Best Parental Control Software in 2025

We’re in an age where the internet has made all types of content accessible to everyone, even children. While this has some pretty positive outcomes, it’s not without negative ones either. 

Harmful content like pornography, disturbing videos, and hate speech is no more than a few clicks away. There’s also the risk of children falling victim to online scams. If you’re a parent like me, all this should sound your alarm. 

Luckily, there’s a way around that – Parental Control Software. 

These are software programs that you install on your computer or phone to remotely monitor the online activity of your children as long as you have internet access. I use an Spectrum and also have access to Spectrum Security Suite , which allows me to filter out websites and monitor activity on other devices. You can contact Spectrum customer service if you’re looking to get a similar setup.

Besides this, I’ll share some of the best-performing parental control software you might want to consider as well. Let’s explore and protect our children from negativity.

Bark

Just like real dogs bark to protect you from danger, the Bark app runs in a similar way to protect your children from online harm. I guess whether they’re real or virtual, dogs really are man’s best friend. 

The AI-powered app scans all of your child’s online presences, such as their social media profiles, emails, texts, and even the media across all their devices. It then gives you a rundown of any type of content that you might want to know about, based on the settings you choose. 

These settings include choosing which apps and websites your children can use. You can also set screen time schedules and use Bark’s geofencing feature to monitor your child’s location throughout the day.

Plans (Per month)

• Bark App at $14 (supports unlimited kids and devices)
• Bark Phone at $29 (tamper-proof mobile that only you and Bark can control)
• Bark Watch at $15 (wearable watch to track your kids 24/7)

Boomerang

Nope, this has no relation to the video-making app. This one is a monitoring app with which you can monitor your children’s online activity, location, and device usage. 

There are just two minor problems. One, it’s only limited to mobile devices like phones and tablets. And two, it is only able to control Android devices.  

Despite these limitations, it can still provide you with a lot of useful information and customization features. You can set up geofences, monitor your child’s browsing history and viewing habits, log calls and texts, and even set up an action plan for emergencies.

Plans (Per Year)

• Single Device at $19.99 (Supports only one device) 
• Family Pack at $39.99 (Bundles 10 devices)

Norton Family

There’s a good chance your desktop or laptop has Norton antivirus software installed on them. The brand has made a good name for itself when it comes to cybersecurity. And the Norton Family app is another effort to introduce the same level of security for children through parental controls and monitoring. 

You can use the app for both Apple and Android devices, but that being said, Apple users may face some limited features, such as geofencing and location tracking. One feature, which you might just love as a parent, is the School Time feature, with which you can allow access to strictly educational platforms anywhere from 30 minutes up to 8 hours.

That being said, you can’t block apps based on category, limit their usage either, or prevent them from being downloaded. You’ll have to block the entire Google Play Store to do that.

Plans (Per Year)

• Norton Family at $49.99 

FamilyTime 

If you’re looking for a more extensive level of security, FamilyTime might just do the trick for you. Like the others on this list, it allows you to track location and usage, block websites and apps, and set screen time schedules.  

What’s different is that you can also find out who your children contact, use image and video filters, set up safe driving alerts, a contact watch list, and monitor calls and text messages on your children’s devices. 

Additionally, you can also receive real-time alerts from your children to stay ahead of picking them up from events. Last but not least, there’s also a panic button your kids can use to notify you when in danger, though I hope that they never have to use it. 

Plans (Per Year)

• FamilyTime pricing starts at $29 

Parental Control Software – Shielding Your Children Against Online Threats

Our children are the future, and protecting them from harmful content, online scams, and much more means putting them on the path to success and societal benefit. With the parental control software I’ve shared above, you can start doing that early on and help create a brighter future for America.