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Parental controls app that builds a social persona for your kid based on their messaging habits and flags behavioral shifts
Screens for cyberbullying and in-game harassment across apps like Discord and Fortnite without reading DMs
Lets you set per-app time limits for 100+ apps and pause all internet access instantly from the dashboard
All About Cookies is an independent, advertising-supported website. Some of the offers that appear on this site are from third-party advertisers from which All About Cookies receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear).
All About Cookies does not include all financial or credit offers that might be available to consumers nor do we include all companies or all available products. Information is accurate as of the publishing date and has not been provided or endorsed by the advertiser.
The All About Cookies editorial team strives to provide accurate, in-depth information and reviews to help you, our reader, make online privacy decisions with confidence. Here's what you can expect from us:
Aura Parental Controls is designed to help families manage screen time, filter inappropriate content, and monitor children’s online activity from a single dashboard. But does it actually deliver the tools parents need?
Aura Parental Controls doesn't include location tracking, so you may need to combine this app with another service. Also, your child can delete the Android app without you knowing.
Below, we’ll walk through our hands-on experience using Aura Parental Controls, highlight its strengths and limitations, and explain whether it’s worth considering compared to other parental control apps.
| Price | $8.25/mo |
| Number of kids supported | Unlimited |
| Content filtering | Yes |
| Conversation monitoring | Yes |
| Screen time management | Yes |
| Location tracking | No |
| Activity reports | Yes |
| Supported devices | Android, iOS |
| Learn more | Get Aura Parental Controls |
Our team has conducted hands-on testing on 10+ parental control apps over several years using a consistent process. We install each app on multiple devices and create both parent and child accounts, evaluating the experience from both perspectives. We also deliberately attempt to bypass restrictions to ensure the apps actually work.
Then, we evaluate each product across eight areas:
We retest all parental control apps at least once a year. To learn more about how we test, read our full parental control testing methodology here.
Aura Parental Controls earned a 4.8 star rating due to our simple and effective testing experience, compatibility for desktop and mobile, and various methods to contact customer support.
Aura Parental Controls lost points in the features category because it lacks location features like live tracking and geo-fencing alerts. It also received a lower score in the value category because of its higher starting price.
| Decision factor | Weight | Verdict |
| Our experience | 33% | 5.0 |
| Value | 5% | 4.0 |
| Features | 52% | 4.0 |
| Compatibility | 5% | 5.0 |
| Customer service | 5% | 5.0 |
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Parental controls app that builds a social persona for your kid based on their messaging habits and flags behavioral shifts
Screens for cyberbullying and in-game harassment across apps like Discord and Fortnite without reading DMs
Lets you set per-app time limits for 100+ apps and pause all internet access instantly from the dashboard
Setting up Aura Parental Controls was easy. It only required a quick login on the device and adding a child by entering their name and birthday.
We created a test child profile for an 11-year-old, and Aura applied its recommended preteen content filters. Parents can adjust these settings to fit their household.
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After setting up the app on our phone, we opened the My Family tab on our desktop. In our testing, the dashboard showed a daily summary of the child’s online activity, remaining screen time, and recently visited apps and sites.
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Below this summary, you'll also find settings for content filtering, time limits, bedtime, and more.
The Aura app has more detailed insights, including the Online Wellbeing tools. Online Wellbeing analyzes your child's tone in messages and social interactions.
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The main dashboard lets you pause a child's internet access with the "Pause" button. You set filters, limits, and activity tracking for each child, so you can tailor them to individual needs.
Aura let us filter content by blocking apps, restricting websites, and enforcing SafeSearch. Aura's list included most major apps we tested, but we couldn't confirm how it handles an app that isn't listed.
When Aura blocks an app or website, it cuts off that app or site's internet access. A child can still open an app and use offline features, but they cannot send messages or load new content through it.
Aura includes several ways to set screen time limits. You can schedule a bedtime for each child and apply it only for certain days, such as school nights.
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You can also define time limits per app, allowing you to block access to fun apps while keeping important ones, such as those used for communication, fully functional.
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We tested Safe Gaming on a Windows computer with Aura Antivirus installed. Safe Gaming is powered by ProtectMe by Kidas, and it monitors communications in games and gaming communication apps such as Discord.
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During testing, friends sent harassing messages on Discord, but Safe Gaming didn't send any alerts. Reports appear to be released only on Tuesdays, so parents cannot check for flagged activity before the next report.
We could easily delete the app from our Android device, and Aura's parent dashboard did not notify us that the device had disconnected. This could make it difficult to keep the app on your child's device if they try to remove it.
On iOS, Aura's dashboard displayed a pop-up about preventing app deletion. The pop-up linked to an Aura video that explains how to make it harder for a child to delete the app.
