Top 10 Best Parental Control Apps for iPhone in 2023
Parenting in the digital age can be challenging, especially when it comes to monitoring your child’s online activity. With so many apps and websites available, it can be difficult to keep track of what your child is doing online. Fortunately, there are many parental control apps available that can help you monitor your child’s online activity and keep them safe. In this article, we will be discussing the top 10 best parental control apps for the iPhone in 2023.
These apps have been carefully selected based on their features, ease of use, and overall effectiveness in keeping your child safe online.
1. Mobicip – A Comprehensive iPhone Parental Control App
Mobicip is a comprehensive parental control app for parents. It offers a range of features to help parents monitor their children's device usage and ensure their safety online. Here are some of Mobicip’s important features.
Website filtering: Mobicip’s website filtering feature allows you to block inappropriate websites and content. This is especially important for parents who want to protect their children from harmful content online. With Mobicip, you can easily block websites that contain adult content, violence, drugs, and more. You can also create custom filters to block specific websites or categories of websites.
App blocking: Mobicip’s app blocking feature allows you to block apps that you don’t want your kids to use. This is especially important for parents who want to limit their children’s screen time or prevent them from using apps that are not age-appropriate. With Mobicip, you can easily block apps that you don’t want your kids to use, such as social media apps, gaming apps, and more.
Screen time management and monitoring: Mobicip’s screen time management and monitoring feature helps you manage and monitor your child’s screen time. With this feature, you can set daily or weekly limits on your child’s device usage and receive alerts when those limits are exceeded. You can also view detailed reports on your child’s device usage to see how much time they spend on each app or website.
Location tracking: Mobicip’s location tracking feature allows you to track your child’s location. This is especially important for parents who want to ensure their children’s safety when they are away from home. With Mobicip, you can easily track your child’s location in real-time and receive alerts when they arrive at or leave a specific location.
Social media monitoring: Mobicip’s social media monitoring feature helps you monitor your child’s social media activity. With this feature, you can view your child’s social media profiles and see what they are posting, commenting on, and liking. You can also receive alerts when your child receives a message from someone they don’t know or when they post something inappropriate.
Why the Mobicip App is the Best Parental Control App for iPhone in 2023
Mobicip is a great parental control app for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Chromebooks that can help you keep your kids safe online and manage their device usage. It’s quick to set up, has a minimalistic interface that makes it easy to use, and provides good customer support. Mobicip has all of the industry-standard features you’d expect from a parental control app, including website filtering, app blocking, screen time management and monitoring, location tracking, and social media monitoring.
According to the CNN Underscored review of Mobicip Premium in 2023, its social media monitoring and screen time management and monitoring were all strong. They found its app blocking, website content monitoring and management, and location tracking capabilities to be robust as well.
For parents who are looking for a reliable and easy-to-use parental control app, Mobicip is definitely worth considering. With its industry-standard features, Mobicip can help you keep your kids safe online and manage their device usage.
Moreover, Mobicip offers a free trial, so you can try it out before committing to a subscription. I hope this helps you make an informed decision about the best parental control app for your family’s needs.
2. Google Family Link
Google Family Link is a tool that helps parents keep their children safe online. It allows parents to control child devices to varying degrees by creating and managing a specific Google account for their child. The app allows parents to restrict content, approve or disapprove apps, set screen times, and more. Google Family Link requires Google accounts in order to access the app remotely.
Pros:
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The free cost makes it an affordable option for parents.
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Allows parents to remotely manage their child's screen time and apps
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Provides the ability to change some of their Google Account settings.
Cons:
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It only works on Android 7.0 (Nougat) or higher and iOS 10.0 or higher.
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It doesn’t work on Windows or Mac computers.
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Lacks strong web filtering
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Does not offer many of the little extras you get from other apps
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No social media monitoring
Overall, Google Family Link is a good option for parents who want a free and easy-to-use parental control app. However, it has some limitations, such as not being able to block specific contacts, websites, or keywords. It also requires your child to have a Google account and may not be compatible with some older devices or apps.
3. Kaspersky Safe Kids
Kaspersky allows parents to track their children's whereabouts, restrict screen time, and filter inappropriate content. It is a great choice for large families as it can monitor up to 500 devices and is available on various platforms such as Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.
Pros:
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Affordable at $14.99 per year
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Allows multiple child profiles and device monitoring on any platform
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Offers excellent value for the price
Cons:
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It does not offer call or text monitoring or blocking on any platform.
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It lacks some features on iOS devices, such as app management and web filtering.
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It does not offer a panic button or an SOS alert for the child in case of an emergency.
Kaspersky Safe Kids is a budget-friendly and feature-rich parental control software that offers great value for parents who want to protect their children online and offline. However, Kaspersky Safe Kids is not flawless and has some limitations that may not suit every parent and child.
4. Net Nanny
Net Nanny offers features such as internet filtering, app blocking, and usage monitoring. It is available on multiple devices, including Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.
Pros:
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Advanced internet filter that scans every page
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Usage monitor reports and parental control alerts
Cons:
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It is relatively expensive compared to some of its competitors.
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It lacks some features on iOS, such as app management and text monitoring.
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It can be defeated by using the Tor browser or VPN to bypass the web filters.
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It does not offer a free trial or a free version.
