Currently, many kids have internet access on the tip of their fingers. Many parents don’t know what their kids are surfing on the internet and only realise when they are in trouble. Technology is emerging rapidly now a days; thus, parents are always looking for solutions to track and monitor their kid’s activities on their phones or desktop.
During covid lockdown, many kids had to study from home, so parents provided them smartphones, tablets and laptops to attend online lectures and learn from them. Many times internet is very useful for kids to surf educational content and some fun content too. But, apart from that the bigger concern is some potentially dangerous apps, unwanted websites and many more things. Kids are unaware of such threats while surfing the internet and thus lose money or get bullied by others.
Thankfully parents can now easily track and monitor kid’s activities online using the parental control app. Parental control apps allow parents to set screen time, restrict websites, record calls and many more things which we will discuss here.
In many homes, there is a parental control router that allows parents to restrict their kids activities online and can block some websites only when using a home wifi network. Parental control apps allow parents to monitor all their kids activity no matter where they are. Parents can track their kids if they are in school or even college. They can monitor their geographic locations, can listen to their surroundings, and some apps can allow accessing the cameras too.
5 Best Parental Monitoring Apps to Track Kids Online Activities
#1 mSpy
mSpy is possibly the best smartphone monitoring app available on internet allows parents to track almost everything from their phone.
mSpy Features
- Track whatsapp messages and images
- Spy on major social media apps including Instagram and Facebook
- Track and monitor chats in Snapchat, Skype and Hangouts
- Monitor complete chat in Tinder
- Screen recording
- Monitor emails
- Track live locations
- Android and iOS keylogger (Monitor what they type)
mSpy Pros
- Quick support in multiple languages
- Easy to Use
- No need to root or jailbreak to use some features
- Compatible with iphone and android
mSpy Cons
- Mspy is very costly compared to other parental control apps
- One plan for one device
- Free trial is not available
mSpy compatibility
- Compatible with all iOS versions (Including iPhone & iPad)
- Compatible with all Android versions (Android 4+)
mSpy pricing
- 1 Month – $48.99/mo*
- 3 Months – $27.99/mo*
- 12 Months – $11.66/mo*
#2 XNSPY
XNSPY is top rated cellphone monitoring app/software by leading media outlets. XNSPY allows to track 12 different social media apps along with some other incredible features. Parents can monitor and track phone calls, multimedia and emails from their kids phone.
XNSPY Features
- Record and monitor all calls
- Track all SMS on device
- Check internet history on browsers
- Monitor messaging apps including whatsapp, facebook, Snapchat, imessage, Instagram, viber, line and skype
- Track current locations and past location history
- Set geo-fencing alerts
- Screen recording and app blocking features
XNSPY Compatibility
- Compatible with all android devices (Android 4+ Versions)
- Compatible with all ios devices (iOS 6+ versions)
- Compatible for iphone and ipads
XNSPY Pricing
- $7.50/mo* (Yearly Plan)
- $20.00/mo* (Quarterly Plan)
- $35.99/mo* (Monthly Plan)
XNSPY Pros
- User friendly and fast installation process
- Real time data update
- App available in multiple languages
- 24/7 Live support
XNSPY Cons
- Free trial is not available
#3 Net Nanny
Net Nanny is one of the best parental control to keep safe your family and kids from online threat. With Net Nanny parental control parents can easily track the digital habits and footprint and keep them safe from harmful content. Net Nanny isn’t fancy parental control app but provides very useful features that too in affordable plans.
Net Nanny Features
- High quality internet filter feature (Easily filter Content based on different options)
- Screen time management
- Website blocker (Can block unwanted websites easily)
- Block unwanted apps
- Track & monitor kids live location
- Monitor youtube videos
- Track & monitor social media apps including Tik Tok, Instagram, Facebook and more.
Net Nanny Compatibility
- Nat Nanny is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android, iOS/Apple and Kindle Fire
- Windows 10 and higher version
- MacOS 10.13 and higher
- Android 6.x and higher
- iOS 12.1 and higher
- Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8 and 9 (8th Generation) running FireOS 6.3.0.1 or 6.4.1.2
- Chromebook – with access to Play Store
Net Nanny Pricing
- $39.99/Year (PC & Mac)
- $54.99/Year (5 Devices Plan – iOS, Android & Mac)
- $89.99/Year (20 Devices Plan – iOS, Android & Mac)
Net Nanny Pros
- Impressive internet filter feature
- Website and Apps blocking capabilities
Net Nanny Cons
- Limited features compared to other parental monitoring apps
- Live demo isn’t available on website
#4 Qustodio
Qustodio is one of the most used parental control app by parents. As per qustodio currently over 4 million parents are using qustodio parental control tools to track and monitor kids activities online.
Qustodio Features
- Easy web filtering option
- Monitor and track all online activities
- Set time limits to avoid screen addiction
- Live location tracker
- Track all calls and SMS on Android and iOS devices
Qustodio Compatibility
- Qustodio is compatible with Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Android, iPhone, iPad and Kindle
- Compatible with iOS 12 or later
- Compatible with Android 6 or higher version
Qustodio Price
- $54.95/Year (5 Devices)
- $96.95/Year (10 Devices)
- $137.95/Year (15 Devices)
Qustodio Pros
- App blocking feature is available
- Allows multiple device tracking plan
- Easy to use interface
Qustodio Cons
- Very limited features compared to other parental controls
- No social media messages and monitoring available
- Very expensive
#5 Bark.us
Bark is one of the most popular parental control app available online. As per Bark data this tool has covered 6 million kids tracking, 629 thousand self harf situations detected and around 2.6 million bullying situation detected.
All the above situations are very critical for parents thus they have trusted bark to track their kids online activities and save them from harmful content and situations.
Bark Features
- Track & Monitor text messages
- Social media apps tracking
- Review and monitor web searches
- Set up screen time schedules
- Block website & apps
- Frequently get location alerts of your kids
- Monitor 30+ Apps and platforms
Bark Compatibility
- Mac Operating System versions 10.11 or later
- Windows Operating System versions 7, 8, 10, or 11 (64-bit)
- Android version 5.0 or later
- Apple’s iOS 11 or later
Bark Price
- Bark Premium ($14 / Month)
- Bark Junior ($5 / Month)
Bark Pros
- Free trial available
- Most affordable parental control
- Get parental monitoring alerts like cyber bullying, predators & more
Bark Cons
- Geo fencing feature is not available
- Available in limited languages
- Set up is little time consuming
