Best Parental Control App
Offers comprehensive social media account monitoring and content filters
Includes social media monitoring, text message monitoring, real-time alerts, screen time management, web filtering and location alerts (by check-in only)
Compatible with mobile devices only (including Amazon Fire)
$49/year for the entry-level option or $99/year to access all features
7-day free trial
Offers a wide range of customizable and advanced web-filtering technology
Includes location tracking, screen time limits, scheduling, web filtering, app blocking and social media monitoring. It also allows parents to set custom web filters.
Compatible with PC, Mac and both Android and iOS mobile devices (including the Kindle Fire)
$40/year for one desktop, $55/year for five devices or $90/year for 20 devices
15-days, but only on mobile devices
Offers accurate location tracking and geofencing services
Includes location tracking, geofencing, app blocking, screen time scheduling and basic activity reports
Compatible with mobile devices only
$20/year for three devices, $35/year for five devices or $70/year for ten devices (including both the caregiver and child's devices)
Free version with two locations for geofencing
Offers a robust app-blocking feature with real-time alerts
Includes app blocking, screen time management, location tracking, call and text monitoring and daily activity reports.
Compatible with PC, Mac and both Android and iOS mobile devices
$55/year for five devices, $97/year for ten devices and $138/year for 20 devices
Free version for just one device
Offers a comprehensive screen time management feature, including screen time limits and daily scheduling
Includes screen time limits, customizable schedules, web filtering, emergency location tracking and speed tracking for teen drivers
Compatible with mobile devices only
$70/year for 15 devices
3-day free trial
It's the age of the iPad kid, with many children stepping into the Internet at a very young age for the first time. While there's plenty of fun, educational content you can find online, most parents don't want their kids exploring the deep, dark corners of the Web.
That's where parental control apps come in. With features like location tracking, social media monitoring and activity alerts, these apps let parents keep an eye on what their kids are doing on their devices.
If you're a parent or caretaker looking for peace of mind, you're in the right place. We listed and reviewed the best parental control apps on the market today to help make your decision an easier one.
Our Top Picks For Best Parental Control App
- Net Nanny – Best For Advanced Features
- Locategy – Best For Location Tracking
- Bark – Best For Social Media Monitoring
- Qustodio – Best For App Blocking
- FamilyTime – Best For Screen Time Management
Best Parental Control App Reviews
Why we chose it: Net Nanny has a modern and intuitive design with some of the best features on the market, including advanced web filtering technology.
Net Nanny offers a wide range of features, including location tracking, time allowances, scheduling, web filtering, app blocking and social media monitoring. It also comes with an in-app feed that can show real-time updates on your child's online activity.
What Net Nanny does best, however, is customization. Parents can make their own parental control settings to customize what content falls under the "restricted" category and even create custom web filters for Internet browsing. Even without these filters, the web-filtering tech of the app is advanced enough to analyze each page, unlike other parental control services, which tend to be less nuanced in the kinds of pages they block.
The app is relatively easy to set up, although it can be an involved process. It requires setting up Mobile Device Management (MDM) and a virtual private network (VPN) in your child's device settings. Even so, Net Nanny provides detailed instructions to walk you through the process and features an intuitive, user-friendly design.
While its wide range of services and advanced features bring a lot to the table, Net Nanny is also a bit pricier than other options. The app costs about $60/year for five devices, although you can monitor just one desktop for $40/year instead. For bigger families, it's $90/year to cover 20 devices.
Why we chose it: Locategy offers robust and accurate location tracking, making it easy to keep tabs on your kids.
As the name might suggest, Locategy's strength lies in its location tracking services. The app allows parents to track exactly where their child goes and at what time. It also has geofencing services, so parents can set 150-meter boundaries and receive alerts when their children enter or leave that designated area.
Unlike other parental control apps with location trackers, Locategy permits more than one "parent" device. This means multiple caregivers — including other guardians like teachers, tutors or coaches — can access its features. Parents seeking a user-friendly experience will be happy to know that the app is easy to install and set up.
