Best Free Parental Control App That You Dont Have to Download

A photo of Google Family Link for the best parental apps list

Parental controls on phones evolved a lot over the years. Back in the twenty-four hour period, devices had kid modes that turned off the UI basically entirely, trapping the kid in a specific app. Unfortunately, kid mode is easy to piece of work around, and it doesn't work well. There are meliorate alternatives out at that place anyhow. These new options give your children more than liberty to do what they want while keeping y'all in control. Hither are the all-time parental control apps for Android and other methods if y'all demand further control. There are no kid mode apps on this list because that is a seriously outdated method, and kids could easily go around it anyway.

The best parental control apps for Android

  • eyeZy
  • AppLock past IvyMobile
  • Find My Kids
  • Google Family Link
  • Safe Lagoon
  • Antivirus parental command apps

eyeZy

Price:From $9.99 per calendar month

PROMOTED

eyeZy is a parental control app that'due south jam-packed with numerous monitoring features that allow adults to check on every stride their kids take online. It's specifically designed for those parents hoping to proceed an centre on smartphone activities like text messages, chats, and emails.

Parents can also scan through photos and videos their kids ship and receive with assistance from eyeZy. The advanced GPS tracking lets you know their exact whereabouts and sends notifications if they enter geofenced areas, even if you don't demand to see what they're up to.

eyeZy also offers a screen recording feature in case you need to remotely capture what your kids are seeing. No matter your parental needs, eyeZy has you and your kids covered.


AppLock by IvyMobile

Toll: Free

Ivymobile - best applock apps for android

An app lock is an excellent manner to proceed kids out of apps on your phone. This is mainly for parents with younger kids who use the parent'due south phone to lookout YouTube Kids or play kids games. An app lock puts a password on your other apps. Thus, if your kids get back to the dwelling house screen and get-go clicking on sensitive stuff like your Facebook or banking apps, they tin't get whatever farther. Nosotros accept a whole list of these, just IvyMobile's is complimentary and relatively simple to use. This should keep kids away from the sensitive stuff until they're sometime enough to know better.

Find My Kids screenshot 2021

Joe Hindy / Android Authority

Find My Kids is a lighter touch on parental control apps. This one keeps runway of your kid'southward location at all times. Y'all can meet where they are, where they get, and where they've been. We like how simple this app is. You lot open information technology and can immediately run into where all of your kids are. Another features include notifications if your child's phone is having trouble sending a location, and you tin can run across what apps they apply. In that location are also some security controls, a bombardment monitor for your child'south device, and a family chat then you can ask them where they are. It's surprisingly cheap compared to most of its competitors like Life360. Plus, we capeesh that yous can buy it in one case for $25.99, even if that license just works on 3 devices at one time.

Google Family Link - best spy apps for android

Google Family Link is our first choice for parental control. Your kids get the liberty of using their phones, and y'all get the satisfaction of seeing everything. Nosotros recommend Family unit Link offset because information technology has and then many features, and it also integrates directly into the Android OS itself, a feature none of these other apps take. Some of the features include the ability to run across all the apps your kids use, see their location, see their usage habits, and you tin lock the device if you want them to chill out on the phone for a while. The only downside is the setup process. That i is a scrap of a hurting, but nosotros have a tutorial on how to do it hither if you lot need information technology.

Safe Lagoon is a lighter version of Google Family Link but tin do different things. You can view things like apps and games your kids use. Additionally, you can find their location, control time limits in sure apps and games, and lock the phone if need be. However, you can as well monitor instant letters, set up locations they tin't get, and do some other neat stuff. The app says information technology'southward for cyberbullying, but y'all tin can use information technology for other stuff likewise. Information technology's relatively simple to set up and it's a good alternative to Google Family Link.

Some antivirus suites come with parental controls. Those who utilise antivirus apps tin can sometimes just use the parental control extensions for an all-in-one punch. Some examples of antivirus apps with parental command extensions include ESET (linked at the push beneath) and Norton. These types of apps usually permit you practice things like bank check out your kid'due south web activity, what apps they download and use, share the child's location, and can fifty-fifty sometimes support wearables. They tend to work okay but usually require you to get a license to utilize the whole antivirus product showtime.


Talk to your kids

Sometimes kids just need some advice and nothing compares to the interest of a parent. Teach your kids about the dangers of the Internet, what to do if they encounter cyberbullying, and where to go and where not to go. One 24-hour interval your kids volition be old enough to where you can't monitor what they do anymore. They need to be prepared for that day. Monitoring is keen for younger kids especially, only consider relaxing the monitoring as they go older and you trust them more than. Don't underestimate the value of an involved parent. School tin only teach kids and so much about the world.


