Child Monitoring and Security Information Archive 2019 - 22.09.04
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Child Monitoring Phone App
Touted as the "next generation baby monitor" from Engadget, this camera/video app allows you to keep tabs on your baby's crib. Other features include password-protected audio and video, audio alerts, and infrared night mode, but only specific cameras (mostly Y-Cam and WiFi Baby) are compatible with this app. Check WiFiBaby.com and SunshineApps.com before purchasing Baby Monitor HD to make sure you have the correct combination of hardware and software. After purchase, Engadget.com has detailed setup instructions. ($9.99; available on IOS only with specific cameras)
Kids Place, tops our list of the best Parental Control Apps. This app basically makes the smartphone childproof. Using this parental control app, you can lock, home screen, back, search and call buttons so that your kid is unable to move out of Kids Place and also not make any phone calls. It is a great app as it helps you in ensuring that the phone is used within limits.
Abeona is a fast and free parental control app which helps you monitor your kid's activities and save them from internet dangers. It is a parental control software for Android devices lets you easily connect with your children and access their smartphone usage and block if needed.
One area in which most mobile parental control solutions excel is in their ability to prevent children from using selected apps. This can come in handy for parents looking to prevent their kids from using social media apps, messaging services that are difficult to monitor, or browsers that get around the defined web filters. Still, it can be difficult to keep track of every new app that your child installs. Better yet are those services, such as Boomerang, that automatically block new apps your child installs until you explicitly approve them.
Bottom Line: FamilyTime Premium does a decent job of keeping track of your kids' locations on Android and iOS, but it's a mobile-only parental control solution, and its lack of web filtering and inconsistent performance are serious shortcomings.
Child Monitoring Computer
Bottom Line: Norton Family's top-notch web interface and wealth of features make it easy for parents to track and manage their children's activity across their many devices, though it doesn't work on Macs.
Created by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, this app lets parents store their children's photos plus other identification (height, weight, hair and eye color, age) for quick access if a child ever goes missing. The information is stored on the iPhone only until parents need to send it to authorities. Notable features include safety tips, checklists for what to do if something happens to your child, and shortcuts to dial 911 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Parents also have the ability to email info immediately to law enforcement agencies if the unthinkable occurs. (Free; IOS)
The parental control space is always changing—especially on the mobile side of the equation—so we will be updating this roundup as new entries appear and as others fade away. If you use a parental control app that we did not mention and have strong feelings about it one way or another, be sure to leave a comment on the article below. Your suggestion might make it into the next round of updates.