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Best for Children and Teens
Best for Real-Time Security
Bark is the best screen time management tool we’ve tested because of how it grows with your children as they go from new users to nearly independent teens.
We love Norton Family for its additional security features, while FamilyKeeper is a simple screen time management app that allows parents to teach their children about healthy online habits.
We’ve laid out all of our favorite and not-so-favorite things about each of these apps, plus our full side-by-side comparisons below. Continue reading to discover the best screen time management app for your family.
Bark offers a variety of features and tools, including a phone preinstalled with its software, so that your children are covered from an early age up until adulthood. Norton Family is user-friendly and can be bundled with Norton’s security features. FamilyKeeper is a straightforward app that enables parents of older children to manage screen time effectively, fostering healthy online habits.
 Best Overall
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| Star rating | |||
| Starting price | Starts at $5.00/mo | Starts at $49.99/yr | Starts at $15.99/mo |
| Free trial | |||
| Number of children supported | Unlimited | 15 | Unlimited |
| Screen time management | |||
| App time limits | |||
| Routines | |||
| Social media monitoring | |||
| Text message monitoring | |||
| Email monitoring | |||
| Internet search monitoring | |||
| Cyberbullying and online predator alerts | |||
| Location tracking | |||
| Learn more | Get Bark | Get Norton Family | Get FamilyKeeper |
We put every parental control app through vigorous hands-on testing by downloading the software to our own devices. We test how the product works from both the parent's and child's perspectives, evaluating how well we're able to monitor device usage and deliberately attempting to sneak around the limitations.
By taking a fine-tooth comb through all available features and settings, we carefully compare each product using our proprietary grading rubric. The star ratings take into account price, screen time management, content filters, location tracking, monitoring, alerts, and ease of use.
To learn more about how we test, check out our full parental control testing methodology here.
Robust parental controls to track, monitor, and limit device usage
Machine learning catches the latest slang and keywords
Screens content across 19 categories
If your young children are ready for their first phone or are just getting used to having a mobile device, Bark is a great choice. You can set up stricter screen time limitations and content blocks that become even more customizable as your child gets older. Bark even has its own phone with its services preinstalled. This is the perfect service to help teach your tween or teen about responsible device usage.
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Customization: You have the option to customize your parental alerts any way you want. If you want to allow your children more screen time or receive notifications if they attempt to visit a restricted site, Bark will notify you. If you prefer fewer or no alerts, you can also adjust this setting.
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Social Media Monitoring: Your kids likely enjoy watching the latest TikTok videos or connecting with friends via Instagram. Social media isn’t necessarily the best place for kids, but Bark monitors over 30 social media sites, so you can feel better about them being connected to Discord, Snapchat, and more.
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Multiple monitoring categories: When it is time for your kids to be on their devices, you can refine alerts for specific content. Bark offers more than 19 categories that can tell you if your child is experiencing online bullying or getting sent sexually explicit photos.
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Delayed Alerts: During our Bark testing, real-time alerts occasionally experienced delays. Sometimes this isn’t a big deal, but if your kid is in the middle of an active bullying situation or trying to access their phone when they aren’t allowed, you may want to know this immediately. However, in our experience, most parental control apps have a bit of delay.
Excels at app blocking and content filtering across 47 categories
Offers age-specific restriction levels to enhance safety and unlimited device connections
Norton Family excels in providing real-time alerts and real-time protection. Kids have a knack for clicking on the spammiest, malware-laden things that can easily wreck a computer or phone. Norton Family can be bundled with Norton’s security products, like Norton 365, so screen time doesn’t lead to being hacked.
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Real-time alerts: In our testing, Norton did an excellent job of ensuring alerts were delivered in real time. Whereas most parental control apps have a delay, Norton was prompt. If our test kid tried to access their phone during downtime, Norton notified us immediately.
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Easy: We had a simple time installing and using Norton Family. It was easy to set up and to use. When apps are difficult to use, we tend to avoid them, and screen time apps need to be seamless.
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Additional real-time security: Norton is one of the most trusted names in cybersecurity. Being able to bundle our screen time app with real-time antivirus software meant we didn’t need to worry about our kids accidentally downloading viruses or entering sketchy websites during their screen time.
Limited monitoring: The biggest downside to Norton Family is its limited monitoring features compared to services like Bark. Although Norton Family covers a whopping 47 content categories, it lacks monitoring for social media, text messages, and emails.
Poor Apple compatibility: Norton Family didn’t work for us on our Mac and had limited use on our iOS devices. If you’re a Windows/Android user, you shouldn’t have an issue. Mac and iOS users will pay the same amount for fewer features and services.
Easy to set up and use
Effective screen time management tools
Accurate and real-time location tracking
If you’re just looking for screen time monitoring or have an older teen who needs a little help using their devices responsibly, FamilyKeeper may be a good choice. We found it to be simpler than our other two choices while still providing solid screen time settings.
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Easy: Simplistic software should be easy, and we found in our testing that FamilyKeeper is just that. While you won’t get more advanced features, you will get screen time management that isn’t overly complicated.
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Screen time management: The screen time management feature stands out among FamilyKeeper’s offerings. It’s something this simplistic app does exceptionally well, which is why we think it’s a good choice for older kids who don’t require extensive content filtering.
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Geo-fencing: While most parental control apps offer some form of location monitoring, we appreciate that FamilyKeeper is both simple and includes geo-fencing features. Even if our kids are on a downtime, we can see where their device is just by glancing at our monitoring app.
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Lacks cross-functional compatibility: We were able to use FamilyKeeper only on mobile devices, so tech-savvy kids or those with multiple devices that require monitoring may be able to bypass some of FamilyKeeper’s features.
Navigating the online world has become a necessity, not an option. Children and adults alike need internet literacy to function in our current society, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a free-for-all.
The 5 C’s of screen time — Child, Content, Calm, Crowding Out, and Communication — help you focus on what’s important when learning about healthy online activity.
You can monitor your child’s screen time through parental control apps. The best parental control apps will allow you to set time limits on different activities and overall screen time limits.
Apple Screen Time isn’t so much an app as it is a process included with your phone. It provides parental controls for your child’s iOS device. You can set screen time and app limits, and see how much time is spent on various processes on your child’s phone. It lacks key components, such as filtering by age, and kids can bypass the blocks if they have your passcode.
Google Family Link is compatible with Android devices and enables you to set screen time limits, filter content, and manage subscriptions, among other features. These are basic parental controls, and Google’s security is not always the best.
Bark is the best parental control app we’ve tested because of its compatibility, functionality, and flexibility. It has the ability to grow with your child and provides extensive monitoring features that go beyond just screen time management.
That doesn’t mean we don’t also love Norton Family and FamilyKeeper. Norton Family offers the added advantage of award-winning cybersecurity protection, and FamilyKeeper provides simple management for parents who prefer a more streamlined approach.
Healthy online habits should start at a young age. Online literacy is a crucial skill for children to acquire. The best parental control apps make it easier for parents to help their children learn those skills. Remember to talk to your children about their online habits and to model healthy ones for them as well, so your kids can learn responsible internet habits.
| Starting price | Best for | Learn more | |
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Starts at $5.00/mo | Best for children and teens | View plans |
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Starts at $49.99/yr | Best for real-time security | View plans |
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Starts at $15.99/mo | Best for ease of use | View plans |
Robust parental controls to track, monitor, and limit device usage
Machine learning catches the latest slang and keywords
Screens content across 19 categories
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