The Best Parental Control Software for 2024

  • Software solutions let you block unwanted web content
  • Limit screen time, restrict the use of risky applications
  • Keep your kids safer on their computers and mobile devices
Best Parental Control Software

Keep an eye on your child's electronic devices

Parenting styles vary, as do the capabilities available in parental control and monitoring software

Modern youngsters have never known a period when they couldn't use the internet to communicate with the rest of the world. Indeed, kids are likely to spend more time online than anyone else, including their parents.

  • If you're a parent, this is a problem because there are some websites and apps that are graphic, frightening, and unlawful that you don't want your children to see.
  • Parental control services can assist you in managing your children's ever-increasing number of devices
  • Take some time to study how your connected child utilises technology before you start placing limits and restrictions

Blocking undesired web material, limiting screen time, restricting the usage of dangerous applications, and more are all possible with these software and hardware solutions.

01

Monitor All your Child's Electronic Devices

Gone are the days when a single parental control programme installed on the family computer was enough to keep your children safe and productive

02

Set Web Filters and Time Limits

Content filtering the ability to limit access to websites that fit categories like hate, violence and porn is at the very least a component of a competent parental control tool

03

Spy on Messaging and Social Media

Filtering content may seem unnecessary as children get older. You start to be concerned about their interactions with the rest of the world at some point

% children under 12 are depicted in the photographs and videos

Will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday

Child pornography requests are made daily on the Internet

Children have been “aggressively” asked for sex

Mobile Parental Control Apps

Because most parental control software is a subscription service, pricing levels usually correspond to device limits, but some companies do offer free versions for basic protection on a limited number of devices. If your children only use smartphones, check out our list of mobile parental control apps.

Mobile Parental Control Apps

Parental Control Software

You may use parental control software to limit how much time your youngster spends on video streaming apps and sitesi

Mobile Spy App

The popularity of parental tracking is an inevitable result of a world where children spend so much of their time online for amusement, communication, and information access

Phone Surveillance

Many activities on your child's smartphone can be monitored, including images and videos, websites visited, text messages sent and received, call history, and location

Phone Spyware

To install any phone spyware, the user must have physical access to the device. It runs in stealth mode, with no notification or distinguishing activities, and is difficult to detect or uninstall once installed

Determining what constitutes child sexual abuse material

Child sexual abuse material (often referred to as child pornography) is any content that displays sexually explicit behaviours involving children. Photographs, films, and digital or computer-generated images that are indistinguishable from a real minor are examples of visual portrayals. These photographs and films, which include the documentation of a real crime scene, are then distributed for personal use. Live-streaming sexual abuse has recently become more common. Individuals pay to see live child abuse via a video streaming service in these cases. Because of its real-time nature and the lack of digital proof left behind after the act, this form of abuse is extremely difficult to identify.

Despite the fact that child sexual abuse is a global issue, the United States continues to be one of the world's leading producers and consumers of child abuse content. It's critical to comprehend the full nature and pervasiveness of child sexual abuse material in order to express the urgency with which this crime must be addressed.

Who is it that is being abused?

While some studies have identified risk factors that may enhance the likelihood of sexual assault, victims of sexual abuse come in all ages and backgrounds. Images and videos of child sexual abuse from 0 to 18 years old have been found on the internet. The US Centre for Child Protection discovered that children under the age of 12 were depicted in 79.50 percent of the photographs and videos reviewed by their team, and that 83.40 percent of those youngsters were under the age of eight. They discovered that 88.31% of the children were females, whereas 24.58 percent were boys, in the same material.

What methods are used to distribute content?

Those who want to or are presently involved in the exploitation of minors can sell, distribute, and trade material on Internet networks and forums. Several types of internet technologies, such as websites, email, instant messaging/ICQ, Internet Relay Chat, newsgroups, bulletin boards, peer-to-peer networks, internet gaming sites, social networking sites, and anonymous networks, facilitate these connections.

The advent of these online forums has also facilitated communication between criminals, normalising their interest in children while simultaneously desensitising them to the physical and psychological harm done to the exploited youngsters. These internet communities frequently provide a safe area for people to freely disclose their interests, wants, and experiences harming children, without fear of being judged or caught.

For the most disadvantaged children, we transform technology into hope

We construct long-term partnerships at Net2You in order to develop tools to combat child sexual abuse. We want to make sure that our partners in tech, law enforcement, and Net2You have all they need to help kids. As a result, we discover requirements, gather resources, and develop effective solutions.

Every child deserves to be safe from internet sexual assault

We offer a one-of-a-kind set of services to assist our parents in defending their children, no matter where they are in the world.

To ensure that children are as safe as possible, we collaborate with frontline workers and experts such as police officers, social workers, and educators.
In all of our work, we keep youngsters safe.

Nearly 92% of youngsters in the United States own a cell phone. About half of them are smartphones, which have internet, games, cameras, and social media capabilities.

Parents can monitor their children's internet activity, even erased communications, with Spy4M.

Parental Advice

Talking with your child on a regular basis is the most effective way to keep them safe online. Talking about it on a regular basis and including it in daily discussion, just as you would about their day at school, will help your youngster relax. It also means that if they have any concerns, they are more likely to come and talk to you about them.

Make it clear to your children that the rules are in place to protect them rather than to control them.

