The 5 Best Parental Control Apps To Keep Kids Safe Online (2025)

Meg St-Esprit

Contributor

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Device compatibility:iOS, Andriod, PC, Mac |Subscription required:Yes

The best parental control app is one parents can actually use, which is why Aura is our choice for the best overall app. The setup is simple and the adult app puts control right at your fingertips—without confusion. Since our family uses Apple, Android and Microsoft products, I appreciated that Aura works fairly seamlessly across all of our screens. It’s also easy to customize. Parents can block certain YouTube channels rather than the entire app, or can hide entire categories from curious kids, like “dating apps.” For children who are into online gaming, the “Safe Gaming” feature flags issues like cyberbullying and toxic or aggressive online behavior—some of the issues most commonly plaguing tweens and teens in the gaming community.

While there are many ways to toggle your child’s internet experience with Aura, you can also turn the entire internet off with one click as well as set screen time limits each day. There are two profile options, for children and teens, though both are customizable to each family’s specific needs. Aura also provides a variety of other internet safety products, so customers using their parental control software benefit from access to features like a VPN, password protection and anti-virus software. Most parents report that Aura is pretty hard for kids to hack as well.

Device compatibility:iOS, Andriod, Mac, PC |Subscription required:Yes

For families concerned with affordability, Qustodio offers quality oversight options in their lowest price tier. The basic plan monitors up to five devices and has controls like safe web searching, the ability to block specific games and apps, screen time controls and a toggle button to shut down internet access. The basic plan does not include the ability to monitor YouTube, calls or messages. Qustodio also has a higher tier of coverage, currently priced at $99.95 per year, that provides a more customizable monitoring service.

For families with younger children or kids who generally don’t push limits with tech, the basic Qustodio plan is more than adequate. We’ve got a curious child, and found the lack of ability to monitor YouTube to be an issue. Since there are two plans available, Qustodio is also a nice option for families that want software that can grow with their family—it’s easy to upgrade to the more comprehensive plan as children grow and needs change.

Device compatibility:iOS, Android, PC, Mac |Subscription required:Yes

Bark is a unique player in the parental control space because they provide software as well as devices created specifically for Bark. The Bark phone is a fully functional smart phone preloaded with Bark’s control software (and one of Forbes Vetted’s favorite phones for kids), and Bark Home is a small device that connects to your home’s internet router to provide whole-house protection (including gaming systems like Xbox and Playstation). Bark also has an app that can monitor other devices like standard cell phones, laptops and tablets. Bark’s app works like most we reviewed, by providing customizable controls and content monitoring.

Our family of six trialed Bark, and I found that it works well for a family with a wide age gap and multiple children. There is no limit to the number of devices that can be monitored, which is a plus for big families. Bark also updates their content monitoring software regularly with new slang, so that I don’t have to stay on top of it all. Parents may want to start younger children with the Bark phone before moving to a standard cell phone with the Bark app. While this still provides a great deal of control and safety, there are a few limitations. For example, settings put in place by Snapchat, Discord, Skype and TikTok mean that Bark cannot fully monitor these platforms.

Device compatibility: Android, Windows computers, Xbox |Subscription required:No

For parents with a gamer in the family, there can be additional challenges when it comes to keeping them safe. Kids can make friends and play games with peers across the globe, but they can also end up embroiled in situations that are difficult to navigate, like bullying. Microsoft Family Safety, which is part of Microsoft 365, is designed to monitor Windows computers, Xboxes and Android devices—and it does a great job. The basic app is actually free, but the yearly subscription allows parents to have more control.

For our gamer, who uses a Lenovo Legion laptop and an Xbox Series S, Microsoft Family Safety provided timely content warnings related to searches and downloads. It also has easy-to-use time settings so that we can shut down gaming when it’s time for other things (like homework). Microsoft Family Safety does not monitor social media or texts/chats, so it is best used on PCs and Xbox products.

Device compatibility: Android, iOS |Subscription required:Yes

While all of the apps I tested are fairly straightforward and provide step-by-step setup instructions, Norton stood out for its simplicity. This program does a great job at monitoring the web and providing parents with important information. There are three tiers of protection that range in price from around $50 per year to their most comprehensive plan at $100 per year.

As part of Norton 360, a trusted computer protection program, Norton Family provides antivirus, malware, ransomware and hacking protection in the top two tiers. The entry level parental control app, called Norton Family Standard, does not. All three plans allow parents to block explicit web content and control screen time limits. There is a parent app for both iOS and Android as well as a web portal that gives parents easy-to-understand setup guidelines. Parents also get reports on what search terms their kids use, what videos they are watching, and when they search a blocked term or try to visit a restricted site.