Top 10 Best Free Parental Control Apps in 2023

Do you know that there are many harmful things kids may get exposed to when they’re online? Inappropriate content, cyberbullying, online predators, scammers, and potentially dangerous sites and apps are just a few examples that you should be concerned about.

As a parent, it’s very important to ensure that your kid is protected from such dangers to ensure their safety online. Parental control apps can help you do this quite easily. They offer various tools to monitor and protect kids from inappropriate and harmful online activities.

In this article, we will explore the 10 best parental control apps in 2023 that you can download for free and use to protect your kids. We’ll tell you what features they offer and give you their pros and cons to help you make an informed decision. Let’s get started.

1. KidsGuard Pro

KidsGuard Pro stands out as one of the best free parental control apps because of its comprehensive protection. With this app, you can track and monitor your kid’s every activity online without them knowing, including reading their phone logs, call history, messages, and contacts.

You have to install the app on your kid’s mobile device for it to work. Once installed, you can monitor everything your kid does on the device and browser to ensure they are not accessing inappropriate or unwanted content. The app also lets you check the browser history and track your kid’s location.

With the KidsGuard Pro app, you can protect your kids from online harm. It will help you save them even on social media platforms – where they interact with many strangers and are likely to face cyberbullying and other cybercrimes.

Key Features of the KidsGuard Pro App

• Ensures Online Safety – Access and view your kid’s contacts, call history, messages, app chat history, phone logs, and much more to prevent self-harm, cyberbullying, and many other unsafe behaviors.
• Prevent Social Media Addiction – Easily monitor activities on social apps like TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp, etc.
• Track Location – Find out where exactly your kid is by tracking their real-time location and creating a geo-fence for them to discourage truancy and other issues.
• Detect Low Mood – Track keywords such as anxiety and pressure remotely so that you can know your kid’s mood early. You’ll notified in real-time by the app.
• Additional Parental Control Features – Record your kid’s phone and app calls remotely without them knowing. Record their phone surround also to ensure their safety.

Now, how does the app work? Well, it’s simple. You must set it up once you download and install it on your kid’s device. From there, the app will sync all the data on your kid’s device to its dashboard, allowing you to view everything remotely.

Pros

• You can use it on any Android/iOS device and system version.
• All information and data on your kid’s device is easily accessible.
• Your kid won’t know about the app as it runs in the background.
• It’s 100% safe; you don’t have to jailbreak or root your target device.
• It’s simple and quick to install and set up.
• It allows you to track even deleted messages.
• There’s a free demo to allow you to view its features.

Cons

• It doesn’t offer a free trial version to test its features.

2. Net Nanny

Net Nanny is another excellent option for a complete remote monitoring tool to help you manage your kid’s online activities. It’s a free parental control app that’s easy to install and use. It allows you to monitor your kid’s messaging and the content they view online.

Net Nanny also offers other useful functions like chat filtering, blocking improper websites and content, restricting access to devices, and much more. The app even works with the Entertainment Software Rating Board so that you can ensure that your kid only accesses entertainment content suitable for them.

Pros

• It has a lot of internet content filters.
• You can monitor your kids’ activities on social networking platforms.
• It’s pretty simple to use and allows you to adjust settings remotely.

Cons

• The setup process may be complex.
• There’s a free trial version, but you must pay to use the app afterward.

3. Norton Family

Norton is a big name in the security market, but while it’s trendy, only a few know it develops and offers free parental control software. The Norton Family is one such software with some handy features, including location supervision and web content monitoring. The software allows parents to access request alerts and to get custom email alerts as well. It will enable them to also re-direct notifications.

Pros

• It’s simple to understand and use.
• It has a reliable and easy reporting system.
• You can check the categories/content/sites your kid visits and uses frequently.

Cons

• The installation and setup process takes a while.
• Sometimes, the web filter function doesn’t work well.

4. Kaspersky Safe Kids

You can install the Kaspersky Safe Kids on an iOS or Android device. It’s a free parental control app that provides several tools that you can use to ensure the safety of your kids online. There’s a premium version and a basic version that you can download for free, including valuable features such as online content filtering, screen time management, and app usage control.

As for the premium version, you’ll have to pay to get it, but it provides more features than the basic version. Besides the basic version’s features, you’ll get extra functions like social networking monitoring, child locator, mobile contact screening, battery tracker, and real-time alerts.

