Aura Parental Controls vs. Bark 2025: Non-Invasive Insights Into Online Behavior or Extensive Monitoring?

To discover the winner in a Bark vs. Aura matchup, we spent time hands-on testing both parental control apps — installing them on our phones, setting up child profiles, digging into monitoring tools, and triggering alerts to see how each service performs in real-life scenarios. From usability to notification accuracy and location tracking, we evaluated everything that matters to families trying to protect their kids online.

Based on our testing, Aura Parental Controls came out on top. Although Bark offers a broader range of standard features to keep your children safe, including conversation monitoring across texts and apps and location tracking, we found the software to be buggy. 

But more importantly, we value Aura's non-invasive approach to monitoring. Aura's Balance feature monitors conversations across platforms to provide parents with real, actionable insights rather than transcripts. Another unique feature is that Aura bundles child identity theft protection and SSN monitoring with select parental control plans, offering above-and-beyond online protection for children and teens. 

So if you're less concerned about location tracking and want to focus on screen time monitoring and your children's overall online health, Aura may be the better option. Learn more as we dig into the findings of our in-house testing around pricing, features, usability, and more. 

Aura Parental Controls vs. Bark review at a glance

• Aura: Best for non-invasive monitoring
• Bark: Best for extensive monitoring

	Our Pick
Star rating	4.9 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	4.7 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.
Price	$8.33-$32.00/mo	$4.08–$39.00/mo
Free trial	Yes — 14 days	Yes — 7 days
Number of protected devices	Unlimited	Unlimited
Web filtering
Conversation monitoring		Yes — Social media, text, email
Screen time management
Location tracking
Activity reports
Remote lock
Supported devices	iOS and Android	Android phone or tablet, iPhone, iPad, iPod, Amazon Fire, Chromebook, Computer, Gaming console
Learn more	Get Aura Parental Controls Read Aura Parental Controls Review	Get Bark Read Bark Review

Aura Parental Controls pros and cons

During testing, we were impressed by Aura's content filtering and screen time management features. But what makes Aura unique is that it provides personalized insights into your child's online behavior, powered by AI and clinical research. The Balance feature is not just innovative; it's a non-intrusive way to understand how your child or teen interacts online. Balance provides insights into their tone while using apps, changes in their social interactions, and even changes in sleeping habits.

But there are downsides. While Aura offers alerts for cyberbullying and online predator threats through gaming platforms, it doesn’t offer any traditional monitoring for social media, text messages, or emails. Conversely, Bark offers extensive monitoring for social media, text messages, emails, and videos and images. Additionally, Aura doesn’t offer location tracking, whereas Bark's services include it and geo-fencing. 

Bark pros and cons

Bark is a juggernaut in the parental control category, covering almost every feature you can even imagine wanting. You can control screen time, filter content, and even get alerts for inappropriate or dangerous content on social media, text messages, and emails. The big thing to keep in mind is that you can't see all the conversations happening on the phone, only the messages that trigger an alert. That helps keep some privacy for your child.

That said, our biggest disappointment overall was that the alerts came in quite delayed in our testing, and the app drained our phone's battery. We found the app to be consistently glitchy and didn't enjoy the overall experience as much as Aura. And while we appreciate the ability to receive physical check-ins via location tracking and geo-fencing, we found Aura's insights to be more valuable.

Which parental control app is the better value?

Aura offers better value overall, thanks to its ability to bundle with its larger identity theft protection and data removal service. It also offers a better free trial and a money-back guarantee.

	Our Pick
Price range	$8.33-$32.00/mo	$4.08–$39.00/mo
Best value plan	Aura Ultimate Family for $32.00/mo	Bark Premium for $14.00/mo
Free trial	Yes — 14 days	Yes — 7 days
Money-back guarantee	Yes — 60 days
	Get Aura Parental Controls Read Aura Parental Controls Review	Get Bark Read Bark Review

Aura Parental Controls plans

Aura has two plans: Aura Parental Controls and Aura Ultimate Family. Aura Parental Controls covers one adult and unlimited children, and it's best for parents who just want parental control software with extra online security features.

Aura Ultimate Family plan covers five adults and unlimited children. It's best for families who want comprehensive coverage, including identity theft protection, credit monitoring, and parental controls.

• Aura Parental Controls: For $8.33/mo, this plan includes website filters and blocks, screen time management, and online predator alerts while gaming. It also comes with cybersecurity tools such as antivirus, VPN, password manager, and a sensitive files vault. 
• Aura Ultimate Family: Jumping up to $32.00/mo, this plan comes with everything in Parental Controls, plus child SSN monitoring and a three-bureau credit freeze for your child. It also provides identity monitoring, financial fraud protection, and identity theft insurance for adults enrolled in the plan.

 Aura offers a free 14-day trial that requires payment information upfront, as well as a 60-day money-back guarantee on annual plans.