Overall, Net Nanny is a good option for parents who want an advanced internet filter and usage monitoring, but may not be the best choice for every parent and child, depending on their needs and preferences.
5. OurPact
OurPact is a parental control app that helps parents look after their kids’ online activity. It offers functions and features on iOS that no other service can match, but it still lacks location history and a proper web-filtering system. The app allows parents to restrict content, approve or disapprove apps, set screen times, and more.
Pros:
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Offers a 14-day free trial and a free tier that supports one device and five schedules.
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Allows you to block apps, internet, text messages, and websites on your child’s device.
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Provides screenshot views of your child’s online activity, encrypted for safety.
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Enables you to set screen time allowance, schedules, and geofencing for your child’s device.
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Helps you locate your child and your devices using GPS tracking.
Cons:
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Requires a premium subscription of $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year to unlock the full feature set.
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Lacks some features on iOS devices, such as app management and web filtering.
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Can be bypassed by using VPN or proxy servers to access the internet anonymously.
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Does not offer call or text monitoring or blocking on any platform.
Overall, OurPact is a good option for parents who want to limit their children's screen time and monitor their device usage. However, it may not be the best fit for those who need more flexibility and affordability.
6. Norton Family
Norton Family is parental control software and a website blocker from the antivirus vendor Norton. It helps parents monitor and limit their children’s screen time and online activities and provides tools to teach them safe and healthy online habits. Norton Family can also help keep children focused on schoolwork during the school day with its School Time feature.
Pros:
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Simple setup and ease of use
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Competitive pricing with an extensive feature set for monitoring multiple children
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Ability to set content filters, monitor online activity, and set limits on location and screen time
Cons:
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No geofencing options
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Limited social media monitoring
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Less functionality on iOS compared to Android
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Not compatible with macOS
Overall, Norton Family is a good option for parents who want an affordable and easy-to-use parental control app, but it may not be the best fit for those who need more advanced features.
7. Bark
Bark monitors your child’s texts, email, YouTube, and 30+ apps and social media platforms for issues like cyberbullying, adult content, sexual predators, profanity, suicidal ideation, threats of violence, and more. Bark sends parents alerts only when something potentially problematic occurs online, and provides expert advice on how to handle the situation.
Pros:
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Comprehensive content monitoring across multiple platforms
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Smart alerts that only notify parents when necessary
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Expert guidance and resources to help parents address issues
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Compatible with Android and iOS devices
Cons:
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Limited direct support options
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The subscription cost may be high for some families
Overall, Bark is a good option for parents who want advanced social media and email monitoring. However, as with any monitoring service, there are also privacy concerns to consider, which may make it unsuitable for some parents.
8. Boomerang
Boomerang is a parental control app that offers features such as app controls, text monitoring, time limits, and web filtering. It is available on both Android and iOS devices.
Pros:
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Boomerang offers unique features such as blocking new app installs on the child’s device and reviewing the child’s viewing history and searches in the Android YouTube app.
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Utilizes Samsung’s Knox, an enterprise mobile security solution pre-installed in most Samsung devices.
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Offers a SPIN Safe Browser that filters millions of inappropriate websites with content ranging from pornography and nudity to the grey area of self-harm and suicide.
Cons:
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Limited customer support.
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Content filters are not always working as expected.
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No push notifications are available.
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No refunds are available for the app.
Overall, Boomerang is a good option for parents who want an easy-to-use parental control app with unique features, but it may not be the best fit for those who need more advanced features and flexibility.
9. Qustodio
Qustodio is a parental control app that helps parents protect their children online. With Qustodio, parents can filter content and apps, monitor activity, set time limits, track calls and SMS for Android and iOS, and locate family members. Qustodio is available for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Kindle, and Chromebooks.
Pros:
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Smart web filters, call blocking, and advanced Facebook monitoring
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Multi-device support and screen time limits
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Panic button for kids away from home and location tracking
Cons:
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Relatively high cost compared to other parental control apps
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Lacks geo-fencing, keylogger, and live chat option
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Feature set is much more limited on iOS
Overall, Qustodio is a good choice for parents looking to monitor their children's device usage and restrict access to inappropriate content, but it may not be the best fit for those who require specific features or have budget constraints.
10. MMGuardian
MMGuardian is a parental control app that offers features such as web filtering, social media monitoring, SMS text message monitoring, and location tracking. It is available on both Android and iOS devices.
Pros:
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MMGuardian offers a comprehensive feature list for parental control
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The app offers content analysis and child safety alerts to monitor and prevent access to inappropriate content
Cons:
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MMGuardian has outdated and poor user interfaces on both Android and iOS devices
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The app has a high subscription price compared to other parental control apps
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Installation instructions for some iOS features are complicated.
Overall, MMGuardian is a good option for parents who want a comprehensive parental control app with advanced features, but it may not be the best fit for those who need more user-friendly and affordable options.
Conclusion
There are many excellent parental control apps available for the iPhone in 2023. However, after thorough consideration and research, we believe that Mobicip is the best app for families. With its advanced features, user-friendliness, and overall effectiveness in ensuring your child's safety online, Mobicip is the perfect choice for parents.
If you’re interested in trying out Mobicip for yourself, we offer a free trial so you can see for yourself how effective it is. Sign up today and start protecting your child online!