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Aura Parental Controls costs $8.25/mo, depending on whether you need a standalone parental control app or the full Aura service.
| Features | Aura Parental Controls | Aura Ultimate Family |
| Price | $8.25/mo | $32.00/mo |
| Who's covered | 1 adult, unlimited kids | 5 adults, unlimited kids |
| Content filtering | ||
| Screen time management | ||
| Cyberbullying and online predator alerts | Yes — only while gaming on a Windows device | Yes — only while gaming on a Windows device |
| Online account monitoring | ||
| Child SSN monitoring | ||
| Child 3-bureau credit freeze | ||
| Identity theft insurance | ||
| Financial fraud protection | ||
| Learn more | View plan | View plan |
The Aura Parental Controls solo plan costs $8.25/mo and covers an unlimited number of children. This plan also includes Aura antivirus.
If you want the full suite of Aura identity theft features, then you should purchase the Family plan. This costs $32.00/mo but also include up to $5 million in identity theft insurance, credit monitoring, and more.
Aura is slightly more expensive than its competitors if you’re using it exclusively for parental controls. Qustodio is a few dollars cheaper, starting at $4.99/mo.
If you’re including it as part of an identity theft protection plan, however, it's priced like other bundled parental controls. Other identity theft protection services offer parental control apps, such as Norton Family, which can be bundled with Norton 360 for similar monthly costs.
If you’re looking for a way to monitor the amount of time your child spends online and to restrict what they can view, Aura Parental Controls has you covered. Aura doesn’t include some standard parental control features, such as email monitoring or geo-fencing, but it can help you teach your child about healthy internet usage.
It also allows you to filter the internet with age-appropriate restrictions so your kid isn’t accidentally stumbling into something you don’t want them to see.
Aura Parental Controls lets parents allow or block their child’s access to apps. Parents can block entire categories, including dating, explicit content, and mature content, or select individual apps.
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When you enter your child’s birthday into the service, it applies an age-appropriate template that filters out content that doesn’t meet that age. You can make adjustments from the content filtering tab.
Aura's Online Wellbeing features monitor parts of a child's social activity differently from many parental control apps. In testing, Aura showed how many messages our child sent on Instagram, Messenger, and Snapchat. Selecting an app showed an analysis of the child's message tone and a comparison with other children.
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You'll also find interaction trends, showing how many messages were sent over the past week, and activity by the hour, showing when the messages were sent.
Aura Parental Controls uses this data to develop a social persona and make recommendations. We'll elaborate on this in the Online Wellbeing section.
Aura’s content filtering uses a child’s birth date and Aura’s filtering system to determine which web content is age-appropriate. In our testing, Aura blocked several adult websites. Aura’s SafeSearch parental control settings state that the filter focuses on sexually explicit content.
For example, Aura blocked onlyfans.com before the page loaded and did not explain the block. OnlyFans may contain sexually explicit content, but it also hosts other types of creator content.
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We could access most general websites, but we did not test sites outside typical browsing activity.
Screen time management is the most comprehensive feature you’re going to get with Aura. It allows you to set time limits, track how much time your child is spending online, and even award bonus time as a reward for completing chores or other activities. Aura even allows you to set app and category time limits.
We set a 15-minute screen time limit to test the feature. In our parent dashboard, we were notified that the screen time limit was reached.
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From our child's device (the test phone), we also received push notifications that we reached our screen time limit.
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Aura doesn't include location tracking or geo-fencing. Its parental controls focus on monitoring online activity, filtering content, setting time limits, and protecting against child identity theft.
You can combine Aura Parental Controls with a location tracking app like Find My on iOS or Life360.
The Aura Parental Controls dashboard provides a daily summary of your child's screen time usage, online activity, and online history. If you click through on any of these sections, you'll find more information on your child's daily usage.
We also received a Week in Review report, which listed how long our child was online and their top apps. This report highlights screen time and app usage trends, like how our child increased their YouTube watching by over 160%.
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On the app, Aura provides a weekly snapshot summarizing your child's device usage, screen time, and messaging style.
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Online Wellbeing is an innovative way to review your children's online activity. Online Wellbeing records your child's online routines and points out trends, like changes in their social interactions or sleeping habits.
Online Wellbeing analyzes messages, posts, and comments to build your child's social persona. Aura will also provide personalized recommendations, tips, and conversation starters based on their persona.
We tested Aura Parental Controls for at least one week before the Online Wellbeing Overview analyzed our child's activity and generated insights. After that period, Aura determined that our child's social persona is a Focused Texter.
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There’s a brief description on the Social tab, but we selected the circled “i” button in the top-right corner for a more detailed explanation. Aura explained that these personas are determined based on the following:
For example, our child was deemed a Focused Texter because they mostly spent time messaging on apps rather than scrolling through content. Aura noted that Focused Texters spend 76% of time messaging, while the average child only spends 27% of time messaging.
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On top of the Persona explanation, Aura Parental Controls also shares parenting tips catered to your child's social persona. We were thoroughly impressed by this new suite of features and believe it could be insightful for parents.
