Top 20 Parental Control Apps for Android/iOS 2024
Estimates say that 50% of children between the age of 5 and 15 use mobile phones on a daily basis while the percentage is even higher for the kids between 12 and 15 years at 86%. With such widespread usage of cellphones and tablets, it is no wonder that the parents are growing more and more concerned about how their children spend their time online.
On the plus side, however, there is an easy way to keep an eye on your kids by monitoring their online activities. There are many amazing parental control apps for Android and/or iOS that can help you keep your kids safe and have a full picture of how they spend their time online.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the top parental control apps for Android/iOS in 2024:
EvaSpy is the best parental control app for Android by far. It offers so many monitoring features that parents can keep an eye on any kind of user activity, including calls, chats, locations, text messages, and media files. Let’s have a look at the major features of this parental control app:
- Call monitoring and restriction enabled you to check call logs with contacts’ names and numbers, duration of calls, and timestamps. If you find a contact suspicious, you can simply add it to the blacklist and block its incoming calls.
- Spying on messengers and social apps: track your kid’s interactions on Viber, Skype, Facebook, Telegram, Tinder, Instagram, Snapchat, and other popular chats. Restrict the child’s access to time-wasters or dating apps with the help of the blacklist of applications.
- Location tracking: you can view the current GPS location in your online account as well as check route history with timestamps and addresses on a detailed map. Further, enable GEO-fencing to be notified when the kid reaches unwanted destinations or leaves safe perimeters.
- Media monitoring: on your online account, you’ll view all media files that are stored on the kid’s device (photo, video, audio).
- Online activity recording: check the kid’s search queries and visited the website to make sure that he/she never access unwanted content. Block websites or URLs that you find inappropriate.
- Online monitoring: EvaSpy lets you track the device remotely via an online account.
- Fast installation: the app is easy to use and configure since no root is required.
- Spying on live surroundings: you can also enable mic and camera surveillance and learn what’s going on near the Android smartphone.
mSpy is a fantastic cellphone tracking app that will give you a full overview of your child’s activity on their phone. With mSpy you can:
- Manage Calls — You can see all incoming and outgoing calls as well as their durations. In case you don’t want your child to receive calls from a specific number, you can simply block that number and your child will have no future access to it and vice versa.
- Track Text Messages — This useful feature allows you to review all text messages, iMessages, as well as the multimedia files sent or received by your child.
- Read Messaging Apps — Nowadays, the majority of communication happens over messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger, Viber, Skype, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and similar. With this feature, you can keep track of all messages your child sends or receives via the messaging apps.
- Track GPS Location –This feature allows you to track the location of your child’s phone. Additionally, you will be able to save the so-called safe zones such as school, home, grandparents’ house, etc. and receive automatic notifications when your child leaves the safe zone.
- Control Apps and Programs — With this feature, you can stay up to date with the apps and programs your child uses on their phone and you can block all the apps that you don’t want them to use.
- View Multimedia Files — You can keep track of all photos, videos, and other multimedia files saved on your child’s phone. When your kid takes a new photo or video, it will automatically be uploaded to your account where you can see it even when you don’t have the access to the phone itself.
- Monitor Internet Activity — This feature allows you to see which websites your child visits and how much time they spend there, and you can also block the sites you want to prevent them from visiting.
3. FamilyTime
FamilyTime is a parental control app packed with useful features that will help you monitor your child’s phone activity. With this app, you can limit screen time on your child’s mobile phone to help them have a healthy daily balance, you can set up Watchlist Contacts feature that will help you keep track of the people contacting your child and blocking the unwanted contacts, see the multimedia files they share with their friends, etc.
To make things even better, you will get access to the Location History where you can see all the places your child visited over a specific period of time while the Family Map allows you to check where your child is located right now. You can also set up virtual Geo Fences around places you don’t want your child to visit and you will be automatically notified if your child enters them.
4. Qustodio
Qustodio is a free parental control app that works great with all kinds of operating systems but is particularly useful for monitoring your child’s phone and/or tablet activities. All you have to do is install the app on all your kids’ devices and use your own mobile phone to supervise them.
