS Android, iOS
Web portal for parents Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Call logging None None None None None None None Android only None
Text logging None None None Yes None None None Android only None
Text content None None None Yes None None None Android only None
Call blocking None None None Android only None None None Android only None
Text blocking None None None Android only None None None Android only None
Geofencing Yes None Yes None None Yes Yes Yes Yes, extra fee
Location tracking Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes, extra fee
Location history Yes Yes None Android only Yes Yes None Yes Yes, extra fee
Web monitoring Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes None Yes Yes
Web filter Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Extra fee, Android only
Time limits Yes Yes Yes Android only Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Scheduling Yes Yes Yes Yes (limited on iOS) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
App management Yes Yes Yes (limited on iOS) Android only Yes (limited on iOS) Android only Yes Yes Yes, Android only
App blocker Yes Yes Yes (limited on iOS) Yes (limited on iOS) Yes Android only Yes Yes Android only
How we test and rate the best parental control apps
Evaluation criteria
We focused on parental control apps that emphasize proactively setting up filters and limits before your child uses the phone rather than merely tracking activities after the fact. We took the following criteria into account.
Price: What is the cost of the service and how many children and devices are covered?
Installation: How easy is it to install and configure the app across each device?
App management: What level of control does the app provide regarding the monitoring, blocking, or restriction of app usage? Does the app let you see all the other apps on the child’s device?
Filtering: What kind of filtering tools does each app offer? How effectively does the app filter out content that you deem inappropriate?
Time management: What kind of tools does the app provide for restricting the amount of time your child spends on his or her device(s)?
Texting and messaging management: Does the app let you see the content of your child’s text messages? Can you create rules for, or block specific contacts? Are you notified of new contacts? Does the control extend beyond the built-in messaging apps? Can you block messaging apps altogether?
Location tracking: Does the app let you find your child in an emergency? Does it log of their previous locations? Does the app let you create geofenced areas?
Our most recent testing was done on a Lenovo Yoga C940 running Windows 10, a Google Pixel 4XL running Android 11, and an iPhone 12 running iOS 14.2.
We tested each app on every platform that it supported twice, from installation to uninstall. We typically monitored activity from the Lenovo Yoga C940, but for apps that offered control from a smartphone app we tested those features typically from an iPhone.
The best Android parental-control apps remain considerably more robust than their iOS counterparts in most cases, with only OurPact offering feature parity among those apps that we tested.
We note areas in which there are discrepancies in the functionality offered on each platform, but we are not providing distinct ratings and reviews for the iOS versus the Android version of each app.
With regard to call and text monitoring, Apple and Google have made it nearly impossible for any app to do so. Qustodio gets around this by offering a special version of the Android app that users can sideload; MMGuardian replaces the standard SMS app with its own on Android, and uses PCs or Macs to comb through phone backups on iOS.
best parental control app for ipad
I tested over 30 parental control apps for iPhone and iPad and was surprised how many of them had little to no value on iPhones and iPad.
Some of the common issues I found could be blamed on iOS regulations, while others were purely the fault of the software. The common issues included:
No web filter on Safari
Poor time-management tools
Couldn’t block apps
Kept crashing
Slowed down the iPhone or iPad
I was only able to find a few parental control apps for iOS that worked well. You’ll find the top 5 apps that made the cut and performed the best in my tests in the list below. If you want the quickest answer, Qustodio was the app that performs the best during my test. it has a comprehensive web filter, multiple screen time management tools, and real-time geo-tracking. You can even try it yourself risk-free for 30 days with its money-back guarantee.
Quick Guide: Rundown of the Best Parental Control Apps for iPhone and iPad and in 2022
Qustodio: The #1 Parental Control app for iOS with Strong Screen Time and Web Filter Features.
Mobicip: Multiple screen time features, comprehensive filter, and block apps
Bark: Great for monitoring social media but doesn’t give real-time location alerts.
Norton Family: Customizable web filter, and screen time limits, but limited social media monitoring.
mSpy: Keylogger and Records Screenshots but No Web Filter or Screen Time Limits.
