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Children today are private and feel that parents shouldn’t be hovering over them. When our kids start keeping friends or hiding their phones from us, or when they start maintaining certain types of friends, we as parents are unable to stop ourselves from wondering what they do with their phones.
Thankfully, science has made it possible for technology to defeat technology. Parental control apps have been created by software developers. Finding the finest parental control app can be challenging because of how prevalent these apps have gotten.
Others demand a subscription or some other form of payment in order to access the app, while some are free, at least temporarily. We have created a list of The finest free parental control apps in this article.
1. Google Family Link
In order to allow children under the age of 13 to have their own Google accounts and Android devices while enabling parents to monitor how and how long their children used those devices, Google first introduced Family Link back in 2017.
Since then, the service has developed into one of the top parental-control applications for a variety of age groups, adding more features to match the functionality of its for-pay competitors. Google Family Link executes its basic feature set fairly effectively, despite lacking robust online filtering and many of the tiny frills you get with competing apps.
Google Family Link works well, is free, and is integrated with the Android operating system. If you don’t care too much about content filtering and would rather keep an eye on your child’s screen time, app usage, and location, it’s worth a look. Depending on your needs, it can also complement one of the paid parental-control apps effectively.
2. AirDroid Parental Control App
To give parents a tool to utilize in monitoring their children’s online activity, AirDroid developed parental control software. This top parental control app for iPhone and Android devices is a valuable tool for shielding children from the negative aspects of the internet.
It allows parents and guardians to remotely manage and monitor children’s Android smartphones.
Call tracking, screen time limits, location tracking, app blocking, and many more features are just a few of its features. Before purchasing a plan, you are entitled to a three-day free trial. Additionally, it has some distinctive characteristics, including the following:
Key Features:
- View and listen to kids’ surroundings online to ensure their safety
- Remotely know what kids are doing on their Android devices
- Track app activity and set time limits on certain apps
- Track Android phones for free in real-time and set geofencing
3. Qustodio Parental Control Software
One of the most well-liked parental control apps, Qustodio, aids families in monitoring and protecting their children online. This program provides a variety of parental control options, including detailed email reports of the kids’ daily activities. A thorough web filter, several screen time control tools, and real-time geotracking are all features of Qustodio.
Due to the browser-independent filtering provided by the Qustodio Parental Control software, children won’t be able to view the content just because they have updated their phone’s browser. The software has a tab specifically for tracking Facebook activity. This app provides a level of specificity that allows helpful apps, like reading apps, at particular times (like before bed), but blocks apps like gaming.
The software can only email parents notifications, which they may choose to ignore. Some people prefer to utilize the app’s free version because it is also fantastic.
4. iKeyMonitor
iKeyMonitor is a parental control and employee monitoring program created to assist parents and businesses in keeping track of call logs, text messages, and GPS whereabouts of kids and employees across mobile and tablet devices. Supervisors can use it to keep tabs on user activity and defend against hacks and harassment.
The application allows supervisors and guardians to see call logs, keep tabs on their children’s social media activity, confirm the date and time of calls, and learn about users’ productivity. Numerous capabilities, like chat monitoring, GPS tracking, call recording, analytics, remote access, and more, are available with iKeyMonitor.
Additionally, administrators can use the built-in geofencing functionality to track the whereabouts of employees, designate geofencing borders, and get email notifications when employees cross those bounds.
5. Screen Time – Parental Control
You can monitor how much time your children spend using their tablets and smartphones by using the parental control app ScreenTime, which is available for iOS and Android.
Parents can help their kids develop good habits by giving them tasks to accomplish and rewarding them for spending more time on screens. The instant pause feature, which is popular among parents and is great for getting kids to the dinner table or out the door for school, will instantly pause their gadget.
You can restrict activity during school hours and ban specific apps at specific times of day with the ScreenTime parental control software.
6. OurPact – Parental Control App
You can regulate how much time younger children spend on tablets and smartphones with Ourpact, a parental control tool. OurPact is a parental control app, app blocker, GPS locator, child tracker, and family locator that gives parents the ability to regulate the amount of screen time their families spend using technology and find out where family members are.
