It is widely known that one of the best ways to help our children stay safe online is to download a parental control app. These apps act as a line of defense against many of those threats while also allowing us to manage what our children see and do online and the amount of internet time they have.
If you’re thinking, as you should be, to download a parental control app, you might be wondering what those features are and how effective they can be. That’s where we step in. We’ll talk you through the different features you should look for when deciding which app to go for.
Screen Time Management
Aside from confiscating your child’s mobile device when you want them to sleep or do chores or homework, you can use a parental control app for iPhone or Android devices to limit your child’s access to the internet.
You can customize the times your child can use their phone to go online, which is great for bedtime. Some apps also let you set up time limits. For example, you could set it to allow your child to spend no more than three hours online daily.
Content Filtering
Another great feature of the best parental control apps is that you can use them to block access to websites or apps you do not want your child to see or use. Obviously, top of the list here are adult-orientated websites, but you can set it to block anything. For example, if you’re punishing your child, you could block their favorite social media platform or mobile games.
On top of that, you can trust many of these apps to block access to sites you might not have known about yourself. They have access to hundreds of thousands of websites that have been flagged as inappropriate for children and will block access without needing your permission.
the top apps also have access to a database of countless websites
Location Tracking
Many parental control apps also allow you to track your child’s device through GPS. You can see where they are right now and where they’ve been throughout the day. As long as you have activated parental options on the device, there is no way for your child, or anyone else, to turn off GPS tracking.
Social Media Monitoring
While it may feel like spying on your child, knowing who they’re talking to online and what they’re talking about is incredibly important. A good parental control app will log the chats your child is having across all social media apps and any pictures shared within those chats. Some even monitor SMS messages and phone calls.
Take Advantage of Apps Offering Those Features
If you’re looking for a parental control app, the above features are the most important to look out for. Each is equally important for keeping your child safe or, at the minimum, giving you control over what they’re doing online.