How I tested and ranked Parental Control apps for iOS
5 Best Parental Control Apps for iPhone and iPad in 2022
- Qustodio – #1 Parental Control App for iOS. Comprehensive Web Filters, Customizable Screen Time Tools and Real-Time Geotracking
Key Features
Advanced time management tools
GPS Tracking and Geofence
Web filter has 30 categories
Access parent dashboard from any device
Qustodio was able to succeed in monitoring my kid’s iPhone, where most other monitoring apps failed. For starters, the web filter is compatible with Safari (and Chrome). It also gives me the flexibility to choose the filter’s sensitivity, based on the kid’s ages, instead of having a default filter for the whole family. Qustodio checks the metadata, text, and images for anything that would trigger one of the 30 categories.
I challenged my children to find a trick or hack to bypass the filters, and after a few days, they had to admit defeat.
When I was testing Qustodio, I liked the time management tools, which allowed me to set a daily time limit and set up a daily calendar of when the devices are locked. The one problem I have with the calendar option is that you can only block time in segments of 1-hour chunks, which doesn’t fit with the schedule in our house.
One of the tools that truly gives me peace of mind is real-time location tracking. I can log in to the parent dashboard and see exactly where they are, superimposed on Google Maps. There’s no need to worry about where they’re going or where they are at any given time. It also has a geofence feature that alerts me when they enter or leave the radius of the location.
I was really happy that Qustodio works on multiple platforms, so I was able to access the parent dashboard from my Android phone and PC and monitor the iPhone and iPad in the house. The dashboard is user-friendly and makes it quickly see all the family activities and alerts at a glance.
Qustodio has 3 subscription plans that include all of the features and has a 30-day money-back guarantee. I tested the money-back guarantee and contacted the customer support team after 3 weeks of using the app. I told them that I don’t need it anymore and want my money back. I received a complete refund in just three business days.
- Mobicip: Sets Limits on Screentime, App Usage, and Customize a Web Filter
Create a personalized screen time schedule for each child
Social media monitoring for Facebook and Instagram
Runs in the background without draining the iOS battery
Mobicip upgraded its iOS app for iPhone and iPad, and I am very impressed with the new and improved features.
The app gives me complete control over how and when my children use their iPhones. I use the screen time feature to create a schedule based on my children’s daily routine. The phone is locked at bedtime, dinner, and when I want them to focus on homework. It also has a school setting, which allows access to safe content. One of the great options added in the most recent update is Vacation Mode. Now I can temporarily turn off the time restrictions without having to recreate the entire schedule.
I was happy to see that even when my children were allowed to use their phones, I still had control over how they used them. One of the new features I like is App Limits. It divides all apps on the phone into three categories, Social Media, Games, and Entertainment, and I can set time limits for each category. In addition to categories, I can block specific apps from opening or being downloaded from iTunes.
The social media monitoring tools connected Mobicip with my child’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. Their updates and comments are displayed in the parental dashboard, which allows me to see who they’re interacting with, the types of pictures they post, the groups they join, and with whom they interact.
The parental dashboard is the nerve center for Mobicip. It’s where I can see all the activity from the iPhone and iPad, set the time and app restrictions, track their live location and set up a geofence to alert me if the children go to a restricted area.
After creating an account, I downloaded the app from iTunes and connected it to my account. The children can see the app on their iPads and iPhones, so they know how much screen time they’ve used, how much is remaining, and they can request additional time. They could not uninstall the app or deactivate it without knowing my password.
Mobicip now offers a 7-day free trial so I used it to try all of its features at no risk. I was a bit disappointed that there was no way to cancel the free trial from my account settings. Instead, I had to remember to email customer support, and request they cancel my account.
- Bark – Best for Monitoring Social Media Accounts
Key Features
Monitors 25+ Social Media networks
Sends detailed alerts to the parent dashboard
Recognizes slang, emoji, and triggering keywords
With a recent update that added a web filter and screen time management for iPhones and iPads, Bark quickly became one of my favorite parental control apps. The web filter allows me to blocks specific websites and general website categories, such as anything related to drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, and more. The screen time management tools will shut off the internet at bedtime, making it impossible for my children to use their phones in bed, even after I tell them it’s lights-out.
I was able to connect Bark with over 30 social media apps on iOS. It scans all the content and sends alerts when it finds posts, messages, comments, or videos that deal with sex, drugs, violence, alcohol, weapons, suicide, and more.