This app resembles a family locator and screen time control much more. This program is available for Android, iPhones, and iPads, and it allows for manual banning and screen time management. In order to receive real-time notifications when their children leave and enter their home, school, or any other designated zone, parents can set up GPS geofences around certain areas.
OurPact is a comprehensive kid tracker and parental control system that allows parents control over screen time and the assurance that they always know where their kids are.
7. MMGuardian Parental Control
A very well-liked parental control app that works with all of the top Android and iOS devices available is MMGuardian. We can easily keep an eye on how our children use their devices thanks to the affordable cost and user-friendly UI. However, in the current environment, it’s critical to choose a parental control program that can satisfy all of your needs. You’ve come to the right place if you’re unsure about whether MMGuardian is the ideal parental control solution for you. To help you decide, we have published a thorough evaluation of MMGuardian.
Features:
Location monitoring
Once MMGuardian is loaded on your child’s smartphone, you may track them from a distance. You can access its features by going to the MMGuardian online panel or using a smartphone.
Web filtration
The web filtering feature on your child’s phone allows you to block any adult or unsuitable content. Additionally, a safe browsing feature is offered.
Blocking calls and SMS
You can stop your children from phoning or texting someone if you don’t want them to be in contact with them.
Limit your time
Set a screen time limit for the device to prevent your children from developing a smartphone addiction.
8. Bark: Parental Control App for iPhone, Android, & Amazon Fire
Just about every parental control app on the market makes the claim that it will shield your children from the worst online risks, but they frequently give you very little control over how this is done. An app might fully restrict chat apps for children under the age of 12, but then let children over that age do anything they want; not much “parental control” there.
Bark goes far further, keeping an eye on emails, texts, chats, and more than 30 popular social networks and applications. It analyses text, images, and videos for what it refers to as “concerning interactions.” The system delivers alerts via email, SMS, or directly to the parent’s app if it detects anything that it thinks might be a symptom of cyberbullying, predators, sexting, drug use, suicidal thoughts, or other issues.
9. FamilyTime – Parental Control & Screen Time App for Android
There is a good reason why parental control software exists. Children may purposefully or unintentionally browse inappropriate websites. They might use their devices at inappropriate times or for an excessive amount of time. Perhaps your child is messaging dubious people.
Tokyo-based FamilyTime is aware of the dangers that today’s smartphones present to your children. The majority of these behaviors may be prevented and monitored using its dedicated parental control software for Android and iOS, although it is limited by its high cost and patchy feature set.
Keep in mind that this is solely a mobile-based solution; if your children use Macs or PCs, you’ll need to locate a different one.
10. Boomerang Parental Control
Boomerang is a competent parental control tool that provides both Android and iOS users with a comprehensive set of functions for managing apps, restricting the web, and locating children.
For example, you can restrict access to specific apps while imposing time restrictions on others. The apps you put on an “Encouraged” list will not count toward your child’s device usage time if you want to encourage them to use them, such as educational or reading apps.
Boomerang is more intelligent than that, unlike some parental controls that may be circumvented by simply adding other apps. Until you authorize them, the Android build prevents the installation of new apps.
Chrome and Boomerang’s SPIN Safe browsers both offer safe browsing. For Google, Bing, and Yahoo, this ensures safe browsing and can automatically ban objectionable websites by category (pornography, hate, violence, and more). Bonus You can filter content using the YouTube app and keep an eye on your child’s browsing and viewing history thanks to YouTube support.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many options available when it comes to selecting the finest free parental control program to support you in keeping an eye on and maintaining control over your children’s digital gadgets. So Explore and choose the best for your child.
About Author
I’m Dhwani Madan, presently working as a Content Writer at Cloudfindr. I am a passionate, adventurous, and insatiate learner who loves to write about the latest technology trends. My experience working in an MNC has motivated me to understand that there are certain niche requirements for writing strategically about brands’ messages towards people’s interests which I’ve mastered over time through trial and error of many projects under various clients across diverse industries. It is my honest effort to put my experiences and knowledge of industry towards readers.