Assuming you are looking for the best parental control app, there are many different options. It depends on what you are looking for in a parental control app.
Some features to consider might be tracking your child’s location, monitoring their activity online, setting limits on screen time, and blocking certain apps and websites. It can be difficult to decide which one is right for you with so many options available.
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What Are The Best Parental Control Apps?
Although no parental-control tool is perfect, Net Nanny consistently provided the greatest combination of online filtering, location monitoring, and app management on both Android and iOS devices. It is also compatible with Amazon Kindle Fire tablets and Windows, Macs, and Chromebooks that support Google Play.
Kaspersky Safe Kids came in second place, with full-featured support for an unlimited number of Android and iOS devices and Macs and PCs. Its free tier includes web monitoring, time limitations, and app control, and its subscription plan is just $15 per year.
Norton Family has practically every feature a parent might desire, including newly introduced geofencing, but its app-management capabilities do not function on iOS. It monitors Windows PCs but not Macs in addition to smartphones and tablets.
Parental controls are included in many antivirus packages, including several from Norton and Kaspersky. Please review our analysis of the best (and worst) antivirus software for parents to see how they compare to stand-alone services.
Because of Apple’s stricter app limitations and system management, these parental-control applications can see and do more on Android than on iOS. If you’re serious about monitoring your children’s internet activities, purchase their Android phones.
Just be aware of any Android parental control software that requires you to “sideload” it. There’s generally a reason why a program isn’t available in the official Google Play store. (We’ll make an exception for Qustodio, whose sideloaded version has features not available in the Google Play app.)
Top Rated 10 Best Parental Control App For iPhone
Net Nanny
PROS
- A high-quality web filtering technology that examines web pages.
- It is possible to establish particular times for children to use electronics.
- Content is blocked across web URLs and applications.
- It keeps track of their actual and virtual whereabouts.
CONS
- Only provides annual subscriptions.
- There is no surveillance of phone calls or messages.
Net Nanny is one of the most dependable and thorough programs available. Net Nanny enables you to monitor your family’s internet behavior while also safeguarding your children from potentially hazardous information. You can restrict your children’s screen time and keep them from viewing unsuitable information.
You will be provided with full information about the searches your children are making. You will also get real-time notifications if any pornographic, suicidal, weapons or drug-related material is detected. Then, you may ban websites and applications that you don’t want your kid to use and set specified times of day when they can be online.
It should be noted that some users of this software complained that it did not block enough material. Others complained that it banned too many sites, even those they sought to add to their safe list. While no app is perfect, you should watch how this one works before believing your children will be fully protected once it’s loaded.
Kaspersky Safe Kids
PROS
- Affordably priced
- Both the free and premium levels are fully featured.
- Monitors both PCs and Macs.
CONS
- At times, the web portal is sluggish.
- Mobile applications that are poorly designed.
Kaspersky Safe Kids, like Net Nanny, allows you to monitor and control your children’s activities on PCs, Macs, and smartphones. Kaspersky’s subscription plan is just $15 per year (with a 7-day free trial) for an unlimited number of kid devices. In contrast, its free plan allows you to establish screen-time restrictions, filter websites, and control other applications.
The subscription plan monitors social networks and includes location tracking and geofencing for iOS and Android and Kaspersky web monitoring and device scheduling. However, on iOS, app control is restricted to prohibiting applications with age limits.
Similarly, if you’re a premium user, a tool that allows you to ban particular types of YouTube searches and examine your YouTube search history works on Windows, iOS, and Android, including the YouTube Android app – but not on Macs.
The mobile applications are poorly built, the online portal may be sluggish, and the web filters may not operate with lesser-known browsers, although these are minor flaws. Still, if you don’t need to read your children’s text messages (in which case Qustodio is required), Kaspersky Safe Kids is worth investigating.
Canopy
PROS
- The emphasis is on removing nudity and pornography.
- Photos are analyzed to identify and prevent sexting.
- Can specify which applications are permitted on certain devices.
- Location tracking in real-time
- Do not sell your information.
CONS
- There are no screen time restrictions.
- It is not possible to filter or prohibit material inside applications.
