Monitor Texts on Child’s Phone
Kids with cell phones? Save your child from texting with the wrong people.
It is very likely that Santa brought a few smartphones to the children of the house. We say children because it is not clear when they stop being children, nor is it clear at what age a child should receive his first mobile phone. What is clear and recommended by experts and security bodies is that a child with a mobile phone and Internet access should be subject to parental control. Today we are going to review the ways in which parents, even if they are new to technology, can have this control.
What previously required a third party app can now be done from the Android and iOS configuration. Both operating systems offer parental control systems to monitor the text messages your kid is sending to other people.
A good method in Android is to create various user types from Settings/Users. From this menu we can restrict many parameters such as calls or SMS. This method is good when we leave the phone temporarily to a child who usually enters one or two Apps usually.
Google Play also lets you turn on parental control. It’s interesting because this way you can disable content not suitable for certain ages. In other words, we will be able to filter Google Play Apps by removing violent, sexual or obscene content. The level of this control can be carried out in Apps as well as in games, movies and music. This option is accessible from the settings/parental controls menu of Google Play’s own App.
If these options seem insufficient, we can always download a parental control app available in Google Play. There are many dedicated to the subject, but we can recommend some of great reliability.
ESET Parental Control
This App allows you to monitor any aspect of your child’s terminal, including application blocking, usage timer or web control. It also has a locator to know where your child is. The location can be viewed both on the mobile and on ESET’s own page. The App is backed by a globally recognized security company.
What about iPhone?
Apple handsets also have extensive possibilities to restrict many of the content or purchases within an iPhone. This can be done whether the handset is shared or if the child already carries his or her own mobile. Apple has a special section on its website dedicated to this issue, which you can check from the link below.
However, the App Store also has a good handful of Apps dedicated to parental control. Let’s leave you with some of them.
Qustodian
This Parental Control App allows you to limit the time your child spends with devices, control the web content he or she accesses, and block the applications he or she uses. You can also see in real time what your child is doing with the smartphone at all times. The free version of the application allows you to control up to one child, to add more sprouts you will have to switch to a paid version.
Family Time
This App is very complete and allows you to have total control over the smartphone you want. You can create pre-defined rules like dinner time, bedtime or homework. It geolocates the terminal at all times and allows you to send or receive SOS help messages in case of danger. It also has a system of warning of forbidden places that warns if the line is exceeded.