With a new year comes new risks for our kids online. Whether that’s disturbing content, spyware, or computer viruses, there are a myriad of traps to avoid every day. Securing a safe digital environment for our kids will ensure they can have fun, stay educated, and be social without dealing with triggering material or spyware that will gather personal information without consent.
It’s imperative to install at least one security app on your child’s device to make their browsing safer. There are tons of apps that will help you monitor and filter, your child's device usage, as well as scan for malware and other dangerous files.
Here are a handful of apps that do just that, and why they are unique.
Qustodio
Voted a 9.6 out of 10 for best security apps on Safety Detectives, Qustodio is a well-rated app that offers a user-friendly and safe experience. On the app, parents can track their child's device usage, block certain apps and websites, set time limits, and get insights into which sites and apps were visited. This may sound intrusive, and it can be if used obsessively or for unnecessary punishment, but for young children who may not know what sites they're actually looking at, it's useful to see how they can accidentally stumble upon something dangerous. If you know how they got there, you can stop it from happening somewhere worse.
The app does similar things for texts and phone calls, helping to block unknown numbers and filter out suspicious text messages. Its most unique feature is the panic button — when faced with a disturbing situation online, or in real life, your kid can send your phone a distress signal with their location. This means no matter where you are, you can know if something is wrong and call them right away. Qustodio works for most major operating systems such as Android, Windows, iOS, macOS, and Kindle.
Norton is a well-rated antivirus company that is more well-known for computer and laptop security, so you know your child’s phone is also in good hands. Most antivirus and tracking apps have the same features, so we won’t repeat ourselves too much. But looking for the big three is important: blocking, tracking, and filtering. Unlike a lot of antivirus software, Norton Family is extremely simple in terms of design — there are no messy, complicated details filling up the phone screen.
The app will tell you what’s wrong, and how to fix it. A great feature from Norton that other apps don’t have is the School Time feature, which allows you to enable restrictions that fit best with the school schedule. This means they won’t be visiting suspect or distracting sites during class, lunch break, or at home when they’re supposed to be doing their homework. Norton Family will work with iOS, Android, and Windows.
Net Nanny
Net Nanny offers a balance between protection and independence, allowing you to personalize the settings based on your child's age, maturity level, and interests. Net Nanny lets you easily create custom filters, as opposed to a general block system where you have to block individual sites. While this is good if you know what sites you want your child to avoid, it doesn't really help block what you haven't seen yet. You can create a blacklist of keywords and categories that will be automatically blocked or the software will send a message to your own phone when they search or stumble upon them.
From 18+ content to morbid terminology, your child is free to browse without opening disturbing web pages and apps. The app can also hide swear words while keeping the site whitelisted rather than blocking it completely. As your child matures, you can tweak these keywords, knowing when they are ready to see content such as global news or horror movies. Net Nanny is available for iOS, Windows, Android, macOS, and Kindle Fire.
Bark is a unique security app that uses the power of artificial intelligence to detect risky content on your child's phone. Within your kid's text messages, social media accounts, and emails, Bark can automatically detect concerning behavior such as cyberbullying, as well as talk of self-harm and suicidal tendencies. Unlike many security apps that can be construed as spying, Bark doesn't show your child's messages in full, but only flags keywords. This app is perfect for older kids, as past a certain point in life, children need to not only make their own mistakes but deserve as much privacy as is safe for them. Over 30 different social media apps and sites can be monitored, from TikTok to Discord, and you will be sent alerts to your own phone if something suspicious pops up on your kid’s phone.
You can adjust the sensitivity of these alerts. For example, you can turn off being alerted to swear words but keep them censored. Bark also includes scheduling, where your children are allowed on certain apps for specific hours of the day, which also gives kids a sense of responsibility rather than feeling like they’re not allowed to do anything online. Check Bark’s site for details on compatibility, as there are a few versions of the app to download.
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