Net Nanny Review 2025: Does This Outdated Parental Control App Still Hold Up Today?

Net Nanny was the first parental control app on the market, originally released back in 1995. The contemporary version of the "parent-controlled internet filter" gives you a way to monitor what your children do online through features like content filtering, screen time management, location tracking, and YouTube monitoring. 

During our hands-on tests, we found the software easy to use overall, but not all of the features worked as intended.

We show you what you can expect from this software and help you decide if it’s the best parental control app to help you tailor what your kids can and can’t do.

Net Nanny review at a glance

Price	$3.33-$7.49/mo (billed annually)
Free trial	No
Number of kids supported	1, 5, or 20 devices
Content filtering	Yes
Conversation monitoring	No
Screen time management	Yes
Location tracking	Yes
Activity reports	Yes
Remote lock	Yes
Supported devices	Windows, macOS, iOS
Learn more	Get Net Nanny

We last tested Net Nanny on March 16, 2025.

Our experience testing Net Nanny

Our experience testing Net Nanny was okay. We wouldn’t say it’s a bad product, but several bugs and hiccups along the way have us hesitant to recommend it over other top options, like Norton Family.

Overall, all the features we tested worked so-so, which included screen time management, content filtering, YouTube viewing, and social media protection. We wished we could've set screen time limits per app instead of just the whole device. It also would've been nice to see more robust monitoring features for texts and social messaging. 

Here are the details of our time testing Net Nanny on our Windows laptop. 

Net Nanny setup

The initial Net Nanny setup was more seamless than our previous testing, though it still took time to manually add websites to the block list. To get started, we installed Net Nanny on our Windows device (the child device) and could access the parent account from our desktop and iPhone to set up the controls. We liked how easy it was to access remote monitoring from our parent account.

After we created the initial child profile, we then navigated through the parent account settings to see what we could do. 

There are lots of options for blocking apps on Android and iOS, but these weren't useful for our Windows device. Plus, it's misleading to list features for Android when Net Nanny isn't Android compatible, which customer support confirmed. The Net Nanny support page used to include a vague disclaimer citing the release of a version with expanded compatibility in 2024. However, our recent exchange with support underscored that the release date is indeterminate. 

Since we couldn't use the toggle to allow/block apps, we needed to manually input the websites we want blocked on our child computer, which isn't the most efficient way to restrict content. But we were happy to see the website restrictions working immediately.

Net Nanny does offer content filtering of major categories, which is an easy way to block more content based on 14 topics, including drugs, gambling, porn, and more. The number of categories isn't as robust as competitors like Norton Family, which blocks 47 content categories. 

Overall, our Net Nanny experience was a mixed bag. Let's dive into more specifics.

Net Nanny monitoring in action

After set up, we did find that the features initially worked as advertised and were happy with how quickly our dashboard updated. As soon as we searched for something, we could reload the page and see some of our searches appear in the Family Feed on the side of the dashboard. The content filtering feature allows us to choose from 14 different categories to either Allow, Alert, or Block, but the searches didn't always show up in the feed. 

We found that Net Nanny did a good job of blocking specific websites within categories, but the content filtering wasn't as effective when we searched for the target categories. 

We blocked "Anime," for example, and couldn't access Crunchyroll. But when we blocked and searched "Gambling," we could easily access online casinos. Unfortunately, these searches — including "Suicide," "Gambling," and "Death Gore" — didn't appear in the Family Feed, so we wouldn't have any idea our kid was searching for this content. Plus, the "Searches" tab took days to populate, and it still didn't reflect all the inappropriate searches we conducted.

We could also create our own custom filters by indicating the types of words and phrases we want to be filtered out. This is a unique option we haven't seen yet, and would be useful for keeping your kid away from specific content that could be triggering or addictive for them in particular. 

However, the custom filters didn't work as intended. We set up blocks for "casinos" and "bulimia" but could still access related content. 

When we tried accessing banned adult sites, we were able to get blocked right away. An interesting feature is your kid can then request their parent unblocks the site, which would be useful. You receive a notification with the request and can choose to whitelist the site or ignore it.

We thought the social media protection feature was interesting as well, which essentially just let us apply content filters to their social media feeds (just like the software does to search feeds). So anything you have blocked on Google would also be blocked from their Instagram feeds. We tested it out when we had our settings set to alert us for anime content, and did receive an alert.

Just note that social media protection doesn't monitor your child's conversations, so there's still the danger of inappropriate or dangerous interactions going on that the app doesn't monitor for.

