8 Free Parental Control Apps For Android & iOS

As technology continues to permeate all aspects of our daily lives, parents are increasingly concerned about the safety and well-being of their children online. To address this concern, a variety of free parental control apps have emerged for Android and iOS devices. These apps offer a range of features and functionalities designed to help parents monitor and manage their children’s device usage, as well as protect them from inappropriate content and online predators. In this article, we will explore some of the most popular free parental control apps available for Android and iOS, and discuss their key features and benefits.

We have compiled a list of 8 Free Parental Control Apps For Android & iOS for your consideration, which have undergone rigorous testing and evaluation by our team of experts.

8 Free Parental Control Apps For Android & iOS

1. Google Family Link for parents

Google offers the Family Link parental controls app to assist parents in setting digital ground rules for their children while they learn, play, and explore online. The app allows parents to remotely impose restrictions on their child’s Android device, creating a safe environment for children under 13 (or the applicable age of consent in their country) using their Google account.

The Family Link parental controls have several features that allow parents to guide their children to good content. Parents can view their child’s app activity and receive reports detailing their screen time. Parents can manage their child’s apps by blocking or approving apps from the Google Play Store, managing in-app purchases, and hiding specific apps remotely. Furthermore, the app provides teacher-recommended apps that parents can add directly to their child’s device.

Parents can use Family Link to monitor their child’s screen time by setting time limits and a bedtime for their supervised devices. Parents can also lock the device remotely, which is useful when it’s time to take a break, go outside or spend time together. Additionally, parents can track their child’s location by using Family Link as long as their child is carrying their Android device.

Parents should note that Family Link’s tools vary depending on the child’s device, and that app updates (including updates that expand permissions), previously approved apps, and apps that have been shared in Family Library do not require approval to install. Parents should review their child’s installed apps and app permissions regularly, and disable apps they don’t want their child to use. Some pre-installed apps may not be disabled, and teacher-recommended apps are only available on Android devices in the US to parents of certain ages. Finally, parents should understand that although Family Link provides tools to manage their child’s online experience, it does not make the internet safe. Instead, it aims to provide parents with choices about how their children use the internet and encourage conversations about internet use.

2. Norton Family Parental Control

Norton Family is a software that offers parents tools to promote safe and healthy online behaviors for their children. In addition to this, it provides insights to help establish a healthy balance between online and offline activities. Norton Family can be used both at home and on the go and aids children in staying focused on important tasks.

The software offers various features that allow parents to monitor and restrict their child’s internet usage. Parents can keep track of the websites visited by their children and block harmful or inappropriate content. Additionally, they can limit their child’s screen time, which can help reduce online distractions and allow them to focus on schoolwork or rest. Norton Family also provides geo-location features that enable parents to track their child’s physical location and receive alerts if they enter or leave specific areas.

Parents can use several Norton Family features to protect their child’s online activity. The Instant Lock feature allows parents to lock their child’s device temporarily to give them a break from screen time. The Web Supervision feature allows parents to block unsuitable websites and stay informed about their child’s internet usage. The Video Supervision feature enables parents to monitor the YouTube and Hulu videos their child watches and view snippets of each video. The Mobile App Supervision feature lets parents view the apps their child has downloaded on their Android devices and choose which ones they can use.

Norton Family also includes Time and Location features to help parents manage their child’s activities. The School Time feature enables parents to control their child’s access to relevant websites and categories during remote learning sessions. The Favorite Locations feature enables parents to establish approved boundaries for their child’s physical locations and receive alerts if their child enters or leaves those areas. The Alert Me feature sends automatic alerts to parents about their child’s device location at specific dates and times.

Parents can install and use Norton Family and Norton Parental Control on their child’s Windows PC, iOS and Android devices. However, not all features are available on all platforms.