Pros

• It has so many features, including extensive alert functionalities.

Cons

• The iOS version is less efficient than the Android version.
• It slows down the performance of the target device, especially the iOS version.
• The free/basic version has fewer features than the paid version.

5. FamilyTime

Like the Kaspersky Safe Kids, the FamilyTime parental control app comes in two versions – a premium version and a basic version available online for free. One unique feature this basic version offers is emergency assistance, which is helpful in unlikely situations. Other features include screen time restrictions that help limit your kid’s time on their device. You can also do real-time location tracking and geo-fencing with this application.

Pros

• It includes a unique feature that alerts parents in an emergency.
• It offers extra valuable features like Homework and BedTime schedules.

Cons

• You can’t access and view the kid’s browser history with this app.
• The free basic version doesn’t include many important features.

6. ESET Parental Control

The ESET parental control app is unique because it has a feature that uses online services to help your kid safely navigate back home. Only a few free parental control apps offer such a feature, and that’s not all because you can remotely check the real-time location of your child at any time using this app. In addition, you can use it to monitor everything your kid does online and block any activity that you may feel is harmful to them.

Pros

• It has a user-friendly interface; hence, it’s simple to use.

Cons

• You can’t hide this app on the target device, so your kid will likely know about it.
• You can only use the trial version for a short time before paying.
• It’s not compatible with iOS devices.

7. Qustodio

Although Qustodio’s paid parental control app is arguably one of the best in the market, it does have a free version that’s also good. One thing that stands out is that you can use it indefinitely – the free trial versions of many parental control apps usually last only a few days.

However, this Qustodio free version has limited features compared to the full version. Nonetheless, its few features are still helpful, especially web filtering and time management. The fact that an established, reputable company makes the app also means that you’re not dealing with an open-source project that may run out of steam or break down the next time you do a software update.

If there’s any major drawback to this Qustodio free version app, it would be that its use is limited to only one device – you can’t use it on multiple devices if you have two or more kids. Fortunately, you can always upgrade to the paid version if you’re pleased with the free version and access to many additional features.

Pros

• You can use the free version as long as you want.
• It supports web filtering and has time management tools.

Cons

• It’s limited to just one device.
• You get fewer features with the free version.

8. Bark

The Bark parental control app allows you to monitor every online activity of your kid on their cell phone. You can use it to monitor their messages, emails, YouTube, TikTok, and over 20 other social media platforms. If your kid encounters adult content, cyberbullying, predators, depression, etc., the app will automatically notify you right away and offer expert advice. There’s a free trial version that lasts for just 7 days, after which you pay 9$ per month.

Pros

• You get expert advice from the app.
• It’s not very intrusive and runs in the background.

Cons

• You can’t use it to limit your kid’s phone usage.
• It has limited personalization options.
• It doesn’t have many parent control monitoring features like KidsGuard Pro.

9. Mobicip

Mobicip is a famous parental control app because of its compatibility with various devices. You can do many things with this app, including blocking websites from being accessed through the browser and blocking applications that seem inappropriate for your child. Using this app, you can limit screen time and get your kid’s real-time location.

Pros

• It’s able to work with many devices.

Cons

• You can only use the free trial version for a short while.
• The customer support is not reliable.

10. Boomerang

If you want a parental control application that offers great flexibility regarding features, Boomerang is a viable option. With Boomerang, you can control how long your kid uses the internet by setting time restrictions. Even better, you can set different days of the week to have additional time restrictions.

The app also allows you to selectively choose applications you want your kid to access, like apps meant for educational purposes – you can selectively remove restrictions on these apps. Other notable features of Boomerang allow you to monitor searches your kid makes on YouTube or other apps. You can also totally block your kid from using apps that are not appropriate for them.

Pros

• It has various protective features like safe search when your kid browses the web.

Cons

• It offers a trial version that’s usable for only a short time.
• It has some limitations when you use it on an iOS device.

Conclusion

Protecting your child from harmful online activities requires no excuse because there are many dangers that they can get exposed to on the internet without them even knowing. The free parental control apps above can help you do that easily.

Out of the 10 options, though, the KidsGuard Pro stands out as the best because it offers every necessary tool and feature to ensure your kid’s online safety. Whether monitoring your kid’s activities on their device, restricting their activities, or tracking their location, the KidsGuard Pro can handle it. You won’t need to use any other app.