Net Nanny also offers a dedicated tab for tracking YouTube searches, which worked well enough. First, we blocked the content categories "Abortion," "Drugs," and "Provocative." In YouTube, we searched “abortion pill experience story time,” and the search result said we were offline. We searched “how to roll a joint” and could still see a list of videos, but we couldn’t watch them. 

Although this is a gray area, we were able to access provocative videos of women’s feet, even though the YouTube disclaimer said some vids were blocked.

One feature that didn't work for us was location tracking, but we're sure that's because we had to install it on our Windows instead of a phone device. We were previously able to test location tracking without any issues on iOS. 

As for downsides, we could still access some restricted content by using a different browser or search engine, and the alerts didn't consistently populate in real-time. Other parental control apps offer more robust monitoring as well as safety alerts for bullying and cyberpredators. 

Who is Net Nanny best for?

• Recommended for parents who want to set up custom filter options that extend to social media feeds

While Net Nanny wasn't the best parental controls app we've tested, it did provide some unique features that we haven't seen on other top products.

The main example of this is the ability to set up custom filter categories and to apply content filters to social media feeds, including Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and more. If this is something that you feel is more important than setting screen time limits per app, then Net Nanny could be the option for you!

Overall, Net Nanny is a bit watered down compared to other parental control apps, but its content filtering may be suitable for parents of younger children who just want to keep tabs on what their kids are searching for and watching on YouTube.

Additionally, Net Nanny is only compatible with Windows 10 and 11, macOS 10.13 to macOS 11.x, and iOS 11 and up, so this isn't the best parental control app for Android users.

Net Nanny prices and subscriptions

There are three pricing options for Net Nanny, depending on how many devices you want to connect:

• One device for $3.33/mo (billed annually)
• Five devices for $4.58/mo (billed annually)
• 20 devices for $7.49/mo (billed annually)

Coverage of devices using iOS is exclusive to the Family Protection Pass plans, which means the five or 20 device options. Otherwise, each plan offers the same features.

As far as comparison to its competitors goes, Net Nanny is actually one of the cheapest options you can go for, but only if you stick to the one device option. If you want to get close to the amount of devices covered by competitors, you're pretty much on par with what they offer.

	Net Nanny	Bark	Aura	Norton Family
Max # of devices	20	Unlimited	Unlimited	15
Price of max tier	$7.49/mo (billed annually)	$8.25/mo (billed annually)	$8.25/mo (billed annually)	$4.17/mo (billed annually)
Details		Get Bark	Get Aura	Get Norton Family

Net Nanny features

Net Nanny isn’t short on features. Some of the standout options are the custom filters, screen time management, and location tracking. You can also block specific sites and mature content you aren’t comfortable with your child viewing.

Here are the Net Nanny filters and features:

• Content monitoring
• Screen time management
• Location tracking
• Activity reports
• Website blocker
• Internet filter
• Pornography block

Content monitoring

Net Nanny keeps a keen eye on what your child views online. If you’re concerned about the amount of time they spend on YouTube or other platforms, we know it can be tough to catch everything. Net nanny allows the monitoring of your children’s internet access. You can set up website filters and receive alerts and usage reports of those online activities.

You can customize the specific websites you want your child to access. There are context filters that contain categories you can choose to block or allow, like drugs or nudity.

Social media and phone apps

	iOS	Android
Apps monitored by Net Nanny	After School Amazon Bumble Facebook HBO GO MeetMe Netflix OkCupid STARZ Snapchat	Amazon Music Amazon Shopping Calculator Camera Chrome Clock Coffee Meets Bagel Duo Gallery Gmail Hooked Internet Maps Messenger Photos Play Music Play Store Prime Video Sheets Tidal Wikipedia

You know kids are going to try to use social networking platforms, so you want to make sure they stay safe on social media. There are dangers on social media that kids don’t understand, and one of the biggest issues today is cyberbullying. If you’re not aware of what your child views online, you might miss clues that your child is being cyberbullied.

Another problem is that kids often post content they shouldn’t, such as where they’re going or what they’re doing. They might also be unwitting victims of phishing scams, which allow hackers to get access to your device. Innocent activities like online quizzes your child may think are fun can give out personal data to bad actors.

Net Nanny uses a Social Media Protection feature to give you control over apps and services. You can block services you don’t want or select the ones you do. Net Nanny Content Filters can also be used to monitor internet surfing.

Blocking social apps still works on desktop even if you access the social platform via URL. 

Text messages

Although some parental control software monitors text messages, Net Nanny isn’t one of them. It would be nice to have these features, as you can easily keep an eye on what your child is texting and who is sending and receiving communications to your loved ones.

