Review of Parental Control Software

Parental control apps can help you maintain control in a variety of ways. Some of the most common types of monitoring include web content filtering, app blocking, time management, and location tracking. We dive into more detail about these top features below. Keep in mind some of the products we highlight are mobile-only solutions, meaning they cannot monitor your child's activities on Macs or PCs.

Web Filtering

The hallmark feature of any parental control app is its ability to prevent kids from accessing inappropriate or dangerous websites. Many apps bundle a proprietary browser that makes it easier for the services to manage, track, and control browsing activity. This makes more sense than trying to reverse engineer support for every conceivable mobile browser. As such, most of these apps instruct you to block every other browser or restrict your child from installing any other apps at all.

Some parental control utilities don't force your child to use a proprietary browser. Rather, they leverage VPN technology, running internet connections through a local app to enable content filtering. You'll see the VPN icon when such a utility is active. The presence of this icon doesn't mean the child's connection is secured by a full-scale virtual private network, nor that the device's IP address is masked.

Most of these browsers operate similarly in that they block access to websites that fall under banned categories, including all the biggest offenders, such as file sharing, gambling, pornography, and violence. The best examples have no trouble picking up on HTTPS-encrypted traffic and blocking access to anonymizing proxies. Some apps, such as Net Nanny, let you create custom web-filtering categories, and the vast majority let you add specific rules for custom domains. Others can lock Safe Search settings and block profanity. The quality of web history reporting also varies from service to service.

App Monitoring, Messaging, and Time Restrictions

One area in which most mobile parental control solutions excel is in their ability to prevent children from using certain apps. This can come in handy for parents looking to prevent their kids from using social media apps, messaging services that are difficult to monitor, or browsers that get around the defined web filters. Still, it can be difficult to keep track of every new app your child installs. Better yet are those services, such as Boomerang, that automatically block new apps your child installs until you explicitly approve them. Mobicip gives you the option to whitelist only the apps you want your child to be able to use.

App blocking works differently on iOS. You can block access to system apps such as Safari, Camera, and Siri, if you wish. You can also disable the iTunes Store and App Store and ban in-app purchases. Some parental control apps can even remove app icons completely from the home screen, so there's no chance your kid can access them.

One thing you won't be able to do with most parental control apps is monitor calls or SMS, MMS, and encrypted messages. You can block secure messaging apps, but Boomerang and Qustodio are the only options aside from Apple's ScreenTime function we tested that allow you to monitor SMS messages and call data. This capability is only for Android devices and is not built into the app versions on the Google Play store; instead, you have to sideload a custom version of the app.

Time restrictions are another major feature of parental control apps. Some services, like Norton Family and Locategy, let you specify how many total hours (or minutes) a day your child can spend on any given device as well as a schedule for when they can use it. Qustodio lets you set up schedules for specific apps and device usage, as well as specifying a total time allotment for your child that applies across every piece of hardware they use to access the internet.

Location Reporting

A mobile parental control app should at the very least be able to keep track of a child's current location and some historical location data, too. It's also important for them to offer some level of control over notifications and the frequency of location reporting, to avoid bombarding the parent with useless data. Both Qustodio and Norton Family offer these features.

Some services, including Locategy and Boomerang, go one step further, letting you construct geofences around a location. For the uninitiated, geofences are digital boundaries around a physical location that help parents keep track of when a child arrives at or leaves a given location. Kaspersky Safe Kids even lets you add a dimension of time to a geofence, so you can easily make sure a child stays where they are supposed to be throughout the day. Boomerang offers a unique feature that lets you draw custom geofences on a map; other apps just create a circular radius around a point you define. Android and iOS themselves also let you track your kid's location.

Talk to Your Kids

Although the range of features parental control software supports is impressive, no system is perfect. If your children want to get around the limitations you impose, they will likely be able to do so either by using unmonitored devices or finding ways to wipe their devices clean of the controlling apps. Thus, it's worthwhile to take the time to talk with your child about why you have installed monitoring software in the first place. After all, digital safety and security are worthwhile topics for everyone. It's better to approach these conversations honestly, rather than have them find out on their own and stop trusting you. Especially for older children, it's also important to listen to your child's specific privacy concerns, rather than just setting rules and restrictions that may otherwise be seen as arbitrary.

OKAY Here are the reviews...

Best for All-Around Protection

Parental control app Qustodio is a highly configurable, easy-to-manage tool for keeping track of your child's activity on Windows, macOS, Chromebook, iOS, Android, and even Kindle devices, though it is expensive.

