![]() With a single toggle, parents can reward kids with free time outside of the daily schedule or automatically lock certain apps (or the whole device) for a timeout. If you've found that the phone or tablet works well as a discipline tactic, an app with an ad-hoc locking or unlocking feature is a must. Older kids may not need hardcore web filtering or strict monitoring of the numbers that text and call them, while younger kids who don't text or go anywhere by themselves will probably require reliable geofencing and parental approval of apps they try to download. From there, criteria for an app that works for your family depends on nuances. ![]() Most decent apps can set limits on screen time, send an activity report of which apps are used the most, and let parents block or delete sketchy or distracting apps. What is the best parental control app for Android? For instance, many parents like to disable games or social media apps during school. Geofencing can also be used to monitor web time when your child is in a designated location. Teenagers may even enjoy not being bombarded with "Where are you?" texts. The geofencing feature will monitor their phone's location and will alert you if your child doesn't show up to the scheduled area on time, and some even offer an SOS button for emergency situations. Let's say that your child goes straight from school to a sports practice three times a week. This location-based service lets you set up virtual boundaries around where a child should or shouldn't be, as well as a specific time that the child should be there. Though most have a basic "Where's my child?" GPS function, only a select few software options offer geofencing. Geofencing is great for parents juggling the schedules of multiple childrenĪ parental control app can also help keep tabs on your kid when they're away from home. ![]() Unless you're all registered through Google Family Link (a separately-downloaded parental control app from Google - more on that below), parents can't tailor settings from their own phone or get notifications about suspicious activity. They don't touch on screen time, real-time web filtering, blocking of specific websites or apps, recurring geofencing, or school, homework, or bedtime schedules. For kids who just need a few loose boundaries to ensure that their apps and movies are age-appropriate, the Google Play settings that limit content to your specified highest rating (like T for Teen or PG-13) could suffice.īut Google Play's options won't be comprehensive enough for a lot of people. These quick, laid back starter controls can act as a trial run for how kids will respond to parent-supervised phone or tablet usage. Android's version are in the Google Play settings. Most smartphones are equipped with some sort of in-house parental controls. How are parental control apps different from Google Play controls? The content of Google's RCS text messages are easier to log with an app than with iMessage, but parents can probably see iMessages if they share an Apple ID with their kid. On the same beat, some brands of parental control software that work on desktops, laptops, and mobile devices aren't able to be downloaded onto Macs (like Norton) - an obvious restriction for pro-Apple families who want to use the same parental control software on a kid's Phone and MacBook. ![]() ![]() Many parental control apps that don't play well with iOS ( like Qustodio (opens in a new tab)) have no problem running their full suite of features on Android's flexible OS, giving families who prefer Samsung and Google phones over iPhones, or Fire Tablets and Galaxy Tabs over iPads, a more robust approach device monitoring. These apps, which usually require access to a phone's location, contacts, browsing history, and call and text history, are occasionally hindered by Apple's more strict app restrictions (like a 2019 policy change that slashed functionality on a handful of apps). Apple has held the lead for years - and though the gap is expected to close with the 2020 release of Android 11 (opens in a new tab) and its heightened privacy measures, iOS 14's release (opens in a new tab) will be right on its heels.īut one aspect of cyber safety remains Android's turf: Cooperating with parental control apps. The security battle between iOS and Android tightens each time an operating system update comes out. ![]()
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