Email

Net Nanny also doesn’t monitor email messaging. Other services, like Bark, have this option if you need more in-depth monitoring.

Web browsers

Net Nanny will alert parents if it senses that inappropriate websites have been accessed. You can view the Family Feed to see up-to-date online searches. This also helps to prevent cyberbullying because it gives you more visibility into what your child is seeing online and what is being communicated.

We used Google Chrome for the parent dashboard section of Net Nanny. If you’re installing it on an iPhone, it’s recommended you disable Safari and only use the Net Nanny browser. We didn’t find any documentation that reported specific web browsers compatible with Net Nanny, although the website indicates it will work with any browser.

Screen time management

If your child spends more time on a mobile device than you’d like, Net Nanny has a solution for that. The Screen Time Management feature can limit the time your family spends on a protected device. Now parents can regain control, and families can spend more time connecting instead of being isolated by technology.

Net Nanny even allows pausing of the internet or turning it off. You can disable the internet by going into the child’s profile. While you can’t change screen times for singular apps, you can change times based on days. For instance, let’s say you want your kids to pay more attention to homework than social media during the week, but on the weekends, you give them more flexibility. As the parent, you can set a broader window for those times.

Location tracking and geo-fencing

Knowing where their child is gives parents peace of mind. Net Nanny uses location tracking to help ensure child safety. You can pull up real-time updates to know where your loved one is at all times. The Family Overview Map shows the exact location of the device. Net Nanny also lets you set up a history function showing different locations the device has been.

Net Nanny lets you configure alerts, too. Under the Configure Location Screen, you can set alerts for arrival and departure. You can also customize this by your entire family or one profile. Location tracking works on iOS only.

Activity reports

Net Nanny provides visibility into what your child wants to access online so that you can keep an eye on what’s appropriate. Under the Family Feed section, you can see the online activity and latest online searches.

Here’s what you can expect with the activity reports:

• Alerts for blocked content
• Category and date/time of content
• Mobile apps used most often
• Search history, including search engine used
• Search terms used

Net Nanny customer support

Support type	Net Nanny
Email or live chat
Phone
Online guides or forums	Yes — online guides

There are a few online guide questions answered that show the user how to install the software or access some of the features Net Nanny offers. Email support and live chat are also options when you need assistance.

We contacted customer support to ask questions and were met with courteous service each time. It was disappointing that once the rep told us the website information was a bit misleading, and another time, the rep gave us instructions that didn’t work. That time, we were told the ticket would be escalated with no timeframe for a resolution. That’s not a great answer when something isn’t working.

When we wanted to know whether Net Nanny is actually compatible with Android, we turned to the chat bot. Our question was redirected as an email. A few hours later, support contacted us and roundabout confirmed that Net Nanny has no clear release date for an Android compatible version.

Does Net Nanny collect your data?

Net Nanny collects statistical and demographic data. According to the website, it does this to show how registered and unregistered users navigate the Net Nanny services. It goes on to mention that this information could pertain to account settings, control activities, and session information. That data can be used for marketing purposes, as explained on the Net Nanny site.

Be aware that Net Nanny may allow third parties to target ads to its users. That means you may get marketing advertisements from vendors and research firms. In a sense, your online behavior will be tracked, and so will your IP address.

Net Nanny security

Net Nanny does not use two-factor authentication (2FA). It does encrypt your information both while at rest and when in transit. Here’s where it gets a bit unclear, to say the least.

According to the Data Security section, Net Nanny uses access control mechanisms to ensure information isn’t lost or accessed by an unauthorized user. However, it doesn’t reveal what those methods are or what encryption is used. It’s a bit hard to trust what we can’t verify in writing. It does go on to specify that any transmission made is at the user’s risk.

Top alternatives

If Net Nanny isn’t your cup of tea, we can understand. Other services may offer more of what you want in parental control software. When it comes to your child’s online safety, we have some alternatives.

Net Nanny FAQs

Bottom line: Is the Net Nanny app good?

In our testing, we found that Net Nanny's features worked mostly as advertised, but the user experience was definitely outdated and clunky. We were met with hiccups along the way, and the actual functionality of its content filtering was so-so.

If you want parental control software that is easy to use and checks every one of your boxes off, we'd recommend Bark over Net Nanny. 

Wondering how Net Nanny compares against some of the best parental control apps on the market? Check out our in-depth comparions:

• Net Nanny vs. Bark
• Net Nanny vs. Norton Family
• Net Nanny vs. Aura
• Net Nanny vs. Qustodio
• Net Nanny vs.  mSpy