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"Aura’s approach to identifying potentially risky behaviors in children goes far beyond basic keyword detection. By combining AI-powered monitoring with clinical expertise, we’re able to surface subtle patterns in device and keyboard usage that may indicate a child is struggling emotionally. Every model we deploy is rigorously tested, validated, and reviewed by clinical psychologists, ensuring parents receive insights they can trust, when it matters most."
| Aura Parental Controls | |
| Windows | |
| macOS | |
| Android | |
| iOS | |
| Browser extensions |
You can download Aura Parental Controls on your child's iPhone or Android phone. The main app doesn't support computers, smartwatches, or iPods. The one exception is Safe Gaming, which runs on Windows computers with Aura Antivirus installed and monitors gaming chats on apps like Discord.
| Support type | Aura Parental Controls |
| Email or live chat | |
| Phone | |
| Online guides or forums |
Aura’s customer support options are fine. If you require assistance with identity theft, there’s a phone number and remediation specialists available.
If you need support, the chat is available 24/7 with an automated assistant. If you need to speak with a live support specialist, you’ll first need to start in live chat, then call the support team. Live specialist chat support is available from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.
You can also reach Aura by email, and its help center has guides for setting up and managing parental controls.
The Aura Parental Controls app has middling reviews on both app stores. On the Apple App Store, reviewers state that the app is basic and has a tendency to crash, but it provides great value. On the Google Play Store, there are only 19 reviews, which mention that the app isn't user-friendly and often doesn't work.
There's no specific page for Aura Parental Controls on Trustpilot, so we referenced the Aura Digital Security rating. 82% of reviewers gave it a five-star rating, calling out its helpful and compassionate customer service.
Aura has great identity theft protection, but if the parental controls aren’t robust enough for you or don’t include the features you need, then it’s time to try one of these other products. If Aura's parental controls don't include the features you need, here's how it compares to parental control apps:
| Service |  Qustodio |
 Aura Parental Controls |
 Bark |
| Best for | Best for location tracking | Best for teens | Best for social media monitoring |
| Star rating | |||
| Starting price | Free or $4.99/mo | $8.25/mo | $8.25/mo |
| Max # of people covered | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Screen time management | |||
| Content filtering | |||
| Conversation monitoring | |||
| Location tracking | |||
| Details | Get Qustodio | Get Aura | Get Bark |
Aura Parental Controls lacks location tracking, but it offers strong content filtering, screen time management, and innovative Online Wellbeing tools. Online Wellbeing tracks patterns like message frequency and tone instead of showing you your child's messages. That makes Aura a less intrusive option for older kids and teens.
You can also bundle Aura Parental Controls with the Aura identity theft protection suite, which adds family identity protection, child identity protection, credit monitoring, and more.
The biggest downside is that kids can delete the app from Android without your dashboard noticing. Aura offers iOS settings that make the app harder to delete, but we didn't find anything similar for Android.
If you’re wondering how Aura stacks up against other parental control apps on the market, check out our in-depth comparisons:
| Test date | Change logs |
| March 6, 2026 | Wellbeing feature now listed for anxiety/depression alerts (feature was previously called Balance) |
| September 3, 2025 | Added Balance feature, which creates a social persona for the child, monitors message tone, frequency, and style; also shows screen time and usage trends; alert categories expanded again: anxiety/depression (via Balance), drug/alcohol content, profanity, sexual content, violence now confirmed via content filtering; screen time: internet disconnect confirmed working |
| February 18, 2025 | Screen time pause didn't work — internet was paused but Safari still loaded pages; no child alert when time ran out |
| September 11, 2024 | Monitoring: major social apps, messaging app only for texts, no email, no browser-level monitoring; alert categories: bullying, drug/alcohol, self-harm, grooming, sextortion, sexual content, privacy violations, financial scams; screen time: 15-min increments, up to 24 hours or unlimited block; activity reports: screen time per app, usage trends; 2FA available; encryption: AES-256; child was able to uninstall the app without parent notification |
Download the Aura Parental Control app onto your child’s device via the Google Play or Apple App Store. You have the option to install Aura on a mobile and the Safe Gaming feature on a Windows device. You’ll then install the app on your mobile device and sign in as a parent.
Once set up, you can limit and monitor your child's screen time by blocking apps or setting time limits on the device.
If you’re looking for geo-location tools, heavier monitoring, or even a parental control-enabled phone, Bark is the better option. If you want robust identity theft protection with some parental monitoring, then Aura is probably the best choice.
Aura monitors some of a child's online activity but doesn't offer tracking capabilities. Many of Bark’s online security tools aren't available with Aura. Learn more in our Aura vs. Bark comparison.
Partly. Aura tracks patterns in how your child uses Snapchat, not a feed of their messages. In our testing, it showed how many messages our child sent on social media apps and whether their tone was mostly positive, neutral, or negative.
You can also see time spent on the app, set a time limit, or block it. If you need to see message content, look at an app like Bark.
Aura Parental Controls costs $8.25/mo for the standalone plan, which covers unlimited kids. If you also want identity theft protection, the Aura Ultimate Family plan costs $32.00/mo and covers five adults and unlimited kids.
Aura offers a 14-day free trial, plus a 60-day money-back guarantee on annual plans.
Parental controls app that builds a social persona for your kid based on their messaging habits and flags behavioral shifts
Screens for cyberbullying and in-game harassment across apps like Discord and Fortnite without reading DMs
Lets you set per-app time limits for 100+ apps and pause all internet access instantly from the dashboard
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