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7 MOBILE APPS TO MONITOR WHAT YOUR KIDS DO ONLINE

24 October, 2021

8 min read

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7 Mobile Apps to Monitor What Your Kids do Online


How can I monitor what my kids do on social media? How can I know what my children do online? How can I track my child’s activities on social media?


As a parent, you are probably also asking these questions.

Millions of caring parents all over the world are becoming more interested in what their kids do online. We all know that the whole world is now webbed together making communication among people even in continents apart so seamless.


Personal communication is no longer limited to landlines. Since LG Prada launched the first mobile phone with a large capacity touchscreen in 2007, the world has not remained the same. Apple jumped on that trend and released its first iPhone the same year. A year later in 2008, the first Android was released. 


With over a decade existence of smartphones, children and adults alike now have the freedom to do whatever they want at any time they want with their mobile phones. We can take photos, stream videos, play a game, video chat, and even use social networks.


Talking about social networks, just two decades ago, no one could have imagined an online network of people connected with one another at the click of the “accept” button on their mobile phones.


Today, Facebook alone has over 2.3 billion monthly active users. Instagram is right behind Facebook with close to a billion monthly active users as of 2018. If you have a child above age 10, chances are that your child is among the 3.196 billion global social media active users.


The challenges that come with the increasing number of young social media users are as enormous as the numbers. As a parent, the safety of your child’s social media use and online presence is of utmost importance to you.


Most parents certainly are aware of the predators and bullies that are lurking online and the danger that can be done to their kids’ reputation if certain information about him/her finds its way online.


Thus, these pertinent questions arise: How can I monitor what my kids do online? How can I know what my child does on social media? How can I track my child’s activities online? In this write-up, I will introduce 7 mobile Apps with which you can easily track your kid’s digital activities without being intrusive. That way, you can set limit boundaries for them.


There are so many Apps that can help you know and track what your kids do online without you necessarily being a pain in the neck of your child.


The list below is selected based on the Apps that we feel are the most popular among parents. Please note that no matter how fantastic a mobile App is, nothing beats teaching your kids the best online safety and security practices. We strongly recommend that you should always verify any app before you subscribe to it.


These Apps for parents to monitor their kid’s internet activities and social media is presented in no particular order.


Mobile Apps to Monitor What Your Kids Do Online


1. Spyzie


Many parents find Spyzie a good parental control and monitoring App.


Here are some of its features: The app enables parents to track the location of the target phone using GPS functionality on the phone. The tracking feature of Spyzie helps you know where your kids are at any point in time and should there be any theft, you can use the feature to track and recover a stolen phone.


You can also track Phone Calls, Messages, Whatsapp, Facebook, Browsing History, etc. Spyzie is able to support all Android/iOS devices from all major brands You can access your Spyzie App from App and Web Browser They claim to guarantee user privacy. Spyzie comes in three different subscription packages:


Monthly, quarterly, and yearly, with prices from $9.99 to $59.99. 


2. Qustodio


Qustodio App for monitoring Kids' internet use works on all Android Smartphones and tablets running Android 4.0 upwards. Some of Qustodio features are: It has smart web filters It works with multiple devices i.e. laptops and mobile Smartphones.


It has games and App blocking features You can use the App to track your kid’s location, calls, and SMS monitoring. It also has a call blocking feature. It has advanced Facebook monitoring functionality.


It has panic button alerts, time controls by device and many more features. Prices: Small plan-$39.95/year Medium Plan: $54.95/Year Large plan: $96.95/year 


3. mSpy


mSpy was launched in 2010 and has grown to become one of the most popular monitoring software programs among parents.


You can install mSpy on your child’s phone to see their phone calls, social media activities, messages, location, and more without being visible to the phone user or child, so your kids will never know that you are watching them.


Here are some other monitoring you can do on mSpy mSpy has GPS tracking feature. It tracks the location of your child and uploads it so you can see the exact location your child has been throughout the day.


You can read received and sent messages from your child’s phone even after they’ve been deleted. Isn’t that interesting? You can find out who your kids call and who calls them. You also get details like phone numbers, contact names, dates, and times of their callers.


mSpy also has a feature that helps monitor instant messaging chats like WhatsApp and Skype, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Parents also use mSpy App to view all photos stored on their kids' phones and monitor their internet activities.


The feature we found most interesting in mSpy is the Keyword alert. You can create a list of target keywords such as “drugs”, “suicide” and “abortion” with the alert so as to receive an email notification whenever any of the words get used by your child in any text, chat, or email. 


4. Norton Family


Norton Family is another software that helps you track your child's internet activity on iPhone, Android, Tablet, and iPad. Norton Family Parental control software can help you control your child’s online activities with real-time alerts.


You can set house rules that protect your children's internet use and get alerted once your kids go beyond the set boundaries. Other features of the Norton Family parental control App are: Provides insights into the search keywords and videos that interest your child and notify you of unsafe tendencies so you can take action.


Norton Family helps your kids balance the time spent on the internet and social media by scheduling screen time limits for their device usage. Price: $49.99 per year. 


5. Secure Teen


This is another App to monitor a child's computer remotely As the name implies, Secure Teen App helps to protect your children from the dangers and hazards that abound on the internet and social media.


Here are some important features of Secure Teen: Secure Teen helps block inappropriate content or unsuitable websites with its effective filtering technology so your child cannot access them. It has a remote management feature that helps you monitor your child’s online activities with ease from any part of the world 24/7.


You can view your kid’s internet activities to make sure he/she is not accessing dangerous content. 


6. Teen Safe


Teen Safe App is another App to track your child's internet activities. If you are looking for an easy and simple way to protect your child online, then Teen Safe is a good option.


Teen Safe typically makes digital parenting easy. Some of its features are: Helps you view contacts saved on your child’s mobile device. It can be used to monitor most Apps on your child’s mobile phone It has a GPS feature that helps parents know the whereabouts of their kids at any point in time.


So no need to be afraid when your child is not coming home early. You can also track all calls on your child’s phone with Teen Safe. Any incoming or outgoing calls will be logged by the software so that you can view them and detect if there is something wrong. 


7. Net Nanny


Net Nanny is another internet filtering software that allows parents to be in control of their kids' activities online, especially web browsing. Initially, Net Nanny was targeted at computers but now, they have extended their services to mobile web browsing.


Here are some of their features: It allows parents to set filtering for nearly 20 types of online content. Parents can either block or send a warning or allow a child to view these contents.


With Net Nanny, you can set a limit on the number of hours spent on the internet in a 24-hour period or set certain times of the day when your child is allowed to be online. You can also monitor your child’s activities on social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and even Google.


Net Nanny App helps parents check usage reports, change a child’s profile settings, and more remotely from with an internet connection. So there you have it. The ball is in your court now. If you already have a favorite monitoring App, kindly let other parents know about it in the comment section.


And please, feel free to share your experience upon using any of the monitoring Apps mentioned above.

24 October, 2021

8 min read

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