The best apps to monitor children using phones

As a responsible parent, it is your duty to keep your children safe when they are exposed to the dangers of the Internet. Here is a list of the best parental control apps, to help you compare the different options available.

1. FamiSafe

FamiSafe comes with various monitoring features – such as real-time GPS location and history – that can help parents keep track of their child's smartphone activities and protect them from any potential harm.

FamiSafe can also monitor a specific device's screen usage, allowing you to set usage limits. It has a Smart Schedule feature that can set up different phone usage plans for specific locations or occasions.

The FamiSafe app can block apps based on age, which can prevent children from accessing inappropriate apps. It can also filter websites and block them through categories or by specifically adding target website addresses. When it comes to YouTube content, parents can create alert keywords and receive notifications when those keywords are detected.

Famisafe includes an algorithm that detects photos containing nudity or pornography, and parents will automatically receive notifications when these inappropriate photos are displayed.

The FamiSafe parental control app for iPhone has seven built-in website databases containing harmful websites, which can help prevent your kids from accessing the dark side of the Internet.

2. Screen Time

Screen Time is one of the best parental control apps for iPhone as it has a highly effective monitoring tool for parents who want to keep a check on their kids' smartphone activities.

It also has the benefit of providing different rules for screen time usage. Among the features of Screen Time is the ability to pause apps directly. So any parent who wants to keep a close eye on their child has the option to pause the Internet and apps on their iPhone at a moment’s notice.

3. Boomerang

Boomerang is one of the most trusted parental control apps for iPhone. Its main focus is limiting kids' screen time, with other features like location tracking and safe browsing also available.

Parents also have the option to hide and restrict iPhone apps based on age ratings and generate activity reports that can help parents assess their children’s phone usage, so if a child deletes an app, parents will be notified immediately.

4. Kaspersky Safe Kids

This app is created by Kaspersky, a developer known for its antivirus software. It offers a more focused solution than the other options on this list as it mainly features screen time management and app usage management.

With Kaspersky Safe Kids , parents can monitor their children's public Facebook activity. It also offers YouTube SafeSearch to help monitor safe video browsing while on YouTube.

The app can also block games and other apps that could potentially expose your child to inappropriate content.

5. Net Nanny

Net Nanny is one of the most popular parental control apps for both iPhone and Android devices. Recent reviews have deemed it one of the best parental control apps that works smoothly on iPhone.

Net Nanny’s most appreciated features are its web and app filtering. With this, parents have the option to receive alerts for websites or apps that display provocative content that is not appropriate for their children. They can also manually select websites to block or let Net Nanny scan in real time to determine which websites are inappropriate.

Net Nanny extends to social media sites as it can include Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter. The app also provides a 30-day log of web history, screen time, and location history.

6. Norton 360 Deluxe

Norton 360 Deluxe offers a formidable antivirus software that includes parental controls in its package. It offers a menu of 40 web filtering categories that will warn kids about websites they shouldn't visit.

The category range includes sites themed around pornography, drugs, and more. This parental control option even covers online chat and file sharing, with safety features around personal data and malware threat detection.

Norton also offers dark web protection to ensure your kids' personal information doesn't end up floating around.

7. Mobicip

Mobicip is one of the best parental control apps for iPhone as it provides parents with a convenient option to monitor their children's smartphone usage.

It can block websites by category to protect your kids. It can also provide four weeks of online history so any parent can review their child's online preferences.

8. OurPact

OurPact is said to be the easiest parental control app to use. Parents can use this app to monitor their kids and also limit their smartphone usage.

One of the coolest features of this app is that parents can block messages on a specific device, which is a welcome addition to protect your kids. You can also block apps on your child's phone for a specific period of time.