Bark plans

Bark offers four plans for families to choose from. Bark plans are all designed to help parents work cooperatively with their children to monitor content, set screen time limits, and overall, protect kids online. Bark Jr. is the most basic plan, perfect for younger kids. The Bark phone is a product designed to keep your child safe online. 

• Bark Jr: At $5.00/mo, Bark Jr. offers screen time management, website filtering, and geo-fencing tools. This tier is less restrictive and geared toward older children who are learning independence but still need parental guidance.
• Bark Premium: At $14.00/mo, Premium gives you all the tools to monitor your kids’ activities on their phones as well as set screen time limits and block content. The geo-fencing features give you an idea of where your child is at all times. It’s a comprehensive and useful service.
• Bark Home: At $6.00/mo, Bark Home plan goes beyond mobile and allows parents to monitor any internet-connected devices in the home. You have features such as screen time management and content filtering across TVs, game consoles, tablets, and more.
• Bark Phone: Finally, for $39.00/mo, Bark provides a Samsung A series device preloaded with Bark’s software. The service is month-to-month, with unlimited talk and text, and doesn’t require a contract. The cost of the phone is included in the monthly charge for either the starter or advanced plan, and you also get a Bark Premium subscription for the entire family.

Bark offers a free 7-day trial but requires payment information upfront.

Which app has the better monitoring and alerts?

Although Aura has more unique features, Bark offers better overall parental control monitoring because it includes location tracking, geofencing, and conversation monitoring.

Feature		Our Pick
Website filtering
App filtering
Social media monitoring
Text message monitoring
Email monitoring
Internet search monitoring
Screen time limits
Remote lock
Cyberbullying and online predator alerts
Location tracking
Geo-fencing
Activity reports
Learn more	Get Aura Parental Controls Read Aura Parental Controls Review	Get Bark Read Bark Review

Though Aura lacks two significant parental control features (conversation monitoring and location tracking), it offers a unique approach that prioritizes understanding your child's online trends rather than keeping an obtrusive eye on them.

Aura has partnered with child psychologists and, with the help of AI, can monitor your child's online behavior, providing a summary of any changes that may be of concern, your child's online persona, and more. This helps your child retain their privacy while still giving you the information you need to know whether they're safe.

This, combined with their robust screen time management tools, makes it a powerful tool for parents who want to promote healthy habits online without eroding trust in the process.

But as far as standalone parental control apps go, we were impressed by Bark’s robust filtering and monitoring features. In addition to text and email, Bark offers social media, photo, and video monitoring. Bark’s content screens span over 18 categories, and the app library includes over 30 popular apps, like Discord and TikTok, to help keep kids safe on social media. 

We also appreciate Bark’s location services. Bark not only offers location tracking but also a location alert feature. This feature automatically alerts parents when your child arrives at a location you’ve added to their account.

Which parental control app has the better support and compatibility?

Bark has better overall compatibility, thanks in part to its availability on virtually any device that connects to the internet via Bark Home.

		Our Pick
Windows
macOS
Android
iOS
Other devices		Android tablet, iPad, iPod, Amazon Fire, Chromebook, Gaming console
24/7 customer support
Customer support options	Chat, phone, email, guides	Email, guides
Learn more	Get Aura Parental Controls Read Aura Parental Controls Review	Get Bark Read Bark Review

Bark offers broader device compatibility. While Aura Parental Controls is focused on iPhone and Android devices, Bark is available as an app on Windows and MacBooks, too. You can take this compatibility even further with Bark Home, a router that enforces content filtering at the Wi-Fi level. That means any device, including iPads and gaming consoles, will be subject to content filtering rules as long as it's connected to your home's internet.

When it comes to customer support, Aura offers a better experience, since you can get 24/7 help through a wider variety of methods, including the ever-helpful live chat. 

Top alternatives

When selecting a parental control app for your family, several key factors should be considered, including features and pricing. Here's a snapshot of how Aura and Bark compare to Qustodio, a top parental control app for location tracking.

FAQs

Aura Parental Controls vs. Bark: Which is better?

Bark offers an extensive feature set, including location tracking and conversation alerts, but we think Aura is the better parental control app.

		Our Pick
Value
Features
Compatibility & customer support
Learn more	Get Aura Parental Controls Read Aura Parental Controls Review	Get Bark Read Bark Review

If you’re looking for a parental control option that respects your child's privacy while still giving you key insights into their online behavior, Aura Parental Controls may be for you. Cyberbullying and online predator threat alerts offer an additional layer of security. And as an identity theft protection service, Aura offers features to protect your child’s identity, such as Social Security number monitoring and Safe Gaming, to give parents peace of mind while their kids play online. 

But if you want traditional parental controls, Bark offers an extensive monitoring suite. Bark’s software monitors text messages, emails, photos, and videos across 18 content categories and alerts parents to potentially dangerous conversations or images. Bark also offers location services and geo-fencing so you can rest easy that your child is where they should be. Even still, we found Aura to offer better long-term value, paired with real, actionable insights that help parents understand their kids, not just restrict them.