Unlike Bark for Android, the iOS app can’t fully monitor some of the apps. For example, while it can monitor videos and pictures on Instagram, it can’t access DMs and searches.
Bark found a unique way to get around Apple’s strict monitoring guidelines. The app records everything that your child does on their iOS device, and then, every 6 hours, it will upload a backup to the Bark for Windows or Bark for Mac app, as long as you’re on the same wifi network. Once the upload is complete, Bark scans the day’s data and sends an alert or warning if it detects anything that it deems inappropriate. While you don’t get the information in real-time, I still thought it was a good workaround.
There are two Bark plans; Jr and Sr. The Jr plan includes screen time tools, web filters, and location check-in options, while the Sr plan also has social media monitoring tools. I recommend starting with the Bark Sr plan, which includes a 7-day free trial. This will give you enough time to determine whether you need the premium features or if you can get by with just the Jr. plan. In any case, you don’t have to enter your credit card information, so you can try it completely free.
- Norton Family – Bypasses iOS Restrictions to Set Web Filters and Screen Time Management Tools
NortonFamily
Key Features
Customizable web filter
School Time feature prevents distractions
Installs a VPN so it can bypass iOS monitoring restrictions
Norton Family is more transparent than any other iOS monitoring app I’ve tested. It compiles a list of “House Rules” that let my kids know exactly what the app is monitoring, what types of websites they can go to and which are blocked, and how much time they can spend on their Apple devices.
I really like the flexibility of the Norton Family’s screen time management tools. It allows me to set up a daily schedule for when the kids can be online and a time limit to prevent them from being on their iPhones or iPads all day. It would be a big improvement if Norton Family added a time limit for each app, but for now, that isn’t an option.
Norton Family has a comprehensive web filter that limits or restricts websites based on 47 categories. I was able to choose which categories to block for each of my kids and set the monitoring level for each one as well.
The School Time feature can be activated when the kids are doing remote learning or homework. I was able to add specific websites that my kids need for remote learning or doing homework, and everything else was blocked. The time spent doing school work doesn’t count against the daily limit. This way, I know that the kids are focused on their studies and not just playing on the iPhone or iPad.
I found a hidden official page that gives a 30-day free trial, which I prefer over the money-back guarantee, where I have to give my credit card information and remember to cancel. Here, I was able to create an account without having to enter any credit card or PayPal information and got unlimited access, with all the features for free for 30 days.
- mSpy: Stealth Installation Through iCloud Gives Complete Remote Access to iOS Devices
Key Features
Keyloggers tracks all SMS, chats, and Social Media
Screen recording software takes a picture every 5 minutes
GPS tracker for kids
mSpy is the one monitoring app that I include on my list because it works really well, and there are times when it can literally be a life-saver. I’m talking about finding out if your child is being cyber-bullied, looking for or using drugs, drinking alcohol, or viewing websites that encourage harmful behavior.
Since it’s a monitoring app, there are obviously no web filters or screen time tools. Otherwise, your child will know it’s on the device. Instead, mSpy collects data on every action taken on the device. The keylogger feature records every outgoing text message, social media post, google search, and more. At the same time, the screen capture feature is set to take a screenshot every five minutes or with each action taken on the device. I found this to be helpful since there are some websites that I don’t recognize by name, and seeing the screenshots means that I don’t have to check out each website.
There is also a real-time tracking feature that saves your child’s location for up to 30 days. Not only that, I was able to create Safe and Forbidden zones and receive alerts when my child came and left these zones, so I didn’t have to ask him what time he came home the previous night or whether he made it to school on time.
You don’t have to jailbreak the iPhone or iPad when installing mSpy. As long as you have your child’s iCloud credentials, it can be remotely installed. Once on the device, the app runs in the background, under a generic name, and your child won’t know it’s on the device.
mSpy isn’t for everyone, and you can only use it on one device at a time. But if you need this level of monitoring for your child’s phone, it is well worth the subscription cost. mSpy has a 14-day money-back guarantee. However, they will only issue a refund if they can’t solve your problem.
How I Tested and Ranked the Best Parental Control Apps for iOS
I’ve tested more than 50 parental control apps and have very high standards when it comes to keeping my kids safe online.