Locategy offers a few other features, but they're pretty limited compared to most parental control apps. It can report where and when children are active online but doesn't provide details on what they were doing. It doesn't have any social media filtering or text message blocking, either. There's also no support for PCs or Macs, so all monitoring has to be done on mobile devices.
The app has a free version that you can download and use as long as you want, but it only allows two locations for geofencing. Things get a little complicated when upgrading to a premium plan. Locategy's plans include three, five and ten devices, but these need to be split between the caregivers and children. For example, a three-device plan could include one child and two caregiver devices or vice versa.
Why we chose it: Bark takes the top spot for social media monitoring thanks to its comprehensive account monitoring and sensitive content filters. It takes a hand-off approach to help parents maintain their child's privacy.
Bark might not be as in-depth as other generalist parental control apps, but it does one thing very well: Social media monitoring. The app lets you monitor more than 30 social media apps, plus other messaging platforms like text messages, emails and file-sharing apps.
The app comes with impressive content filters that instantly detect anything that could be risky, inappropriate or problematic. The premium filters can even identify harmful content, like cyberbullying, online predators and suicidal ideation. When the app picks up on something, it sends a real-time alert to the parent's phone. It also has a few other handy features, like screen time management, web filtering and location alerts (by check-in only).
Bark offers a lot, but its content monitoring has limitations. Because the app takes a unique approach to social media monitoring — letting parents stay on top of any inappropriate content without infringing on the child's privacy — you don't get detailed activity reports on what your child is doing online, and you can't lock down the phone remotely. Parents of tweens or teens who already grasp basic Internet safety may appreciate this aspect, but parents of younger children might want a more hands-on solution.
Bark comes at a higher price tag than similar apps, but its easy-to-use interface, great customer support and potential to add unlimited devices might make it worth for you. The entry-level option, which doesn't include text, email or social media monitoring, is $5/month or $49/year, while the comprehensive plan is $14/month or $99/year. Bark also offers a 7-day trial if you want to try it out.
Why we chose it: Qustodio checks all the boxes for a solid parental control app, but it's especially adept at app blocking. It can block potentially dangerous or inappropriate apps and send real-time alerts if a child tries to access the wrong app.
With an extensive list of features, Qustodio's app-blocking feature just scratches the surface. Qustodio also offers screen time management, location tracking, call and text monitoring and daily activity reports.
The app installs quickly and is easy to get the hang of. Installing the app on Android devices, however, can be frustrating. To get around the app store requirements, you'll need to sideload a separate version of the app directly from Qustodio's website.
Qustodio works with nearly all types of devices and operating systems. With the free version of the app, you can monitor just one device. You'll need to purchase a plan for multiple devices: about $55/year for five devices, $97 for ten and $138 for 20.
Why we chose it: FamilyTime makes it easy to create screen time limits and even has a rewards system encouraging kids to spend less time on their devices.
While FamilyTime has plenty of standard parental control tools, its highlight is the feature-packed screen time management tool. The app lets you set limits for your child's screen time and create a schedule that regulates which apps they can access at certain times. That means you can set specific app limits for school or bedtime while allowing more access during free time.
One of the app's most interesting features is that kids can roll over some unused minutes into a time bank, which parents can use later for fun. Its other features allow you to block apps, create web filters and set up alerts for certain activities. There's also an SOS button for emergency location tracking, a speed monitoring feature for teen drivers, and a pause mode that lets you temporarily lock your child's phone.
Although its screen time management feature goes a long way, FamilyTime's other features are somewhat lacking. Its web filter is limited, as it only allows you to block broad categories like porn, drugs and gambling. It also doesn't allow you to monitor social media or all messaging apps. And while the app might be easy to use, the full-screen ads can be frustrating when parents want to make a quick update or check up on their kids.
FamilyTime allows up to 15 devices, including Android and iOS. At $69/year for that number of devices, the price is right around the average market rate. The app offers a short three-day free trial if you want to try it out for yourself.
Other Parental Control Apps We Considered
In our search for the best parental control apps, we came across a few with solid offerings that didn't quite meet the standards we were looking for. There are several reasons why these didn't make it to our top list, from limited features to expensive upgrades.
