Parental controls, filtering and monitoring
What the free built-in tools already do, when a paid one is worth it, and where monitoring costs more than it buys.
Two things worth knowing before you choose.
Filtering and monitoring are different. Filtering tries to stop material reaching your child and produces no record of what they said to anyone. Monitoring reports their activity back to you. Most parents who describe a monitoring worry actually want filtering, which carries almost none of the same cost.
The free options are listed first on purpose. Google Family Link and Apple Screen Time cost nothing and cover most of what the subscriptions advertise. Rule them out before paying. And the honest answer about monitoring changes sharply with a child’s age — the full argument is in should you monitor your teen’s phone.
Already narrowed it down to these four? Bark vs Qustodio vs Family Link vs Canopy, compared side by side.
Google Family Link
FreeGoogle's own controls, at no cost
Screen time limits, app approval, content filtering across Chrome, Play, YouTube and Search, plus location. Free, and enough for most families on Android.
Apple Screen Time
FreeAlready on the iPhone you bought them
Downtime, per-app limits and content restrictions through Family Sharing. Built in, so there is nothing to install and nothing to pay.
Canopy
From $8.33/moContent filtering with sexting detection
Filters explicit content in real time and alerts on sexting, across phones, tablets and computers.
Bark
From $14/moAI alerts on messages and social
Scans texts, apps and social accounts and alerts you to potential problems rather than showing you everything.
Qustodio
Free / PremiumFiltering and limits across every device
Web filtering, per-app time limits, app blocking and location, with a free tier to try it on one device.