Best Parental Controls Apps for iPhone
Technology has brought out both the good and bad in society. We can, however, deploy measures to curb the harmful part. As adults, we are afraid of malware attacking our iPhones. For our kids, it’s another story altogether.
We can’t always control what may lurks around the corner with just one simple click on a seemingly safe website. Others may be following the advice of their friends who just told them about a cool website or page. As a parent, you can equip you computers and smart phones with tools that block access to bad parts of the internet.
To prevent our kids from viewing inappropriate content, or talking to strangers, we need parental control applications. Here are some resources you can research and use to control your kid’s iPhone activities.
1. Qustodio
Qustodio is your all-in-one app download for multiple devices, including Windows computers and Macs that need a software installation. It provides complete parental controls for any device you may have in your home with an option for schools as well. You can also access your parental dashboard easily from any devices you are personally using. Qustodio builds healthy digital habits to help prevent screen addiction. This is done by setting usage limits that can be adjusted individually for any family member.
Features include: Filtering out websites you don’t want your kids to visit. Grant access to only specific websites. Monitor all online activity on websites and apps on any device. Blocking games and potentially harmful apps. Ensure kids are at home when they should be or locate any family member when they are at school, on the playground or at a friends house. You’ll also receive reports and alerts of suspicious activity. To get started you can create a parental control account for free.
A bonus for Android devices is the ability to track phone calls and SMS. For all phones, tablets and computers multi-device features include smart web filters that are always active, as well as advanced social media monitoring. The SOS feature enables kids to instantly alert parents of trouble where ever they may be.
Download for Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Android, iPhone/iPad, Kindle
2: FamilyTime (At Home and for Schools)
Whether your kids use many ways to interact with their friends, or they only access a few favorite apps, FamilyTime is easy to use for parents managing multiple devices in their home. Text, calls, social media apps, and even a child’s contacts are easily accessible. This helps parents be proactive about potential problems with friends, including cyberbullying.
You can activate SafeSearch on Google and other search engines, in addition to relying on a web filter that blocks harmful content. FamilyTime is also an advanced geo-fencing app alerting parents when their child leaves a particular zone that’s been set up. This can include school, the mall, the playground or a friends house.
The family locator shows a map of where all of your family members are at any given time. Relatives, babysitters, and spouses who are taking care of your children can be given free access to the app’s monitoring and control features while you are way.
The FamilyTime app also provides the ability to also provide parental controls to schools on a mass scale. From single classrooms, to an entire school, teachers and administrators can monitor, control, filter and manage usage of multiple student devices just like parents do at home.
3. Covenant Eyes Parental Controls and Accountability
Covenant Eyes is a parental control app and software for iPhone that is marketed to faith based groups. It focuses on helping families and individuals who have a desire to resist a lifestyle of porn with a focus on faithfulness. The software company also provides resources and training to live a porn-free lifestyle for teens and adults alike. Apart from this, the software application looks and behaves like any other parental control program. It blocks and monitors content for kids and teens, with the added ability for adults to install it and set up one or more accountability partners.
To further clarify, Covenant Eyes allows parents to protect younger kids from harmful material online. As kids grow older, restrictions can be lowered but parents can still receive reports and monitor activity as family members learn online responsibility. For adults struggling with graphic content and online addictions, they can install the app on their iPhone or Android with full control. However, they sign up a friend as an accountability partner to receive reports if explicit websites are visited. This accountability model can be similarly used for teens who would set up their parents as accountability partners.
4. iSharing Location App
iSharing is a top rated location sharing app for families, friends and anyone in a relationship who wishes to stay with each other. It also enables users to track a cell phone for free while using the location sharing features. Knowing where everyone in the family is at any given time is easy with a real-time GPS phone locator.
This location sharing app is also about sharing life with those you love, not just ensuring their safety. The unique Street View feature allows you to see the accurate location of your loved one’s surroundings while chatting via text and even sharing photos, all without having to leave the app.
Place Alert notifies you when those connected are ‘on the move’. Panic Alert tells you they need help at their location when they shake their phone. iSharing also allows you to get location history for past movements and keep an eye on the driving habits of your teens. And the sharing of life and location can happen even when they leave home for college or go on a trip as a young adult.
5. Screen Time Control
The Screen Time Parental Control app is another software that you can use to control your kids’ iPhone activities. It allows you to block the kids by stating the screen times. This app has small rewards to award your kids when they show good phone-use behavior. It offers a free version with limited controls with the option to upgrade to complete monitoring on iPhone and other devices.
Screen Time also helps in controlling other Apple devices such as the Kindle Fire and Alexa smart speakers. The good thing about this parental control monitoring for iPhone is that it will notify you when your kid tries to install anything. You can also see the most used apps and browsing history.
Every good software program or app that offers free parental controls should be judged on the effectiveness of search filtering, app and screen time management, alerts, reports and location tracking.
For parental controls that have been specifically created for Android devices, read about this Android parental control app.
Proactive Protection with Parental Controls
Before you give your son or daughter a phone (or yours), make sure it has one of these apps. That way, you will know everything they are doing while protecting them from harm online. Educate yourself on other ways to keep your kid’s safe, especially teen related issues that are not associated with a phone, whether at school or out with friends.
Kids are often more tech savvy than their parents when it comes to phone use. On the other hand, with the right parental control app for your family you can also stay ahead. You will also know when to limit or restrict the unwanted activities.
About The Author: Aqib Ijaz is a Digital Marketer, Guest Post, and IT Professional. He loves to write on different topics. In free time, he likes to travel and explore the different parts of the world. You can follow him on eyesonsolution.
