If you have been on the lookout for ways to control the content that your kids have access to on their smartphones or tablets, this is absolutely the correct guide. Read on to discover some of the best parental control apps for iOS and Android that you can use to monitor your kid’s activity in 2020!
The digital era of smartphones and tablets has brought about many improvements in all sorts of areas. One of the biggest benefits that modern-day technology has caused is advancements in education and learning. Getting access to online means of learning and study materials is something that has become incredibly easier over the years since the internet is literally home to millions of beneficial articles and studies. There are, however, many other aspects of the internet that have gotten the attention of all age groups everywhere, one of them being entertainment.
Most kids and young adults now spend most of their time online, using their smartphones or other smart devices. While the majority of kids only ever watch cartoons or anime on apps like YouTube or Netflix, it is oftentimes really easy to get carried away by the NSFW content on the internet. This is thus a very common concern that many parents have – what type of content their kids have access to and what kind should they not. While manually checking your kid’s phone’s search history is always an option – it often intrudes their privacy and is something that is not well appreciated.
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This is why there are various parental control apps that allow you to restrict and monitor your kid’s access on their smartphones or tablets. Most of these apps are geared towards parents who hate having to snatch gadgets away from their children when its time for bed. You can set time limits of all the apps installed on your smartphone with such a service, ensuring that your kids don’t strain themselves too much while playing a game or watching YouTube or Netflix. In any case, we have taken the liberty of narrowing down the list to some of the best parental control apps available for iOS and Android that you can download in 2020! So sit back, relax and enjoy the read!
Best Parental Control Apps for iOS and Android
#1 – Norton Family Premier
Kicking the list off, we have a really powerful parental control app that is best suited for parents whose kids usually use their computer or laptop to get things done. While there are a few options within the app that also works for mobile devices and other handheld gadgets, the key aspect with Norton Family Premier is its ability to block entire websites themselves. So if you do not want your kids to gain access to any suspicious or unmonitored websites, simply add them to the blacklist and they will be blocked from your IP address.
You can easily create a log of activity and monitor which websites your kids visit the most and how much time they spend on each one. This is useful is not only trying to restrict the time they spend on entertainment websites but also to know your kids better. You can block websites like mentioned previously and also can set a specific time window for certain websites and apps that you only want to be accessible during the day or the night. You can also block apps or restrict usage on mobile devices making it quite useful for kids who have their own phones or tablets. The only big downside with this app is its hefty price tag of $50 per year, but it is one of the most powerful parental control apps out there. You can download Norton Family Premier for your Android or iOS device by following the links to their respective app stores given below:
[googleplay url=”https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.symantec.familysafety&hl=en_GB”]
#2 – Qustodio
Next up on our list is Qustodio – which is yet another great way to monitor your child’s activity on their devices. The user interface of the app is really clean and functional. You get a really good looking dashboard with all the information you need at a glance. You can view the total amount of time that your kids have spent using their phone and even view in detail every app alongside the time they’ve spent using them. You can expect the same set of features that you normally get with the other parental control apps on this level.
You can set timers for each app, block websites to ensure your kids don’t have access to any risky or shady sites and can even limit the time they can spend on their smartphones. You can filter out websites and apps based on the categories and block certain ones that you deem inappropriate for your children such as gambling websites, violence or weapon-based content or other adult-only services. The app has controls that you can tweak for children at every age as well. Pricing is a bit steep, starting at $55 per year which gives you access for up to 5 devices. However, you can still use the free version if you don’t need a whole lot of features. You can download Qustodio for your Android or iOS device by following the links to their respective app stores given below:
[googleplay url=”https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.qustodio.qustodioapp”]
#3 – Family Time
Ending our list of some of the best parental control apps for iOS and Android out there, we have Family Time which is in our opinion the most powerful way to control and monitor your child’s smartphone use. Not only does the app has one of the best user interfaces we’ve ever seen in a parental control app, but is also rich in terms of features and options that it gives to the user. You can create different profiles for your different children and have personalized settings for each one of them, depending upon their age.
You can restrict the time they spend on specific apps or block them altogether. There is a powerful geofencing feature as well that alerts you if any of the smartphones your kids have access to have left a specified boundary, say your house or backyard. This will be most appreciated by parents who aren’t always at home to monitor their kids. You gain access to full location tracking using GPS – and in real-time at that. Another feature that is pretty unique to Family Time is the fact that you can create homework or different tasks within the app itself, making it more useful than just being a parental control service.
The free version of the app does exist, although at the cost of ads and limited functionality. If you want a truly unparalleled experience with no ads and all the features that we’ve mentioned above, you have a few options for the subscriptions too. The starter subscription costs $27 per year for a single phone, but you can stretch that all the way up to $70 per year for 5 devices. However, we appreciate the fact that you can still use this app for free if you only need the most basic set of features. You can download Family Time for your Android or iOS device by following the links to their respective app stores given below:
[googleplay url=”https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.familytime.dashboard&hl=en_GB”]
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That concludes our list for some of the best parental control apps for iOS and Android devices in 2020! We hope with this guide you have found the app that suits your requirements the best. If you have any suggestions for other apps that you think we’ve missed on our list of the best parental control apps out there, make sure you leave a comment below since we would love to hear your opinion as well!
