Make a phone you already have safer
Not every family needs a dedicated safe device. If your child already has a phone, or you're handing down an old one, a parental-control app adds guardrails: screen-time limits, content filtering, app approval, and alerts. Here are the ones worth knowing.
Free, built-in controls
Already on the phone you own. Start here before paying for anything.
Apple Screen Time
Apple
Approve app downloads and websites, choose who your child can message and call, schedule app time and downtime, and set content and privacy restrictions.
- Works on
- iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch
- Price
- Free, built in
Strength: Deep, OS-level control on every Apple device, with nothing to install.
Watch out: Apple-only: it can't manage Android or other non-Apple devices.
Google Family Link
Set screen-time limits and school-time schedules, approve or block apps, apply content controls across Chrome, Play, YouTube, and Search, and see your child's location.
- Works on
- Manages Android & Chromebook; parent app on Android or iPhone
- Price
- Free
Strength: Deep, free integration across the Google and Android ecosystem.
Watch out: Can't supervise iPhones or iPads, only Android and Chromebooks.
Monitoring & filtering apps
Paid apps that go further than the built-in tools, especially across mixed iPhone and Android households.
Bark
Bark Technologies
AI monitoring that scans texts, email, and 30+ social apps for concerns like bullying, predators, and self-harm and alerts you, plus app and site blocking, screen-time schedules, and location.
- Works on
- iOS, Android, Chromebook, Fire, desktop (Chrome/Edge)
- Price
- From ~$5/mo (Jr) or ~$14/mo (Premium); 7-day trial
Strength: AI flags only concerning content, so you're not reading everything.
Watch out: On iPhone, full text and photo monitoring needs Bark's add-on charger.
Aura
Aura
Content filtering and site blocking, screen-time limits, a 'pause the internet' control, usage reports, and wellbeing insights drawn from messaging habits.
- Works on
- iOS, Android (Windows for Safe Gaming)
- Price
- Kids ~$10/mo, Family ~$32/mo (annual); 14-day trial
Strength: Strong filtering plus a distinctive 'online wellbeing' persona and guidance.
Watch out: No real-time location tracking, and limited social-media monitoring.
Qustodio
Qustodio
Web and app filtering, screen-time limits and scheduled breaks, activity monitoring, call and text tracking on Android, and location.
- Works on
- iOS, Android, Chromebook, Windows, Mac
- Price
- Free for 1 device; paid from ~$55/yr; 30-day guarantee
Strength: Broadest cross-platform feature set; one of the few that logs texts/calls on Android.
Watch out: Noticeably reduced functionality on iOS.
Canopy
Canopy
Real-time AI filtering that blocks explicit images and video (without blocking whole sites), sexting prevention and alerts, app and site blocking, and screen-time management.
- Works on
- iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, ChromeOS
- Price
- From ~$8/mo (annual); 7-day trial
Strength: Best-in-class real-time explicit-image filtering and sexting protection.
Watch out: Weaker screen-time controls; less effective on iOS than Android.
Prices and features reflect each provider's US information as of September 2026 and change often; confirm at the source. This page is informational and not an endorsement. No parental-control tool is perfect, and determined kids can sometimes work around them, so pair any tool with ongoing conversation.