With Qustodio, you can block inappropriate content both manually and automatically with the help of the app’s smart filters; you can balance screen time and limit it across all the devices your children use; you can control apps and games and set time limits for them or even block them altogether; you can monitor all popular social networks the time your children spend using them; you can monitor calls and text messages as well as all the contacts; and you can track your children’s locations at all times.
Eset Parental Control will help you monitor your children’s online activity and keep them safe from inappropriate content or even potential online predators. This app comes in two versions; free and premium.
With the free version, you will be able to monitor websites your child visits, monitor the apps they use, set fun & games time limits as well as fun & games budget limits, and get basic activity reports. The premium version comes with some additional advanced features including web guard filtering, safe search, child locator, geofencing, and full activity reports.
6. WebWatcher
WebWatcher is a parental control app that will let you monitor all of your child’s online activities from your secure online account. This app is very easy to install and set up, and what makes it even better is the fact that is it entirely desecrate and tamper-proof.
You will get full reports of your child’s phone activities with highlighted Risky Behavior items to protect your child against both online and offline dangers. Some of the things WebWatchers will help you keep track of are inappropriate behavior, cyberbullying, online predators, suicide prevention, sexting, drug & alcohol use, gambling, and more.
Norton Family Premier is an award-winning parental control software that will help you keep your child safe and secure during their online activities. With this app, your kids can explore the internet safely without being exposed to inappropriate websites, apps, and content. Additionally, you can set screen time limitations and intervene immediately if the app recognizes your child’s behaviour as potentially dangerous.
And while you can install Norton Family Premier on most of the screen devices in your home, with cellphones and tablets, you will also be able to keep an eye on your child’s location and keep track of the places they visit the most.
8. unGlue
If you want to teach your kids how to balance their online time, unGlue is one of the best apps that can help you do just that. To start using this app, you simply have to download it to your smartphone and set up your kids’ mobile devices. With the unGlue Home Monitor feature, you can connect all devices in your home and keep track of everything your children do online at all times.
You can set Weekday and Weekend Entertainment Limits, Weekday and Weekend Internet Access Time, and even motivate your kids to get more active with the Steps4Time feature that allows your child to exchange daily steps for the screen minutes.
9. Net Nanny
Net Nanny is a parental control software that has been around since 1996 and it has continued to improve over the years to stay up to date with all the newest dangers your children can be exposed to online. It comes with an amazing content filtering feature that will help you keep your child’s online browsing safe in real-time, it allows you to limit screen time, and it can be can be used across all devices in your home.
The most important features of this handy software include but are not limited to Pornography Blocking, Parental Control, Internet Filter, Time Management, Alerts and Reporting, Remote Administration, and User Profiles and Settings.
10. Family Orbit
Family Orbit is a software that comes with a set of comprehensive parental controls and monitoring features to keep your child’s interaction with the digital world as safe as possible. It allows you to monitor phone usage, track your child’s location, limit screen time, and block access to inappropriate websites and content.
In addition to that, Family Orbit also enables you to see all text messages and call records on your child’s phone, get access to the address book and block unwanted contacts, see photos and videos that your child captures and/or shares with friends, see which websites they visit, and more.
11. Kidslox
Kidslox is a parental control app specifically designed for phones and tablets and it comes with a variety of features that will help you control your child’s interactions with the digital world. With Kidslox, you can lock apps, block unwanted content, set daily limits, set schedules, and more. You can download the app for free, install it in just a couple of minutes, and start monitoring all your child’s activities on their phone and tablet immediately.
12. SecureTeen
If you have a teen child whom you want to protect from suspicious and potentially dangerous online activities, SecureTeen is a parental control app that could help you at that. It will help you protect your kid from online dangers such as cyberbullying, sexual predators, and similar, while it will also automatically block all the inappropriate content and suspicious websites. Some of the SecureTeen’s best features include location tracking, chat messengers and SMS monitoring, blocking unwanted apps and websites, full reports on the internet activity, and remote management.
The installation process is also fairly simple and it comes down to three steps; downloading and installing the app, customizing rules and settings according to your preferences and needs, and starting to monitor all the activities remotely.
Kaspersky Safe Kids was specifically designed to help the parents keep track of their children’s digital activities and keep their kids safe in the online world at all times. This app allows you to manage your kids’ screen time and use of the apps; reports on their public social media activity such as Facebook posts; shares useful advice from top child psychologists; and allows parents to block access to inappropriate content and websites.
