In the previous post, we discussed the best child tracking tools and apps to keep track of your kid’s location and activity. Here, we’ll talk about the top 10 iPhone parental monitoring apps that you don’t want to miss.
Updated: 2022
In today’s age of cyberbullying, online trafficking, online suicide games, and a plethora of age-inappropriate content available on the internet, parents are within their rights to be concerned about their child’s online activity.
Many analysts and psychologists deem the use of parental control apps as being invasive (and to be honest, some of them are pretty invasive).
But helping your kids make informed and positive digital choices by monitoring their activities has become a necessity.
If you want to protect your children from the negative aspects of the digital world, simply saying ‘be careful’ doesn’t cut it. Enter parental control apps!
These apps are a virtual way of keeping an eye on your kid. To save you from the hassle of trying them all out, I have reviewed a bunch of parental control tools and apps for you to choose from. Here is a list of the best parental monitoring apps for iPhone. Dig in!
#10. FamilyTime
Self-described as the ‘best parental app’ on their website, this digital parenting app offers a host of features that helped me reach out to my kids in time of emergency. This app includes
- Geofencing,
- location tracking,
- app time limits,
- bedtime, homework time and
- an efficient app blocker
Parents have to create a profile for each child they want to monitor, and then they can feed in the desired time schedule by activating various inbuilt features of the app.
While FamilyTime offers a free trial for 3 days. I found that this app is relatively expensive.
Its Geo-fencing works only when there is an internet connection available. In addition to that, it can be easily disabled, which is a concern for parents and guardians.
The basic version costs $36 per year and is available for Android, iOS, and Kindle.
#9. TeenSafe
TeenSafe allows parents to view their kids’ contact lists and browsing activities. This is a comprehensive app that equips parents to see text messages (even the deleted ones), and social media activities.
It also has a GPS location tracking feature which helps the parents to keep an eye on the whereabouts of their kids. TeenSafe’s unique feature includes a remote control option at an added price. It also offers a 7-day free trial.
This app, however, doesn’t offer any app blocking option.
Moreover, there is no live chat option, and the parents can’t see the images being sent or received by their kids. Some parents consider this app a little too invasive for their liking. This app has a user rating of 4 stars out of 5.
#8. Qustodio
Qustodio app offers the parents to specifically time the use of each app for their kids. For example, I can put a time limit on my kids’ Instagram usage by allowing them to view it for 45 minutes on weekends only. Parents can see the details of a text message, as well as the information about the sender.
Although there is no geofencing option in this app, parents receive an alert every time their kids’ location changes. This app is particularly useful for parents who wish to monitor more than one kid because it is simple to use.
#7. OurPact
Best free parental control app for Android and iPhone – This parental control app came to me with a 4-star recommendation. This is easy to use app, and the best thing about it is that it is FREE.
Parents can install it on their phones and on their kids’ phones and can manage the activities, make timetables, block apps, and whatnot. You can start by making an account, and you can manage multiple kids from that one account.
This app can be used to manage app timings, and you can even make an app disappear from your kid’s phone and make it re-appear whenever you want. One thing that bugged me about this app was the fact that when you activate the block feature, it blocks all apps.
So, if you want just Snapchat blocked on your child’s phone, you are going to have to block Facebook and Instagram too.
#6. MobiStealth
Compatible with iPhone, and Android, you need to purchase a separate license for this app for each new device you add to your control panel. This app gives you the ability to track data in real-time.
As the name suggests, MobiStealth works in stealth mode on a kids’ phone so they can’t see, tamper with, or disable the app.
This app gave me a detailed insight into what my kid was up to by giving access to their call logs, message history, and web browsing. I could see the deleted messages and history as well, so that’s a plus.
It has GPS tracking and app blocking features as well. The only drawback of this app was its inability to time-limit the usage of each app on my kids’ phones.
#5. ScreenTime
This app came highly recommended with an efficient way of managing time for each app. Like other parental control apps, I had to make one account to manage all my kids.
This app sends a daily summary of my child’s activity on the internet. It also tells me the exact amount of time my kids spend on an app.
ScreenTime asks me to approve every app my kid attempts to install, and it can only be installed after my nod of approval.
This app has this feature where in addition to me, my husband and the babysitter can also have access to my kids’ phones in my absence. What’s more, the kids can’t uninstall this app because it requires a password that only the grownups know.
However, I experience a glitch while testing this app. It had the apps on my kid’s phone and they never came back.
#4. Mobicip
Safe Internet Browser for Kids – the MobiCip app is not only trusted by parents and guardians, but schools from all around the world swear by it as well.
The list of sponsored schools includes Alpine school district, Lansing School District, Catapult Learning, Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV, and Los Banos United School District.
This app can be downloaded on a number of devices, such as iPhone, Android, Kindle, and Nook. It can also be installed on desktops and laptops with Windows 7, 8, and 10, MacBook Pro, Chromebook, and MacMini.
It helped me monitor my kids’ activities closely and enabled me to know their location in real-time. The only issue with this app is that it doesn’t define a monthly payment plan.
I used the free version and it didn’t have all the features available that I would like to use.
#3. Pumpic
The Pumpic app allows me to locate my kid promptly, block websites, and time limits and block several apps, view messages on Facebook messenger and Snapchat, and give me their Instagram history.
After creating an account, I could monitor all my kids from one device.
This app is compatible with most mobile software, so you don’t have to worry if all your kids have different phones. This app lets me view the deleted messages as well.
The drawback that I found with this app is that Pumpic can be disabled or tampered with by the kids because it is not an invisible app.
#2. NetNanny
NetNanny is a parenting app with a difference. One feature that sets NetNanny apart for me is that it can filter out profanity. So if there is any foul language in the comments section of any app, your child is not going to be able to view it.
I haven’t found this feature in any other parental control app so far. It gives you a big picture of what your kid is up to in their digital life. Rest, it has similar website blocking, geofencing, and time-limiting features as other parental control apps.
The only con I found with this app was that I had to buy different features separately, which makes it a bit more expensive than other apps available on the market.
#1. mSpy
Best Parental Control App for iPhone and Android – This app comes with a regular set of features including Geo tracking, call, app, inappropriate website blocking, current GPS location, photos, and videos access, Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, Snapchat, iMessage, Line, Hangouts, and Tinder tracking.
Keylogger feature informed me about the text entered on my kid’s phone.
Like MobiStealth, mSpy can be completely invisible to your kids, so they wouldn’t know if someone is monitoring them. It remotely collects data from your child’s device and immediately notifies you.
Apart from paying extra for the same set of features as any other app if you want to purchase the Premium version, this app seemed pretty fine to me. Available for iPhone, Android, and Windows/Mac OS for just $7.99 per month.
Visit mSpy here
To Sum Up – While I am not in favor of installing stealth apps and not letting your kids know whether you are monitoring them, I do have a favorite on this list.
mSpy tops my list with an all-inclusive set of features to help me protect my kids’ best interests online, and I absolutely love it.
If you haven’t already, give these iPhone monitoring apps a try and ensure your kids’ safety from the many dangers of the digital world.