That said, there's still a lot to like about these apps. Here are a few of the runner-up parental control apps we considered in our lineup.
Screen Time
Screen Time has great tools for time management and screen time limits, including a rewards system when children complete certain tasks. It also has a few other management tools, like text message monitoring, app management, web filtering and location tracking.
Unfortunately, its text message monitoring is for Android only, and some of its features, like location tracking and web filters, require a premium subscription, which costs $84/per year.
OurPact
OurPact boasts a wide range of features, including screen time scheduling, app blocking, web filtering, geofencing and text message management. The premium plan lets you block messaging and texting apps, and you can even take screenshots from the child's device.
Its wide range of features is impressive, but the quality of these features can be lacking — like the broad "adult content" filter that lets inappropriate material fall through the cracks.
ESET Parental Control
ESET Parental Control delivers decent and affordable features for Android users, including free app blocking and time management tools. It also has location tracking and geofencing with a paid subscription at an affordable price (only $30/year).
That being said, this app only works for Android, and it's held back by a poorly designed interface.
Parental Control App Guide
Being in the dark about what your kid is doing online can be stressful. After all, you just want what's best for them. But there are so many things out of your control, even if you've already had the talk about responsible online behavior.
Parental control apps can help put the power back in your hands. Let's explore the basics of how these apps work and how you can find the perfect one for your needs.
What Is A Parental Control App?
A parental control app allows parents or guardians to monitor a child's online activity on devices like laptops, tablets and smartphones. These apps, usually downloaded on both the guardian's and the child's device, can often monitor, track, block and limit activity.
How Do Parental Control Apps Work?
There are different parental control apps, each with its own set of features. Most provide some level of online tracking, alerting parents if their children stumble on inappropriate sites or download questionable apps. Other apps have features that include tracking text messages and emails, location tracking and geofencing and a full report of their online activity.
Best Practices For Choosing A Parental Control App
The right parental control app can support your efforts to keep your kid's Internet experience safe and fun. Whether you prefer a more hands-off approach or want to dig deeper with more advanced features, there's an app out there for you. The trick is finding the perfect one.
Here are some tips to help you narrow down the ideal app.
Have An Idea Of What Parental Control Features You Need
Every family will have different needs. After all, you know your kid best. It helps to have an idea of the features you want, whether it's social media tracking, geofencing or real-time notifications, before you start looking for a parental control app.
Consider Your Kids' Ages
Not all apps are made for kids in the same age range. A young child, for example, could benefit from a more hands-on, restrictive app, while teenagers with better online literacy might prefer an app that still gives them a greater level of freedom and privacy.
Read Plenty Of Customer Reviews
Reading customer reviews will help you understand these apps from the user's perspective. If there are any issues with the app, like an inefficient web filter or inaccurate location tracking, that's something that reviews can tell you.
Have A Talk With Your Children About You Monitoring Them
It's important to have a conversation with your kids before you install any kind of parental control device. Instead of viewing these apps as a new restriction in their lives, it can help to frame the app as a way to find balance and safety in their online lives. Make it clear that the parental control app isn't a punishment but another way for you as a parent to support them.
Parental Control App FAQ
How We Chose The Best Parental Control App
There are a few factors we considered when making our list of the best parental control apps:
- Range of features: To understand whether or not these apps were meeting the needs of caregivers, we considered some of the most important features, from location tracking to screen time management.
- Number of devices: To support families of different sizes (and with different device needs), we looked at how many devices each app could support.
- Device compatibility: From Android phones to Macbook laptops, we needed to know which devices and operating systems were compatible with each app.
- Ease of use: Many caregivers want easy-to-use platforms, so we considered the ease of both installation and day-to-day use.
- Affordability: We ranked based on the app's subscription affordability to help families find something in their budget range.
- Free trial availability: Testing out the function and feel of each app can make a big difference, so we also looked for the free trial availability and length.
With these factors in mind, we carefully reviewed more than a dozen of the top-rated parental control apps on the market. We ranked each app based on what they did best, from location tracking to screen time management, to help parents and guardians choose the one that best fits their use case. As always, it's essential to do your research before committing to an app.