Pros

·         Well-designed web interface

·         Comprehensive time restrictions

·         App blocking on desktop and mobile platforms

·         Cross-platform support

·         Intuitive apps

Cons

·         Expensive

·         VPN breaks web filter on desktop and mobile browsers

·         Social media tracking limited to Facebook

Second Best for All-Around Protection

Bark monitors social media instead of simply blocking those apps. Your teen gets the chance to responsibly use social sites, but you’ll get an alert if concerning messages are sent or received. Bark is one of the few parental control apps that monitors emails and PC-based online activity so there are fewer ways for kids to sneak around the app. 

We do think Bark has one minor flaw: “screen time management” is more like “internet management.” The remote time-out function only turns off the phone’s internet access. If your kid is a text-aholic, they might still be glued to their screen when they’re supposed to be taking a break.

Pros

·         Computer monitoring Email monitoring

·         Social media monitoring

·         Text message monitoring

·         Text and email alerts  

Cons

·         No location tracking or geofencing

·         Expensive choice for just one child

·         Relatively short trial period

·         Remote time-out doesn’t turn off texts  

Best for Large Families

Kaspersky Safe Kids is a full-featured, affordable parental monitoring system for desktop and mobile platforms that doesn't impose limits on the number of devices you can monitor.

Pros

·         Affordable

·         No limit on devices or child profiles

·         Flexible control of device and app usage

·         Robust web filtering

·         Geofencing

·         Extensive alert system

Cons

·         Several iOS limitations

·         Content filtering limited to specific browsers

·         Social monitoring only covers Facebook and VK

·         Sluggish web interface

Best for Easy Setup

Norton Family makes it easy for parents to track their children's activity across many devices, though it doesn't work on Macs, and its iOS app relies on Apple's free Screen Time feature to do the blocking and tracking.

Pros

• Affordable

• Good web dashboard

• No limit on the number of monitored devices

• Easy setups and configurations

• Excellent geofencing tools

Cons

• Does not work on Macs. Browser extensions can be disabled easily.

• Cannot block individual apps and games on PCs

• Unlocking an iOS device breaks monitoring alerts

• No social media tracking

Best for Custom Web Filters

Net Nanny boasts customizable web filters along with solid screen time and app blocking features, but it's a bit pricey and its geofencing features are not yet competitive.

Pros

·         Simple setup

·         Capable screen time options

·         App blocking

·         Custom web filters

Cons

·         Expensive

·         Web filters defeated by Tor

·         Relatively few preset web filters

·         Limited geofencing features

Best for Location Tracking

Locategy's parental control app for Android and iOS keeps track of your kid's activities and location, but the apps are missing social media monitoring of any kind and there's no support for Macs or PCs.

Pros

·         Excellent iOS and Android app design

·         Accurate and well-implemented location tracking

·         App blocking and usage schedules

·         Free version available

Cons

·         No support for Macs and PCs

·         No social media monitoring

·         Web filtering only works on specific browsers

Best for Cross-Platform Monitoring

Mobicip gives you the basic tools you need to monitor your children's web and app activity, but the lack of sophisticated time- and location-tracking features hold it back.

Pros

·         Well-designed mobile apps.

·         Organized web interface.

·         App blocking.

·         Supports lots of platforms.

Cons

·         Kids can bypass desktop browsing restrictions.

·         Awkward iOS configuration.

·         No geofencing.

·         Only lets you set time schedules, not total time limits.

Best for Seamless Home Setups

Parental control device Circle Home Plus delivers good tools for keeping an eye on your home network and protecting your children's phones and tablets, but it is susceptible to workarounds and its reporting features aren't as robust as competitors'.

Pros

·         Easy setup.

·         Reliable web and time restrictions.

·         Detects and implements restrictions for devices on the network quickly.

·         Intuitive apps.

·         Supports an unlimited number of devices.

Cons

·         Expensive.

·         Lacks top features, such as geofencing and ability to fully lock device use.

·         Physical device introduces some vulnerability.

Best for Custom Geofences

Boomerang is a solid parental control app for Android and iOS that helps parents track their children's web, app, and mobile activity. It's mobile-only, though, so you can't use it to monitor Macs or PCs.

Pros

·         Good app and device usage controls

·         Useful web filters

·         Supports geofencing

·         Call and SMS supervision on Android

Cons

·         Only monitors mobile devices

·         Currently requires users to sideload Android app

·         Single-device plan is expensive

·         Limitations on iOS