3. Safe Browser Parental Control – Blocks Adult Sites

Kids Safe Browser – Parental Control is an app designed for parents and kids to provide a safe browsing experience for Android users. It features a cloud-based web content filtering browser with parental controls and a safe search engine. The app offers advanced web and internet filter content filtering, including a porn blocker that blocks adult sites and apps, adult content, porn search results, and access to adult apps.

In addition to this, the app has a blocksmart system that allows users to create custom whitelists and blacklists for websites and domains, and shortcuts to whitelist sites on the home page for ease of use. The app is also compatible with Kids Place – Parental Control app, and can easily integrate to block a list of websites on Android devices.

The app has several helpful features, including the ability to block access to unsafe sites, create custom whitelists and blacklists of websites, set web filtering rules, configure web browser UI, access to settings protected by Kids Place PIN, and remotely manage web filtering settings from the cloud console. The app also has major security features, which include blocking adult sites, unsafe websites, social networking, dating, media streaming, gambling sites, and online gaming.

Parents who are concerned about their children’s online safety can try the app for free for 15 days, after which they may purchase a subscription via in-app purchase. The app also has a voice-based navigation feature. Users are advised that the app uses the Device Administrator permission, which is optional but requested in case parents want to tamper-proof the app for kids.

If users encounter any issues, they may contact the support team at support@kiddoware.com. The app’s Help/FAQ can be accessed at https://browser.kiddoware.com/help.

4. Parental Control & Kids GPS: Kaspersky SafeKids

Kaspersky Safe Kids is a parental control app that offers advanced features to assist parents in ensuring the safety of their children. The app not only allows parents to block inappropriate content, manage device and app usage, and receive alerts about suspicious online behavior, but also enables them to find their children’s location on a map and set safe zones. The battery level of children’s devices can also be monitored to remain connected.

The free version of Kaspersky Safe Kids offers options to block harmful websites and content, manage app usage, set screen time limits, and obtain guidance from child psychologists. The premium version offers all of the free features, in addition to the ability to check children’s YouTube search history, locate them on a map, define a safe area for them to stay in, monitor their device usage, receive real-time notifications, and view detailed reports of their online behavior.

Kaspersky Safe Kids has received an ‘Excellent’ rating in an independent review by PC Mag and is certified as an Approved Parental Control by AV-Test. The app is available for download on various platforms, including Mac and Windows.

To get started with Kaspersky Safe Kids, parents need to install the app on their devices in parent mode and on their children’s devices in kid’s mode, and follow the setup instructions. The My Kaspersky account can be used for initial setup and management of protection rules. Safe Search in YouTube is compatible with Android and other mobile device browsers, and also works within the official YouTube app on Android phones and tablets. However, turning on GPS usage may increase battery power consumption.

The app uses the Device Administrator permission and Accessibility services.

5. MMGuardian Parental Control App For Parent Phone

The MMGuardian Parent App is a tool that allows parents to manage and monitor the MMGuardian child phone app installed on their child’s smartphone. When the child’s device is an Android phone, the parent can receive alerts when text messages, certain social media chat messages, or web searches are indicative of sexting, cyberbullying, suicidal thoughts, and more.

The MMGuardian Parental Control app, installed on the child’s Android phone, allows parents to monitor and block various activities. These include SMS text messages, web browsing activity, application usage, and to whom voice calls are made.

With the MMGuardian Parental Control app, social media chat messages from Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram are reported, in addition to normal SMS texts. Alerts are sent if the content of a chat message appears to relate to one of nine special alert categories, including sexting, cyberbullying, and suicidal thoughts.

The benefits of using MMGuardian Parental Control when a child has an Android phone are numerous. Parents can receive alerts when text messages or web searches are indicative of sexting, cyberbullying, suicidal thoughts, and more. They can also receive alerts when pictures on their child’s phone, or sent in an MMS message, are of an adult nature or indicative of sexting. Comprehensive reports cover SMS and selected social media app text messages, usage of applications, web browsing using the Chrome browser, and voice calls. Parents can locate their child’s phone on a map, lock or unlock it with a simple button press, and set or edit configurations for screen time limits, application control, SMS block and Call block, scheduled locate, and web filter.

