The best Parental Control Apps for Android

monitor android phoneI’ve always been against children being in front of a screen, but in this day and age I don’t think we can avoid this access to smartphones or tablets. In addition, it’s even positive because their generation is developing an instinct for technology that many of us lack. Currently there are many possibilities ranging from educational applications for children to parental control that allow us a healthy and safe access.

In iOS we have enough native functions to control without many problems the use that our children make of the iPad, but with Android tablets it may be advisable to complement the adjustments that we can make with the help of a parental control app.

Here is a list of parental control applications that can be used for both smartphones and tablets. However, none of them surpasses the supervision of the parents themselves, which should always be obligatory.

Qustodio

This app is like a secret agent on your cell phone. Apart from blocking the use of applications, it also monitors the activity your children do on the device. Something very useful is that you can prevent the application from being uninstalled from the phone by placing a PIN.

In this case, you only have to install Qustodio on the phone of the minor you want to control. With this app we can go a little beyond the basic functions (although to access some, yes, you will have to pay), allowing us, for example, to put maximum times of use and control the activity in the tablet of the child, to see which apps it uses and how much (and we can do it from our own tablet or smartphone, installing the corresponding app).

You can block any website, starting with those with sensitive, violent or pornographic content, delimit the time of use, monitor the activity of children in social networks, monitor calls and text messages (with full access to them), have the location of the device, block applications or receive emergency alerts. It even works in incognito mode, you receive reports of the child’s daily activity and it is controlled from an account through the website.

Also, like Kaspersky, if you switch to the premium version, you’ll be able to control the activity of kids on social networks and even control calls and messages by blocking contacts.

Norton Family Parental Control

The well-known antivirus for PC is also concerned about the security of the smallest of the house and has created a specific application for parental control of the smartphone: Norton Family. It will be possible to consult the history of the pages viewed, the periods of time of use or the monitoring of social networks. Everything is possible on both smartphones and tablets. Interesting is the option to restrict certain web pages, making it impossible for the child to access them unless you authorize each visit. It has a free trial period to use Norton services you will have to pay a monthly or annual fee. Here is the mentioned app.

Kids Place

Kids Place is one of the most popular and comfortable parental control apps if children do not have their own tablet but will use ours occasionally, as it gives us the opportunity to create a profile that when active opens a specific launcher, with the apps that we consider appropriate and with the basic options to set usage restrictions (internet connection, in-app shopping, etc). The app allows to create different profiles for each child.

In the case of this app, the device transforms its interface for children’s access, showing only applications pre-approved for use, preventing small install applications voluntarily or involuntarily, blocking calls and messages and even any wireless signal.

Among its options we have the possibility of preventing our child from leaving the application it is using, if that happens, the phone is restarted. It also allows us to restrict Internet use while the child is using the smartphone, as well as block phone calls or Google Play to prevent us from being scared that the child has downloaded paid applications.

It is recommended for children of any age, including babies. Both to enter and exit this application requires a pin code that only parents should know.

Despite its popularity, it may fall a little short for those looking for more far-reaching limitations.

Control Parental Screen Time

Although it is not such a useful app to establish other types of usage restrictions, if what worries us most is to have controlled which apps are used and the time spent with the tablet setting limits and schedules), Parental Screen Time Control is one of the options that work best.

With this application you will be able to control and limit the time your children spend each day glued to a smartphone or tablet. You can block the games at bedtime but leave the reading applications active. You can also block social network applications and reward your children when they do their homework.

Like Qustodio, it is one of those apps giving us the ability to access all the information on our own devices. If we want to go one step further and have the possibility of establishing restrictions, we must go to the premium version.

Kaspersky SafeKids – Kids Mode

Kaspersky Lab has several security and antivirus applications on the market, so it’s not uncommon to find a specific one for parental control. Under the name SafeKids, we have a complete app that fulfills a double function: on the one hand, it allows you to restrict access to certain web pages or applications, in such a way that if they are accessed, you will receive a warning on the phone and on the other, you will be able to know the location of your child. Although for this last option you need to be premium.

The free version is very complete and, from my point of view, I think the control it offers is more than enough. Parents who need to control the location can always switch to the premium version, which also allows them to monitor online activity and receive reports or control calls and text messages. Don’t you think that’s a bit excessive?

SafeKids is a somewhat less popular app, but it is also worth taking into account, in this case more specifically if we want to allow a not excessively restricted use (although we can also configure it in those terms) but set certain filters to protect children from certain types of content (for example, we do not have to block completely the use of the Internet, but limit it to safe searches). It is one of the apps that will offer us more flexibility.

Kid’s Shell

An essential part of this list is that it is very similar to Launcher for Kids. Kid’s Shell is also a launcher that you can configure so that your child does not have access to what it should not, being fully configurable. It is curious that to enter the ‘Father Mode’ does not ask you for a password, but solve a mathematical operation, which I find quite easy to solve: the child only needs to look for a calculator. That’s why I think they should put in a secret code. Here is the app.

Parental Control

This is one of the most valued parental control applications by the nearly 2,000 users who have installed it on their smartphone. From the phone of one of the parents (it must be installed in the devices of parents and children) you can define the maximum time that can be connected daily, will establish a list of applications that have permission to access and those that do not (very useful in the case of a tablet of shared family use). It is very easy to set up and very effective. The app can be found here.

YouTube Kids

It is not a parental control app and it is true that lately has received criticism for some failures in the filtering system, but despite all this, YouTube Kids is still a must-have app in a tablet for children, taking into account all the time they usually spend watching drawings, songs and children’s programs in them. Google has also announced that it will replace the algorithms with people for content selection, so it will soon be even more secure. The app can be found here.

Dinner Time

Dinner Time is the application that makes your kids sit at the table at lunchtime and talk! All you have to do is block their phone so they can’t use it for a certain period of time. On the other hand, you can also create a list of restricted applications.

Breaks or locks can be created from your own smartphone by pressing the ‘Take a Break’ button. If that’s not enough, you can also monitor your children’s activity in real time and set specific times for the use of some applications.

There’s still a long way to go in terms of parental control on phones and tablets. For example, do you think it would be useful if some applications, such as WhatsApp, had some kind of native parental control?