Parental control software is vital to keeping your children safe in the digital world. Before choosing the best tools to keep your kids safe online, ask these 6 questions.
Kids today spend more time online, but we all know that the beauty and danger of the Internet is that you really can find anything there. Parents want to keep their children safe, protect them from inappropriate content, and also monitor what they are doing. Fortunately, there are many tools parents can use to keep their children safe online. These are the top 6 questions you should ask yourself before choosing the best parental control software.
Does it Offer Content Filtering?
For most parents, content filtering is the primary requirement for an internet safety tool for kids. The best tools like NetNanny, Qustodio and Mobicip use real-time content filtering, meaning, for example, they will let a short story about science fiction pass through, but block one about erotica on the same site:
Different security tools also have different numbers of content categories that you can use to define the level of filtering you want. These categories can include violence, drugs, gambling, pornography, and more. It's standard for parental control software to allow you to manually block or allow individual websites, but categories make it quicker to set general preferences. The more categories there are, the more precisely you can adjust the content filter settings. K9 Web Protection offers over 70 different categories and Mobicip leads it with 80. Circle offers 30 categories, while Kaspersky Safe Kids only offers 14 categories and Clean Router groups websites into 9 categories.
Some parental control programs, such as Mobicip, can also filter HTTPS sites. A clean router can block access to HTTPS sites, but it cannot filter their content. Although Norton Family Premier also offers real-time content filtering in 48 categories, it does not block HTTPS websites if they are opened in an unsupported browser. However, it does enable SafeSearch on Google, YouTube, Yahoo, and other search engines when search control mode is enabled, an option also offered by K9 Web Protection.
Does it Include Access Scheduling?
In addition to worrying about what your kids watch online, you probably also want to prevent them from spending too much time in front of their screens. In most parental control programs, you will find an access schedule, also called time allowed or time limit. NetNanny, Qustodio, and Norton Family Premier are among the tools that impose time limits on all devices, so your child can't just switch from desktop to tablet and continue browsing the web.
Kaspersky Safe Kids allows parents to set time limits for apps on their children's smartphones as well as other devices, which is useful. Since Circle applies to the router and not individual devices, you can use it to completely shut down the Internet if you need to punish a child or want to enforce bedtime, as well as set daily limits for individual apps and websites.
Does it Cover All the Platforms You Need?
Before purchasing any parental control software, it is important to check that it covers the devices and operating systems that you and your children use. For example, Norton Family Premier is extremely powerful for Windows and Android users, but the iOS capabilities are weak, so it won't be a good choice if all your teenagers have iPhones. Kaspersky Safe Kids also has some limitations for iOS platforms. Zoodles Kids Mode is a cross-platform tool that works equally well on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS, while Qustodio and Mobicip cover the most platforms. Both are compatible with Mac and Windows, iOS, Android, and even Nook and Kindle.
If you're concerned about covering all possible platforms, another approach is to implement controls on your router instead of individual devices. Using Circle or Clean Router means you know that no matter what devices your kids are using, they are all covered by the same comprehensive management software.
Can You Access Social Media Monitoring?
For teens and parents of teens, the content their kids watch may take a backseat to their concerns about social media use. With the rise of cyberbullying and extremely disturbing content that can be sent through social media, this type of monitoring has become very important for many parents. Unfortunately, it is not easy to control. Norton Family Premier allows parents to see a list of all the videos their children watch on YouTube and has advanced web tracking features for video and social media content. Kaspersky Safe Kids also has the ability to monitor your child's Facebook account, but you will need your child's cooperation and this does not extend to other social media channels.
One of the best social media tracking options is KidLogger. This tracks and records every keystroke your child makes, records all phone calls, and allows you to see all of their Facebook, Viber, Skype, Kik, and other social media messages. It even offers silent monitoring for Whatsapp and Skype conversations with a voice-activated recorder and can be set to take screenshots of Skype conversations every 15 seconds.
Does it Send Activity Reports and Logs?
What our children do online often seems out of this world. Many parents worry that their children could be doing who knows what online without them realizing it. That's why many parental control tools send periodic activity reports and keep records of children's Internet usage over a set period of time. Zoodles Kids Mode, NetNanny, Mobicip, Qustodio and many others send activity reports periodically. Qustodio maintains activity logs for up to 30 days for paid users.
Norton Family Premier offers advanced activity tracking features including sharing a list of videos your child has watched on YouTube and Hulu and an account of their web search requests. If you want to monitor your child's every online movement, KidLogger is your best choice. Records every keystroke of your child, web history, screenshots, text copied to the clipboard and more. You can use it to track your activity over time, along with the powerful social media monitoring tools mentioned above.
Can You Manage it Remotely?
In our busy lives, we really need to be able to manage everything, and that includes parental control software. Many tools, like NetNanny, offer a companion app that lets you view your child's internet usage, adjust settings, and check notifications remotely. Qustodio and Norton Family Premier also allow remote management through their apps, as does Mobicip through the Monitor app. This shows your child's Internet history, allows you to scan activity reports, and allows you to respond to a child's request to access a specific website.
Keep your children safe online
Whether you're most concerned about monitoring social media usage or preventing your kids from viewing inappropriate content, and no matter where you are, you can keep your kids safe online with one of these top monitoring software tools. parental.