Apps to monitor children on their cell phones are really useful, since children are always on the internet. As a result, they may encounter cyberbullying or even malicious people who take advantage of the youngsters' lack of experience to carry out scams or convince them to take negative actions.

As a result, it is increasingly important for parents to pay attention to methods to keep their children safe. Therefore, in addition to talking to children, it is important to monitor their internet habits. This is why parental control apps are increasingly being used.

Why invest in parental control apps?

These apps are capable of blocking or allowing not only websites, but also apps that are inappropriate for minors. In addition, they allow parents to apply screen control so that children do not spend too much time in front of a smartphone.

In this sense, we will present five applications that have these features so you can keep your children safe.

1. Qustodio

Qustodio is one of the best apps for monitoring children because it understands that each child faces different risks. Therefore, it provides tools to help in all situations, whether they involve online predators, mental health issues, educational problems, or even inappropriate content.

With this app, you can block games and websites so that your child only sees things that are age-appropriate, thus avoiding exposure to adult content, gambling and violence. With Qustodio, you can monitor any device in real time by seeing the activity timeline and views.

To keep your child even safer, the app provides a map where you can identify where your child is and even save the places your child visits most. It is also possible to track calls and SMS, detecting suspicious contacts and observing who your child exchanges calls with.

Available for iOS and Android systems, App Store and Google Play.

2. Norton Family 

With Norton Family, you can get all the information you need to keep your kids safe. By opting for this app, you can set device usage limits and gain insight into your child's online interests, analyzing the search terms and videos that interest them most, all through detailed reports.

One of the great things about Norton Family is that it has a feature that helps you limit your child’s distractions so they can stay focused on their schoolwork. To do this, simply use the School Schedule tool and create lists of school-related websites and other educational content.

To know your children's location, simply activate the feature called Location Monitoring. This way, you can save favorite locations to receive notifications when your children are in those locations or go beyond them. The key point here is that the location is saved for up to 30 days, in case you need to review a place they visited.

Available for iOS and Android systems, App Store and Google Play.

3. Aura

Aura is one of the most complete apps for monitoring children. After all, it allows you to monitor everything from social networks to games, as well as offering features to limit screen time. It is also worth highlighting the fact that the app has its internet filtering technology developed by Circle, an award-winning parental control platform.

With Aura, you can customize websites for each family member. For example, if you have an eight-year-old and a 13-year-old, you can allow specific websites for each of them. The app also provides voice and text monitoring alerts so you can know if your child is exposed to cyberbullying or online predators. 

If you’re having trouble getting your child to stop using their phone to do their homework, use Aura to remotely pause the internet on their device with just one click. Once the task is done, you can turn the internet back on with the push of a button.

Available for iOS and Android systems, App Store and Google Play.

4. OurPact

OurPact was launched with the goal of keeping your children safe online. Not only does it put you in control of how much time they can spend online, but it also monitors the content and apps that children can use. In addition, the platform provides screenshots so you can view your child's activities.

With the tools available in the app, you can filter websites and even block apps that are not suitable for minors. During exam week, you can block games and only allow educational apps so that your children do not get distracted from their goals. 

Using keywords, you can block adult content from your child's mobile devices. But OurPact is not limited to just smartphones; it can monitor up to 20 different devices. Another security option offered by OurPact is that it allows you to limit access to messaging apps by scheduling times.

Available for iOS and Android systems, App Store and Google Play.

5. Family Link 

Closing our list of apps for monitoring children is Family Link, a parental control app developed by Google. With it, you can set usage limits, such as setting bedtime, so that apps are blocked. You can also register ages so that the content on Google platforms is appropriate for their age group. 

With Family Link, you can also manage permissions for websites accessed via Chrome so that your children's data is protected even when they're not using apps. As a parent, you can change or set passwords for apps if you feel their security is at risk.

With Family Link, you can find your kids wherever they are, as it offers location tracking, where you get real-time alerts and notifications. As a result, you know when your child arrives or leaves a certain location. You can also call their phone and check the battery life.

Available for iOS and Android systems, App Store and Google Play.