Parenting young people is difficult, particularly in the age of social media and the internet. On the one hand, you want kids to be free, but you also want to safeguard them from bad stuff.
That is why we propose Canopy to teenage parents. It isn’t unduly limiting or invading their privacy (you can’t view the content of their communications, for example), but it is always concerned with their safety during virtual contact.
If required, the system alerts your device to harmful material such as “sexted” pictures, pornography, and explicit content. It accomplishes most of its blocking in real-time rather than with a planned list of restricted material. As the parent, you may select whether or not your kid has access to the photos or videos.
Canopy, which starts at $8 a month, lets you limit as much or as little content from your child’s device as you choose and monitor their location. The parental control software also contains removal prevention, ensuring that your adolescent cannot discreetly remove the program.
OurPact
PROS
- Excellent navigation and design.
- The iOS feature set is robust.
- Up to 20 kid devices are covered.
CONS
- Web filtering is restricted.
- It may be costly.
OurPact was formerly the most powerful parental-control software for iPhones, but Apple limited its capabilities by briefly removing it from the App Store. It can, however, control or prohibit any iOS app, just as it does on Android.
OurPact also involves kids in controlling the daily screen time allocation that you give them, and it does a fantastic job of scheduling. Its Premium Plus subscription lets you take screenshots from the child’s smartphone, even if it’s an iOS device. You can disable messaging and texting applications even if you can’t read the messages.
However, its internet filtering only bans porn, and its time-management interface is clumsy. OurPact can tell you where your kid is and when they arrive or depart certain places using geofencing, but it cannot tell you where they have been.
Despite these flaws, OurPact’s well-designed UI and user-friendly features make it a delight to use, particularly if your children have iPhones.
Qustodio
PROS
- Dashboard with easy-to-read text
- Can restrict screen time, censor material, and examine phone calls/texts
- Current and past places are accessible.
- There are three plans offered.
- Trial period
CONS
- Some functions are accessible exclusively to Android users.
- Parents are unable to evaluate in-app exchanges (think Snapchat)
You may use Qustodio to monitor social networks, examine your child’s communications, and track their position. It’s also a thorough program that lets you screen websites for potentially harmful information. You may restrict access to games and applications that you don’t want your kid to use and set time restrictions on each device.
You may also track the location of your child’s gadgets at any moment. In addition, your kid will have access to a panic button, which will promptly notify you of their whereabouts.
Keep in mind that surveillance and access to certain social networking sites are restricted with Qustodio. Parents, for example, can see when and how long their kids use Snapchat, but they can’t observe their interactions with other users. So, before you install the application, make sure you know its limits.
Screen Time
PROS
- Intuitive design
- Access is carefully handled.
- System of task/reward
CONS
- Expensive add-ons for location tracking and filtering
- There will be no text or phone monitoring.
Not to be confused with iOS’s “Screen Time” function, Screen Time is a great tool for controlling and scheduling children’s device use. Unfortunately, it does not do much else, not on iOS devices. App management and web blocking are only available for Android.
Screen Time also offers perplexing upcharges for location tracking and site filtering, both of which are necessary and are included with comparable parental-control programs. (Both functions are available as part of the 14-day Screen Time premium trial.)
We liked the way Screen Time allows you to provide extra, yep, screen time to youngsters who accomplish chores or good actions. However, you cannot prohibit applications on iOS, and there is no call or text tracks, despite the addition of geofencing and location history.
Bark
PROS
- It keeps track of in-app chats and texts.
- Sends out notifications when there is incorrect or disturbing information.
- Screen time control is possible.
- A single package covers an unlimited number of devices.
- 7-day free trial
CONS
- iOS users have limited monitoring capabilities.
- Only premium plans allow you to track messages and applications.
Bark scans text messages, emails, and over 30 different social networks for possible safety issues. It searches for activities that may suggest risk, such as online predators, adult material, sexual content, drug usage, cyberbullying, and suicide ideation. Bark’s location-sharing function provides notifications when your kid arrives or departs from a certain area.
Bark goes through messages, images, and videos and warns parents of any potentially dangerous exchanges. You will get automated notifications by email and text message when there are possible concerns.
