The Best Parental Control Apps in 2024

Whether we like it or not, we – and our children – are living in a digital world. Studies show that most kids over the age of 12 have their own smartphones, and kids are spending hours of their time online every day.

It’s understandable for parents to worry about their children’s internet behaviors. What are they doing? Who are they talking to? And, most importantly, are they safe?

Luckily, there are innovative parental control apps that can help you keep your kids safe, both online and in the “real” world. Some of these apps let you know where your child is at all times; others prevent them from engaging in dangerous internet behaviors like sexting. Other apps help your child balance the time they spend on the internet with the time they spend getting things done in real life.

No matter what it is you’re looking for, you can count on the fact that there’s probably an app for it. Here, I’ve compiled Joon’s picks for the best parental control apps in 2024. We'll start our list with the app we know best, our own.

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Best for ADHD Children: Joon

Most of the apps on this list are designed to help kids limit their time on screens to keep them safe. But what if you could use the time your kids spent on their screens to help them achieve real-life benefits?

The Joon game-based app helps kids with ADHD tackle their real-life to-do lists. The game is designed so that kids spent 75% of their time in the real world, completing real tasks. The only way to level up in the game is by tackling their real-life tasks. So parents could use our app for chores like cleaning or completing homework.

Most games that claim to help kids focus use faulty logic. Kids may be able to focus on the game itself because it’s fun for them. But the games don’t teach them how to transfer these focusing skills onto the real world. Joon changes that. The app tracks child's behaviors and helps kids get motivated to complete boring chores as well as play the game. Parenting a kid with ADHD can be hard at times but this app could make it easier. Claim your 7-day free trial here.

Recommend reading: The Best Apps for Kids With ADHD: Mobile Games Review

Best for Tracking Location: Life360

Our choice for the best family tracking app is Life360. One of the most terrifying experiences as a parent is not knowing where your child is. Life360 makes it easy to track the real-time location of your children and everyone else who’s important to you. Other location features include being able to set an approved area where your children can travel, and viewing where your children stopped along their route.

On top of its tracking feature, Life360 also offers other services like 24/7 roadside assistance, a nurse helpline, crash detection with emergency dispatch, and more for the whole family. The Life 360 app can also give you a report on driving behaviors like speeding and texting while driving. This can put your mind at ease, especially if you have a teen child who drives. 

You can sign up for Life360 for free to receive 2 days of location history, crash detection, and more. Their paid options include other services like road assistance and free towing.

Best for Ease-of-Use: Qustodio

The Quostodio parental control app helps parents monitor their kids’ screen time and ensure their digital well-being. Teens today average 9 hours of screen time daily. This comes along with mental health risks like a higher likelihood of eating disorders and anxiety, as well as a heightened risk of being a victim of online predators. 

Qustodio gives parents tools to manage all aspects of their children’s digital lives. You can see your kids’ online activity in real-time, set time limits for phone use, block certain websites, and more. The app also comes with a location-tracking feature. Unlike some other apps, Qustodio also allows you to monitor your child’s calls and texts.

Qustodio is so easy to use that you can get started within minutes. All you need to do is create an account online and download the Qustodio app on all of your child’s devices.

Best for Younger Children: Canopy

A common concern for parents today is the number of sexual images that are available on the internet. Especially if you have a young child, it’s natural to worry about their exposure to explicit images and even about whether or not they’re being targeted by predators.

With Canopy, you can block every explicit site so that your young child isn’t exposed to pornography. It’s also the only app that blocks explicit images on any site, not only on porn sites. Canopy can also detect when your child has taken a suggestive photo of themselves and prevents them from sexting. They can send any photos to you to approve them for sending. The hope is that this helps your child make smarter virtual decisions.

On top of these specific features, Canopy also includes location-tracking and anti-tampering features. Your child won’t be able to turn Canopy off without your approval.

Best for Screen Time: FamilyTime

Most parents aren’t trying to take their kids’ phones away from them completely. But kids often use their phones during the wrong times, like during a family dinner or while they’re supposed to be sleeping. You want your kids to have more balance when it comes to their screen time.

The FamilyTime app allows you to easily place limits on when your child uses their devices. You can create a customized daily schedule of when your child can use their phone, and when they can’t. For example, you can put your child’s phone on sleep mode to prevent them from using it during nighttime hours. You can also use their FamilyPause feature to lock your child’s phone in the moment.

Another great feature of the FamilyTime app is the SOS button. No matter where your child is, they can let you know they’re in trouble with one tap of the SOS button. Their location-tracking feature allows you to see exactly where your child is in real-time. 

Best on a Budget: Google Family Link

If you’re looking for a free parental control app, then Google Family Link is one of the best options. Although this is a basic app, it allows you to filter or block certain websites, monitor your child’s device usage, and set time limits around how long your child is allowed to be on their screens every day. It also comes with a location-tracking feature.

However, it is missing some of the premium features of the other apps. For example, you can’t monitor your child’s texts or prevent them from sending and receiving explicit messages. And the website filter and blocks may be circumvented by tech-savvy kids.

However, if you’re on a budget, this is a great, easy-to-use parental control app you can use without spending a dime.

Takeaway

Kids are going to use the internet, and that’s probably not going to change any time soon. Instead of forbidding them to go online, you can limit your kids’ screen time and encourage digital safety and well-being. Parental control apps can be one tool you can use to monitor their activity and make sure they’re safe. On top of using these apps, focus on building a strong and honest relationship with your kids.