It has been proven that the rapid advancement of technology poses a risk to children, especially the younger ones, as negative side-effects to the use of smartphones at such ages have been discovered to affect both the physical and mental aspects of children. Experts opine that parents should only allow their children to begin using smartphones at age 13 and with supervision, hence the need for parental control apps. And they also say that there is a high risk of overuse of technology among younger kids, leading to physical and mental health disadvantages. In this article on Naijaknowhow, I’ll cover a list of the best parental control and monitoring apps for both Android and iOS devices.
List of the Best Parental Control and Monitoring Apps to Track Your Child’s Activities Online
1. Google Family Link
This right here is one of my favourite parent-monitoring apps for children. It doesn’t matter how old your children are, Google Family Link lets you monitor and control your children’s activities online. Being able to locate your child when they are out is valuable. If they are carrying their mobile devices, you can utilise Family Link to locate them. Besides tracking your child’s location, this app is packed with a host of other interesting, some of which are you can view their app activity, manage their apps, keep an eye on screen time — set limits or even lock their device and a lot more. Although Google Family Link gives you tools to control your child’s online activities, it does not make the internet a secure environment. Instead, it aims to open up discussion about internet use and provide parents options over how their children use the internet. The Family Link app is available to not just Android users, but iOS enthusiasts can also download it through the Apple Store. This Google parental control app is 100% free and is available for all types of devices.
2. Net Nanny
Net Nanny, I think, is the best parental control app as it delivers the best mix of web filtering, location tracking, and app management on both Android and iOS. The app has excellent web-filtering technology that analyses pages rather than just blocking them and it lets you create filters of your own. The goodness of Net Nanny is that it can track your child’s location, display their location history, and set time allowances equally well on both Android and iOS. Net Nanny also includes content screening that works within social media apps and services, including YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, instead of blocking or allowing them completely. Net Nanny comes closest, among other parental control apps, to having feature equality between its Android and iOS versions. The iOS version lets you block more than a hundred apps on your child’s phone, while the Android lets you block them all. But one thing about the app is that it cannot monitor calls or texts on a smartphone. The app is quite expensive to use.
3. Qustodio
Qustodio lets you set time limits for individual apps and individual devices. Its service location tracking works on both Android and iOS, as also its geofencing and a Family Locator Feature that shows you where all your kids are at once. On Qustodio, you can run about 6000 apps on its iOS version and every app on its Android version. But the web filtering doesn’t work that well on both versions. One good thing about Qustodio is that it is one of the parental control apps that can still log a child’s texts and calls, view the content of text messages, or block phone numbers, at least on the Android version (and you have to sideload a special version of the app from Qustodio’s website for all its features to work). Qustodio is quite expensive to use.
4. Screen Time
Screen Time is the best parental control app for managing and scheduling kids’ device access. Its iOS version doesn’t have many features, while the Android contains app management and web-filtering features. Screen Time lets you give out additional time to kids who perform chores or good deeds. But you can’t block apps on the iOS version, and there’s no call or text monitoring, although geofencing and location history have been recently added. Location tracking and web filters, both of which are essentials, come with unbelievable upcharges, but you can get both features in the 14-day screen time premium trial.
5. Kaspersky Safe Kids
Kaspersky Safe Kids is the best you could ever ask for in terms of free usage and paid plan price. Its paid plan is much cheaper than other parental control apps. This app lets you monitor and control your child’s activities on both Android and iOS versions. Its free plan lets you set screen-time limits, filter websites, and manage other apps, while its paid plan monitors social networks and offers location tracking and geofencing that work in both Android and iOS. But app management on iOS is limited to blocking apps that have age limits. Kaspersky also contains a feature that lets you block certain kinds of YouTube searches and review YouTube search history if you are a paid user. However, the problems with Kaspersky Safe Kids are that its mobile apps are poorly designed, the web portal can be slow at times, and the web filters may not work with unpopular browsers. But if there is no need for you to check your child’s text messages, then Kaspersky Safe Kids is worth considering.
6. FamilyTime
FamilyTime as one of the best parental control apps has an easy-to-understand user interface that is used to manage multiple devices from a mobile app or web portal. The app supports web filtering and monitoring of phone contacts, call logs, text messages, and app usage. The app runs on both Android and iOS platforms. Its other features include geofencing, location history, and limiting screen time. Family time is affordable and has a 3-day free trial plan.
7. OurPact
OurPact, useful for controlling a child’s phone activities on both Android and iOS phones is yet another great parental control app that contains a lot of useful features. There is a block texting feature, web filter, and screen time-out feature. It also has a Family Locator feature that allows you to monitor your child’s location from your phone. The free version contains limited features that may not be fully adequate for managing and monitoring your child’s phone activities, and the premium plan is pricey.
8. Wondershare FamiSafe
Wondershare FamiSafe is a parent monitoring app on which you can rely. It gives the live location of your kids at any time, and you can also view their location history. The Geofence feature notifies you when your children leave or enter an area you have set up on the tool, such as home or school. The driving report feature allows you to monitor your child’s driving style so you can stop them from dangerous practices like exceeding speed limits. Wondershare FamiSafe is not restricted to location tracking; it also allows you to check your child’s web activity. You can manage screen time, monitor the pages they visit, and allows you to view history on applications like TikTok and YouTube. With FamiSafe, you can shield your child from inappropriate internet use and keep track of their location.
Conclusion
These are just some of the best parental control and monitoring apps. They’re all available for Android and iOS devices. You’ll find it easy knowing what your children are up to with their phones. Hope you have a great time checking them out. Cheers!
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