Use apps for other platforms too

Microsoft Family Safety screenshot

There are actually parental control apps that support platforms other than Android. Y'all usually need parental command apps specifically for that platform, merely companies are doing better about releasing mobile apps for non-mobile platforms.

Some examples include Microsoft Family Safety and Nintendo Switch's parental control app. Both apps serve mostly the same function. Microsoft'southward solution lets you monitor your child'southward Xbox and Windows PC usage and limit various things. Meanwhile, Nintendo's solution lets yous monitor screen time and what games your kids play. There aren't a ton of these types of apps, simply if you lot can detect one, we recommend information technology for use on other platforms also Android.


Prepare up parental controls on Google Play

Google Play Parental Controls Ratings

Google Play has a fairly robust set of parental controls. For starters, y'all tin add together a password lock to purchases so your kids can't go wild with your debit card and buy in-app purchases from the games they play. That'south usually the use case for this kind of thing, but y'all can go deeper. One time you add your kids to your family account, you can really restrict access to apps and games too.

For instance, yous can tell Google Play to only evidence your kids stuff rated T for Teen or lower and the Play Store will automatically filter out stuff with Mature 17+ or Adults only 18+ content. This also ties into Google Family Link to an extent so we recommend using this information aslope that app for maximum results. Nosotros have a whole tutorial on Google Play parental controls here.


Apply carrier parental control solutions

T Mobile logo on phone stock photo

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

Many mobile carriers such equally Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T have parental control functions. They unremarkably cost a monthly fee and vary in features, but they all do more than or less the same thing. You can track the location of your kid and run into the web searches and apps your kids use. You tin can besides continue track of (or completely deny) tertiary-party charges, block videos and images from text letters, and even give your kids an allowance for buying apps or ringtones.

It would have way too long to listing every feature for every carrier, simply you can discover parental control stuff for the carriers linked below for more data:

  • Verizon
  • AT&T
  • T-Mobile (via Bawl)
  • Sprint (via Bark)

Native Android features that may help besides

Android App Pinning 1

Android is fairly customizable and at that place are a bunch of privacy and security features that come up with it. You can set a data limit for your kids past going toSettings,Networks, and finally, Mobile Information. The location may vary based on which phone you have. From there yous tin see what apps use the most information and set a data limit for your kids then they know when they've run out.

Those with younger kids tin use the super handy Screen Pinning feature. This feature pins an app or game to your screen and prevents kids from leaving it. I've seen parents employ this with YouTube Kids so kids tin can watch videos but can't access Facebook or other apps on blow.

The method for Screen Pinning may differ slightly on devices, merely information technology should be something close to this:

  1. Open yourSettings menu and search forScreen pin.
  2. Enable the feature if information technology is not already enabled.
  3. Open up yourRecent apps menu via the soft key or by a gesture.
  4. Tap the icon of the app you lot want to screen pivot.
  5. Tap thePivot app option (diction may be different on different phones)

This pins an app to your screen and disables things similar calls, messages, and other functions. To remove the pinned app, do the following:

  1. Concur theback andrecent apps (overview)buttons simultaneously to unpin the app and render to the recent apps screen.
  2. On devices with gesture navigation, swipe upward and concord there to unpin the app.

Older kids may be able to get effectually a screen pin, but younger kids (especially toddlers) more often than not tin can't exercise it on purpose. Even so, exist vigilant and check to make sure your kids didn't exit of it somehow.


How to limit web browsing for young eyes

Google Chrome Incognito Mode with background

This is, past far, the most difficult affair to actually do. Most Android phones come with Google Chrome and the mobile version doesn't take the functionality to bargain with this that your kids tin't easily undo with a Google Search. There is a range of condom browsers that you tin ready equally default and that might help, just again, older kids can get effectually information technology.

You have 2 options to solve this problem. One is quite piece of cake and the other is quite difficult. The difficult method involves setting a DNS. Hither is a tutorial from OpenDNS to show you how. Notwithstanding, that doesn't work all the time.

Your ameliorate bet is the second option. Use an app similar Google Family Link, Microsoft Family unit Safety, or Safe Lagoon to keep an eye on your child'south web activeness and just face them if they become somewhere they shouldn't go. Information technology may fifty-fifty be a valuable instruction opportunity.


If nosotros missed whatsoever great parental control apps or other methods, we'd exist happy to hear more virtually information technology in the comment department. You can also click here to check out all of our Android app and game lists.

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Posted by: warrensurapal.blogspot.com

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