Monitor which sites and applications your children use to keep them safe while online.
Talk to children about online safety in an age-appropriate way.

Set limits on when and how much time children can spend online, including on computers, smartphones, tablets like iPads, and other devices, and enforce the guidelines.

Ask your children to show you their privacy settings for the sites and apps they use.
They should not allow strangers to read their content or send them messages on social media platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

Tell your kids that they should never add someone they don't know in real life as a friend, follow, or connect with on social media.
It's not true that just because someone's profile image makes them appear to be your child's age.
Predators frequently impersonate youngsters or teenagers in order to meet them online.

Tell them they should never publish or share images of themselves that aren't fully clothed.
Explain that there are terrible people who would misuse those images, and that once a photograph is uploaded to the Internet, it cannot be removed.

Explain to your kids that they should never take and/or send nude photos of themselves to anyone they know, even someone they are dating.
Without their permission, their spouse could post these photos on the internet.

Explain to your children that they should never publish anything on the internet that might allow someone they don't know to find or stalk them, such as their home address, a visible spot where they frequent, or a photo of the outside of your house.

Consider purchasing parental filtering software. This type of software can be used to block access to potentially harmful websites on your child's computer, tablet, or smartphone. Net2you lets you to limit your child's screen usage to specific times of the day, block specific apps or websites, and filter pornography before it reaches your child. Many of these apps limit Internet access, monitor online behaviour, secure personal information, prevent chat functions, and are configurable to individual users.

If you decide to use Parental Monitoring Software (also known as Spyware), you should definitely consider informing your children and explaining why you are doing so. "It's critical to establish trust and respect surrounding computer use so that your children will feel comfortable approaching you if a problem or issue arises."

What Effects Do Teenagers Have When They Use Social Media?

Many parents are concerned about how toddlers' exposure to technology may influence their development. We know that our preschoolers are rapidly acquiring new social and cognitive skills, and we don't want hours spent hooked to an iPad to slow them down.

Young folks believe there is reason to be concerned. The Family Institute performed a poll of 14-24 year olds to see how social media platforms affected their health and well-being. According to the findings of the poll, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all contributed to higher levels of melancholy, anxiety, negative body image, and loneliness.

Teens are experts at keeping themselves distracted after school until well after bedtime. They're online and on their phones, texting, sharing, trolling, scrolling, you name it, while they're not doing their homework (and when they are). Of course, before everyone had an Instagram account, teenagers kept themselves occupied as well, but they preferred to talk on the phone or in person while shopping at the mall. It may have appeared that they were just hanging out aimlessly, but they were actually exploring, trying out new skills, and succeeding and failing in a slew of small real-time exchanges that today's children are missing out on.

When students communicate with one another online or through texts, they do it in an environment devoid of many of the most personal and sometimes intimidating aspects of communication. When you're texting, it's easier to keep your guard up, so there's less at stake. You aren't aware of the impact your words have on the other person since you aren't hearing or seeing it. Because the dialogue isn't taking place in real time, each person has more time to think about how to respond. It's no surprise that kids think calling someone on the phone is "too intense" it necessitates more direct connection, which can be intimidating if you're not used to it.

Peer acceptability is important to adolescents, and many of them are as concerned about their image as a politician campaigning for office, and it can feel just as significant to them.
Add in the fact that, thanks to things like "likes," kids nowadays can obtain actual polling data on how many people like them or their appearance.
It’s enough to turn anyone’s head. Who wouldn't want to improve her appearance if she could?
As a result, children can spend hours tinkering with their online personas, attempting to create an idealised picture.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Apple's Screen Time settings enable you regulate practically every aspect of your child's iOS device, including how much time they spend on certain applications and games and what they download, if you have an iPhone or iPad.
    You can even turn your phone off for specific periods of time, such as when you go to bed.
    Screen Time can be enabled in two ways:
    You may either set it up on your child's device and password-protect the settings, or you can use your Apple account to put it up and manage the features.

  • Android devices offer a wide range of features, so check your device's settings to discover what you have. If your child is under the age of 13, you can use your phone to track and control their internet behaviour, including text messaging and social networking. (You can utilise Google Family Link on a teen's smartphone, but the settings can't be locked.) You can also use the Digital Wellbeing settings in Android, which are included in the most recent version of the OS. These can help kids become more aware of how much time they spend online, and perhaps reduce it. You'll want to assist your child in enabling the settings that will be most beneficial on the road to self-control.

  • When you give your children their first phone, you should install the parental app. If the youngster is old enough, it's a good idea to talk about why the app was installed. Telling children that the constraints will change as they become older will be beneficial.

  • To safeguard your entire family, sign up for a reputable VPN service. It will encrypt your internet connections and hide your IP addresses across all of your devices. You will also be able to access geo-blocked content from all across the world.

  • Use of Net2You is completely lawful. Only ethical parental restrictions and monitoring of your own children are encouraged by Net2You. You must fill out and return the Parental Consent Form stating that you are aware of the information that will be logged on your child's phone if you wish to monitor your children under the age of 13. You cannot use Net2You to keep track on your children who are 18 years old or older.

  • Net2You currently monitors all Internet browsing (including images, text, videos, and URLs), as well as the majority of photos taken on or downloaded to Android and iOS devices. Text messages, emails, phone conversations, material within non-browser apps, and videos taken on your child's smartphone are all scanned by Net2You.