Aside from the digital world, Kaspersky also helps you keep your kids safe in the real world by tracking your kids’ location, letting youdefine safe zones for them and reporting instantly if they step out of a safe zone, and notifying you and the child when their battery level is low.
14. Kidgy
Kidgy is one of the top apps for the parents who want to keep their children safe in the digital world and it uses a variety of features to help you make sure that your kids are not getting themselves in trouble. With Kidgy, you can monitor your kids’ text messages, track their location with real-time place and time stamps, mark safe zones and set up geofences, manage the apps usage, monitor their calls and contacts, block unwanted content with top-notch internet filters, and even allow your kid to hit a panic button if they feel like they need your immediate intervention and/or help.
15. Pumpic
Pumpic is an app for Android and iOS smartphones and tablets monitoring that allows you to monitor phone usage, follow online activity, and control the device remotely. This means that with Pumpic, you can track calls and text messages; monitor, block, and limit messages; check contacts and calendar; monitor browsing history; block websites and apps; monitor social media and chat messengers, and more.
Additionally, since it enables you to control the device remotely, with Pumpic, you will be able to use SMS commands to control the device, lock and wipe the device remotely, and keep track of location and route history.
16. uKnowKids
uKnowKids is another of the top parental control apps for Android and iOS devices and it comes with a huge set of useful features that will help you protect your child from the digital threats and dangers. The most important features include SMS Monitoring, Phone and FaceTime logs, Chat Messengers Monitoring, Photo Reviews, Mobile App Reviews, Family Locator Tools, Social Media Monitoring, Social and Mobile Contact Monitoring, and more.
On top of that, if at any given moment your child gets involved in a suspicious or potentially dangerous online activity, the app will automatically notify you to give you a chance to react instantly.
17. MM Guardian
Tens of thousands of parents from all over the world rely on MM Guardian to help them protect their children, and here is why; not only does MM Guardian offer a huge set of useful features, but it also comes at an affordable price. Some of the features worth mentioning include Comprehensive Reports, Time Limits aka Lock Times, App Control, Location and Track, Call and SMS Blocking, Text Monitor, Web Filter and Safe Browsing, and Alerts.
The features slightly differ depending on whether you are using an Android or an iOS device, but no matter the operating system you use, MM Guardian will help you keep your children safe in the digital world.
18. Funamo
Funamo is a parental control app that is great on many different levels. The key features include Internet Filtering for automatic blocking of the inappropriate websites and content; Device Monitoring where you can see the history of all visited websites and apps used; Application Control for blocking unwanted apps, setting time limits for app usage, automatic blocking of newly downloaded apps, and screen time control; and Cloud-Based Solution where you can change the device settings online and have access to the device history and settings remotely at all times.
19. Microsoft Family Safety
If your family uses Microsoft devices, Microsoft Family Safety is a solid parental control app. It lets you limit screen time on Windows, Android, and Xbox — ideal for managing gaming time.
You can block content in other apps, but a downside is that website and search filtering only work in Microsoft Edge and Bing. So, if your child uses Google search or Chrome, Family Safety won’t filter web content.
You can control app downloads from the Windows Store, and the location tracking features are excellent. There’s even a driving safety feature to track driving habits and log trips.
However, Microsoft plans to discontinue support for the location and driving features by the end of the year due to low usage.
Microsoft Family Safety is free, so you can try it without any cost.
Pros: controls access to Microsoft Store, compatible with Android, iOS, Xbox, Windows, precise location tracking
20. Bark
Bark is focusing on communication and trust rather than just monitoring your child’s activities. It encourages open dialogue and provides alerts for potential issues. The setup is easy, and the pricing is reasonable, with various plans available.
While Bark offers web content filtering and screen time monitoring, its tracking features aren’t as advanced as some competitors. However, it does monitor texts, emails, and YouTube, and sends check-in alerts when your child reaches a specific location.
The app also sends alerts if it detects signs of cyberbullying, suicidal thoughts, drug use, or online predators.
Pros include: AI powered monitoring, cyberbullying monitor, ability to connect to numerous apps
Cons include: no geofencing, no browsing history