To use the MMGuardian Parental Control app, parents need to install and register the app on their child’s Android phone. Both phones need to be registered using the same email address and password.

6. FamilyTime Parental Controls & Screen Time App

FamilyTime is a parental control application that enables parents to remotely monitor and manage their children’s smartphone devices. This software provides several monitoring features such as screen time limits, website filtering, games and app blocking, porn blocking, location tracking, and suspicious call tracking.

Additionally, it has received high ratings from the best Mom Bloggers worldwide, is listed in the Kids Safe SEAL program, and is considered the most affordable location tracking app according to Mashable.

In today’s digital age, it is essential for parents to keep an eye on their children’s digital activities. Limiting the use of the devices is always preferable for quality family time. With the FamilyTime app, parents can have a permanent solution to control their children’s smart devices.

7. Qustodio Parental Control

Qustodio offers a companion app for parents called Kids App Qustodio. This app is intended to be downloaded onto the device of the child or teen being monitored. To get started, parents should download the Qustodio Parental Control App onto their own device, and then download Kids App Qustodio onto their child’s device. Together, the two apps allow parents to manage their child’s screen time allowance across mobile, tablet, and desktop devices on various operating systems.

Kids App Qustodio is a free app that needs to be installed onto any device the parent wants to monitor. It is a companion app to the Qustodio Parental Control App. Qustodio Free allows parents to set and manage daily screen time limits, monitor website, search and app activity, block websites or categories of content, and more.

To enjoy additional features such as app blocking, geolocation, and advanced reporting, parents can upgrade to Qustodio Premium. This version allows for monitoring of up to 15 supervised devices and includes features like a YouTube monitoring tool, a family locator geolocation tracker, an app blocker, and more.

To set up the Qustodio apps, parents should first download the Qustodio Parental Control App onto their own device, create an account or login, and then install Kids App Qustodio on the device they want to supervise. Once logged in, they can follow the setup instructions and monitor their child’s activity through the online Qustodio dashboard or the Parental Control App.

Qustodio supports various platforms including Android, Windows, Mac, iOS, and Kindle. It is available in multiple languages including English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, German, Japanese, and Chinese. Contact support for assistance with any issues.

The Kids App Qustodio uses the Device Administrator permission to prevent users from uninstalling the app without the parent’s knowledge.

8. Parental Control – Screen Time & Location Tracker

The Screen Time Parental Control App is a free app that allows parents to manage and control the amount of time their children spend on smartphones and tablets. It offers web filtering, location tracking, and social media monitoring, including monitoring YouTube videos watched by children.

The app allows parents to limit their children’s daily app use, block specific apps, approve app downloads, and even block certain times of day. Parents can also reward children with extra device time for good behavior. The Screen Time app helps children understand healthy device time limits.

With the web filtering feature, parents can block access to inappropriate websites and provide a safe browser for children to use. The location tracking feature gives parents peace of mind knowing where their children are and how they got there. The app works on Android, Apple iOS, and Amazon Kindle Fire devices.

The app has a free version that includes features such as monitoring screen time, seeing which apps are being used and for how long, receiving notifications when children try to install new apps, monitoring which websites children visit, and monitoring which social media platforms are used and for how long.

The premium version of the app offers additional parental controls, including setting daily time limits for screen time, instant pausing of devices, blocking certain app activities, blocking or restricting all app activity, blocking or allowing specific websites or categories with web filtering, GPS phone location tracking, daily summaries of app and web usage, setting tasks for children to complete to earn additional screen time, and sharing app management with other adults in a child’s life. Users can choose a monthly, 6-month, or annual subscription.

New users can try the premium version for free for 7 days without providing payment details. Note that the app may occasionally have performance issues on Huawei devices. Users with problems can visit the help pages or contact the app’s support team.