One of the nicest aspects of Bark is that you’ll get advice from child psychologists on how to deal with problems as they develop.
You will also get access to a dashboard that will provide you with an overview of your child’s internet use. You’ll discover how much time they spend online, which websites they visit, and how many possible dangers were discovered.
Bark offers a 7-day free trial, allowing you to test whether you enjoy it before purchasing.
ESET Parental Control for Android
PROS
- Features of a good site
- Devices are not restricted.
CONS
The user interface is perplexing.
- There will be no phone or text tracking.
- Only for Android
ESET Parental Control for Android is limited to a single platform. Still, it falls short even there, omitting text-message and phone monitoring (and number blocking) functions and implementing clumsy restrictions on what it offers.
The free edition of ESET Parental Control for Android includes app management and time management and location monitoring, and geofencing if you pay for a subscription. (A 14-day free trial is available, as are considerable savings for multiyear contracts.) We loved the function that allows a child to send an SOS message to certain phones with a simple press.
The $30 annual subscription isn’t worth it until it’s coupled with ESET Smart Security Premium. Kaspersky Safe Kids performs better than ESET Parental Control for Android on four times as many platforms and at half the price.
Norton Family
PROS
- The annual cost is reasonable.
- You can manage as many devices as you need.
- It has an extensive dashboard.
- Supervise activities and, if necessary, limit material.
- Provides website filtering to prevent improper information from being shown.
- Geofencing tools are included.
- 30-day free trial
CONS
- It is not compatible with Mac machines.
- There is no monthly subscription, only an annual one.
- Apps on PCs are unable to be blocked.
- It does not monitor social media sites.
Norton Family, which costs $50 per year, is an excellent alternative for low-cost parental control software. It’s a full-service alternative that allows parents to monitor and regulate their child’s internet activity. Although you don’t need a Windows PC to use Norton Family (includes iOS and Android applications), it does help to simplify your monitoring. If you use Windows, you may track and monitor your child’s internet use and online activities across several devices such as their desktop, laptop, phone, and tablet.
Like other good parental control software, Norton Family allows you to establish screen time restrictions, track whereabouts, block problematic applications and websites, and monitor your child’s online behavior. The program also gives notifications when your kid attempts to access a prohibited website, allows access to YouTube videos your child has seen and offers a centralized parent portal where you can control the devices.
What’s the greatest part? For the first 30 days, you may use the app for free.
MMGuardian
PROS
- Android’s extensive feature set
- Granular controls
- On iOS, you can read SMS and messages.
CONS
- It may be costly.
- Awful user interface
On Android phones, MMGuardian includes practically every parental-control function you might desire, including the ability to track, block, and read text messages and log and ban calls.
It’s also the only program we’re aware of that can still read SMS and messages on iOS but not stop them, owing to Mac and PC software that searches through iPhone backups.
However, the user interfaces on both platforms are out of date and annoying. The iOS and Android smartphone applications provide location tracking and effective online filtering, and MMGuardian now has an artificial intelligence component that detects nudity in stored photographs.
Time management and screen-time scheduling are only available on Android, and there is no location tracking in the standalone MMGuardian software for Android tablets.
MMGuardian’s app management on iOS is basic, and there is no call blocking. However, MMGuardian is worth investigating if you’re genuinely concerned about what your kid is texting, particularly on iOS.
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FAQ
Is there a completely free parental control app?
Qustodio, our current selection for the best free parental control software, provides a full array of features to keep your children safe online, including content screening and time limitations.
Is canopy better than bark?
Canopy vs. Bark: Which provides superior website blocking? Bark provides more extensive website blocking. Canopy allows you to block some websites on Android devices, while Bark allows you to restrict any app or website on iPhones, Androids, and other devices!
Is Qustodio safe?
Qustodio is a wonderful option if you want to go beyond basic pornography prevention and want software that will assist you to keep your kids safe from cyberbullying on social media. It contains some of the most extensive tools for monitoring text messages and social media accounts accessible.
Conclusion
There are a lot of great parental control apps out there, but it can be tough to decide which one is right for your family. Thanks for reading, and we hope this article helps you find the best parental control apps for your needs.