Here’s what I require from a parental control app before I’ll recommend it:
Do the filters work, and can my kids bypass them? One of the biggest issues that parental control apps are having with the new regulations is working with Safari or coming up with an alternative option to enforce the web filters. Many apps tried forcing downloads of its own web browser – these were often poorly designed, slow, and there was no way to prevent my kids from going back to Safari. Thankfully, I found several programs that either work with Safari or have good alternative browsers that my kids didn’t mind using.
Time Management Tools: With screen time addiction being such a big issue, it was extremely important to find an app that has flexible scheduling and daily limit options. This was a little more difficult to find on iOS devices than it was with Android because Apple doesn’t want to give apps the power to block an iPhone or iPad. That being said, there were a few apps that can partially block iOS devices and this helped their ranking.
Ease of Use: I didn’t want any app that required jailbreaking or hacking the iPhone and iPad. Ideally, all apps were found in the App Store and the download was easy.I was looking for a program that was easy for a non-iOS user like myself to install and manage. Extra points were given for apps that worked with multiple platforms so that I could download the parent app on my Android and Windows devices and manage Dashboard from there.
Customer Support: I had a lot of questions for the customer support teams, mostly regarding whether a feature that was listed on the website works on the iPhone or not. I was surprised that several times I had to wait over a week for a response to a ticket, obviously, this hurt their rankings.
FAQ
Are there free parental control apps for iOS?
While there are free parental control apps, I wouldn’t recommend using them. For the most part, these apps just advertise a free app, but only give you very basic monitoring tools for free. If you want the full version, you’ll have to pay anyways. If I saw a fully free program with no premium package, I had to ask myself why a company would offer their service for free. The answer was usually either they shared the data they collected or had ads that would show up on the parent app, which I found really annoying. I’d rather pay a small subscription fee, and have the peace of mind knowing there are filters in place to protect my children.
If you want to use a parental control app for free, I recommend you download a premium app and take advantage of its money-back guarantee. The best one I’ve tested, with a proven money-back guarantee is Qustodio. You’ll get access to all the premium features, and 30 days is enough time for you to get a good idea of how your kids are using their iPhones and iPads, and how time they spend on each app per day.
Why did Apple place restrictions on parental control apps?
According to Apple, they were protecting the privacy of its users from intrusive apps. Before the new regulations, the top parental control programs used mobile device management (MDM) applications that gave control of your data to a third party. Apple saw this as a breach of privacy and therefore made companies either remove or make adjustments to the MDM.
However, there is speculation that Apple was just getting rid of the competition so people would have to use its built-in parental controls. Unfortunately, Apple’s Screen Time has a list of weaknesses, and most kids can easily bypass the restrictions. Therefore, it’s recommended to choose one of the apps on this list, which are proven to work on iPads and iPhones.
If iPhones and iPads have built-in parental controls, why do I need to buy a parental control app?
For all its greatness, Apple isn’t in the parental control business. Sure, they have some basic time management tools, but it’s nothing when compared to Qustodio or other leading parental control programs.
Isn’t using a parental control app just a nice way of saying you’re spying on your kids?
I think there is a big distinction between spying and monitoring your children. As parents, it’s our job to protect our children which have become even more difficult once they have unlimited access to the internet 24/7. They are susceptible to cyberbullying, can learn about sex, drugs, alcohol, weapons, and pretty much anything else in an uncontrolled environment.
There are monitoring apps, which can be downloaded to a child’s iPhone or iPad without their knowledge through iCloud and monitor everything that happens on the phone. I wouldn’t be comfortable using this kind of tech unless I felt that my children were in danger or could become a danger to him or herself.
Bottom Line
No one knows your kids quite like their phones. They use it to search for information, talk with their friends, play games, join groups, and more. This is why it’s crucial to install a trustworthy parental control app on their devices.
I’ve tested more than 30 parental control apps for iPhones and iPad and Qustodio was clearly the best. It has comprehensive web filters, screen time management tools, and real-time geo-tracking. You can try it yourself risk-free with their 30-day money-back guarantee. I tested their refund policy by requesting my money back and within 3 days I received a full refund.
Conclusion
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