Due to the rise of digital technologies and the internet, children now have unrestricted access to tools, apps, and information from virtually anywhere. However, this also means that kids, especially those who are at their teen age, are the most vulnerable to online attacks, meeting with online predators and psychics, and accessing age-inappropriate online content that can further harm their emotional well-being. This urgent need for protection is why parental controls have become a necessity.
Yet, with so many tools available online, choosing the best one can pose a significant challenge for parents concerned about their kid’s safety. That is why we are here to help.
In this review, you will learn why kid monitoring is important and the best tools. We’ll guide you through the process, making it stress-free and easy to choose the right parental control app for your kids safety so you can feel confident and assured in safeguarding your children.
Early Days of Parental Controls
In the early days of the internet, parental controls were pretty basic, mostly limited to web filters. In 1994, Net Nanny, created by Gordon Ross, changed the game by launching a browser that could filter web pages and IRC content, block inappropriate images, and even hide offensive language. Lately, its newer versions have included:
• Blocking websites on categories or keywords.
• Getting notifications when a kid accesses restricted content.
• Viewing their activities in “Family Feed”.
• Disabling internet access.
• Even setting screen time limits.
While it set a new era of parental control where parents could obtain a new opportunity to monitor and control their kids online, these were still the days when using the internet used to mean sitting at a desktop computer, usually the family’s shared device, with the loud sounds of a dial-up modem letting everyone know you were online.
Today, however, children are no longer those of 1994. They are more tech-savvy, and so is our advanced technology.
According to a 2024 Statista report, many children in the United States receive their first cell phones between 12 and 13 (32% of respondents) or 14 and 15 (21% of respondents). It highlights how everything has changed. Now, kids, with their smartphones, can access any information anytime from anywhere without asking for their parents’ permission. The worst? Parents cannot filter all the content and websites their kids access.
Luckily, with modern parental control apps, parents can now monitor and manage what their kids are doing online, set limits on screen time, block harmful websites, and even track their location – all from their own devices.
Modens Solutions for Effective Parental Control
There are plenty of parental control apps that help those parents who are busy juggling the demands of childcare with work commitments and other caring responsibilities. Parental control apps help parents enforce rules, set screen time limits, and even track every step their kids take when online. So, they can accompany their child to and from school and when in the other city, providing them with peace of mind.
To simplify the process when choosing the best parental control app, we have decided to analyze dozens of apps and choose the top 3 best out of them. Here is the list of winners:
• uMobix – Top parental control app with 40+ features, including full access to your kid’s Instagram and Facebook
• GEOfinder.mobi – Excellent tool for tracking your kid’s real-time position with a 10-meter accuracy data
• Glassagram – Anonymous Instagram viewer that bypasses blocks and restrictions, allowing you to view any profile without sending a follow request
1: uMobix
uMobix is a great cell phone tracker that monitors your kids’ device usage and online activities. It allows you to see everything your kid does on 20+ popular social media platforms, IM apps, and even dating apps, including, but not limited to, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Zoom, Viber, Telegram, Skype, Kik, Tinder, TikTok, Line, WeChat, and others.
The app not only supports the two leading giants in the world of social media communication platforms like Facebook and Instagram but also provides full access to your kid’s account on the rights as if you were their owner (e.g., you can not only read their DMs but also respond to them).
The app also allows you to take photos, video, and audio recordings from your kid’s phone camera and microphone. Keylogging, GPS location tracking, web browser checking, and remote device controlling are the other features worthy of attention. As a bonus, uMobix offers customers a 2-day trial for just $1, giving full access to all features before committing to a subscription.
2: GEOfinder.mobi
Regarding keeping track of your kid’s whereabouts, GEOfinder is one of the best choices available on the market today. It is known for its straightforward interface, making it accessible even to those who aren’t tech-savvy. With GEOfinder, you will be able to send an SMS text message to your kid’s phone number, and once they tap the link attached to it, their location adat will be instantly shared with you.
The app is focused on delivering precise 10-meter radius location data, ensuring you can find your kid whenever needed. No need for app installation, just an internet connection and a cell phone number you want to locate.
Like uMobix, this tool operates anonymously, ensuring the target person remains unaware that their activities are being tracked. It is compatible with all cell phone models, carriers, networks, and operating systems. Plus, its 24-hour trial version makes the app an appealing option for many users.
3: Glasagram
Glassagram is an Instagram viewer that allows you to view the content of any public and IG account without them knowing. Just imagine the following scenario: you know your kid has another IG account, but they refuse to admit it. Open communication does not help, so you decide to use a special tool to provide you access to their IG profile without hacking.
With Glasagram, you will be able to view all the content they share publicly (posts, reels, tagged photos/locations, comments, likes) as if you were on their friends’ list. The best part? You can watch stories in real time anonymously, so they won’t see your name in the list of their viewers.
Moreover, Glassagram overcomes Instagram’s 24-story limit, so even when the time expires, or your kid decides to delete their story for some reason, the tool will catch it and save the story in your user space, where it will be kept for up to 3 months, giving you the ability to watch their stories whenever desire. Plus, you don’t have to worry about being blocked or not having your IG account; Glassagram handles that too.
Final Thoughts
The best parental control apps, like uMobix, GEOfinder, and Glassagram, are essential for moderating family internet traffic and blocking harmful content. These apps help parents to monitor their kid’s online activities, protect them from possible dangers that may happen online, and quickly locate them in case of emergency. Safety and security are what they offer everyone who has a case about their loved ones’ digital well-being.