Apps to monitor your kid’s online activities
As we enter a school year unlike any other, kids are set to spend more time online than ever — and parents might be wondering how to monitor their activity.
PC Mike Wendland has three great choices for parents to consider.
Bark monitors your child’s texts, email, YouTube, and more than 30 apps and social media platforms for issues like cyberbullying, adult content, sexual predators, profanity, suicidal threats, violence, and more. Parents receive alerts only when something problematic occurs online. The app also lets families can set healthy time limits The app is free for iOS and Android with a subscription that starts at $14.99 a month.
Qustodio provides a comprehensive dashboard to monitor your child’s online activity. The free version keepss tabs on your child’s web and search engine use, track Facebook and Twitter logins, and sets time controls. The premium version also allows you to track location, block certain games and apps, monitor calls and text messages, and more. Plans start at $54.95 per year for five children/five devices. The app is free for iOS and Android.
Net Nanny Parental Control App allows you to create different profiles/log-ins for each of your children, and filter web content for each one based on whether they fit the child, pre-teen, teen, or adult profile You can set Internet time allowances, so it’s easy to prevent web access during homework time or bedtime. The app is free for iOS and Android. Plans start at $54.99 for five devices.
Mike Wendland
Mike is a veteran journalist whose video "PC Mike" reports have been distributed weekly to all 215 NBC-TV stations since 1994, making him one of the most experienced tech reporters in the country. His tech stories and videos have appeared on MSNBC, CNBC, the Today Show, The New York Times, USA Today and in numerous national newspapers and magazines. In addition to the PC Mike tech blog, he also publishes the Roadtreking.com RV Travel Blog in which he travels North America in an RV reporting about interesting people and places.
