The digital world poses numerous threats from online scammers and child bullies. However, only about 40% of parents track their children’s phones using modern parental control techniques. Using a child phone monitoring app allows you to monitor, filter, and even block what your children view online.
In this article, we’ll discuss the most effective apps to monitor kids’ phones.
Features Of A Quality Kid Monitoring App
If you’re wondering how to see messages on another phone remotely, a parental control app is the one. There are some substantial features you should look out for when choosing a good kid monitoring app. These include:
Web filtering
Your preferred tracking app should conveniently allow you to view all websites that your kids visit. In addition, the software should have a keyword filtering feature that sends alerts whenever your child uses some particular words to conduct online searches.
Time scheduling
A top-notch app to monitor a child’s phone should also provide parents with exemplary time scheduling features that allow kids to use social media and other apps for designated periods.
Checking messengers
Today’s kids use WhatsApp, Telegram, and a host of other messaging apps to converse with their friends. Your choice kid monitoring app should be able to track their chats, posts, and social media activity with ease.
Tracking locations
Any spy application that can’t track your loved one’s real-time GPS location isn’t worth your money. Choose an app that tracks your child’s location on a map.
Control over installed applications
Apart from monitoring kids’ phones, the best child phone monitoring app should also provide users with administrative rights to block certain apps that their children use.
Receiving remote notifications
A good tracking app should provide frequent email notifications to alert parents whenever something unusual happens on their children’s devices.
Setting geofences
The best child phone monitoring app should offer geofencing features that allow parents to set safe and forbidden areas on a map. This feature alerts them whenever their kids wander into dangerous neighborhoods or venture out of the designated safe zones.
Top 5 Child Phone Monitoring Apps For Parents
We’ve conducted plenty of research and tested the most popular tracking apps available in the market. Let’s discuss the best parental control apps.
1. mSpy
mSpy is one of the top-rated spy apps to monitor kids’ phones discreetly. It provides powerful social media monitoring features to help parents know who their kids chat with on Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and other social networking sites. You can also observe all incoming and outgoing SMS messages and emails.
mSpy has an accurate GPS location feature that reveals where your kids are in real-time. In addition, it’s equipped with a remarkable geo-fencing feature that alerts you whenever your child walks into a “danger zone” or escapes the “safe zone.”
Pros
- It has all the parental control features you need
- Quite affordable
- Easy to operate
- Provides jailbreak and no-jailbreak options
Cons
- It isn’t free
2. eyeZy
This remarkable kid monitoring app allows users to track emails, record phone calls, read incoming and outgoing text messages, track live GPS location and check browser history. eyeZy also comes highly recommended for all parents who are looking to supervise their kids’ social media activity and phone usage. It also has an effective geofencing tool and keylogger that can help you keep your children safe.
Pros
- It’s easy to operate
- It works in stealth mode
- eyeZy contains all the key child monitoring features
Cons
- Physical access to the target phone is required for installation
- The app isn’t free
3. Bark
Bark has some cool parental control features that include social media content monitoring, website blocking, and GPS location sharing. In addition, this app helps parents to manage their children’s screen time and sends timely alerts when it detects something amiss in your kid’s online activity.
4. Qustodio
Apart from monitoring your child’s online activity and locating their real-time location, Qustodio also tracks SMS messages and phone calls. This app allows parents to set strict time limits that help prevent screen addiction among their kids. It also sends frequent alerts, reports, and SOS emails to help you stay on top of your kids’ web habits.
5. Mobicip
This app blocks all harmful content that your child may encounter while surfing the web or interacting with different applications. It also offers vital time scheduling and online monitoring features that boost parental control significantly. With Mobicip, you can also set achievable goals for your kids to boost their self-esteem.
The Benefits Of Using A Parental Control App
- When monitoring your child’s activity with such an app, you can rest assured your loved one is safe online. There’s a solid batch of reasons why parents should consider using parental controls.
- Reduce the risk of cyberbullying. Such an issue is accumulating progressively, and sometimes it’s difficult to spot the signs your child is bullied. Thus, a parental control app can prevent cases of cyberbullying.
- Block inappropriate content. Children often use the Internet unconsciously, and this may lead to finding explicit websites. To avoid such an experience, restrict such websites from your kid’s device.
- Manage screentime. Parents are able to control the time spent by their kids online. Just set the limits and spend more time in real life.
- Keep your data secured. By controlling the sites your kid is using, parents keep their data safe. In case your devices are linked and share common data, this option is vital. Make sure your child’s privacy is secured, and there’s no data leaked. The apps that can potentially track your devices will be blocked.
- Find peace. Most parents find using parental controls even soothing. This way, you can see your child is safe and getting the most advantage out of the Internet.
Conclusion
Digital parenting doesn’t need to be a complicated affair. Using the best app to monitor your child’s phone can help you keep tabs on their location, monitor their social media usage, and track their online footprint.
The child phone monitoring apps described above are highly recommended.