How to download apps with parental restrictions

Net Nanny, which we consider to be the best parental control app, has excellent web-filtering technology and a modern, intuitive design. Among all the parental-control apps we tried, it comes closest to having feature parity between its iOS and Android versions. Its iOS abilities don't seem to have been affected by Apple policy changes, which is why we think it compares favorably to Apple's own Screen Time tools. Net Nanny can track your child's location, display their location history, and set time allowances and schedules equally well on both platforms.

The iOS version lets you block several dozen apps on your kid's phone; the Android one lets you block them all. Net Nanny now includes content screening that works within social media apps and services, including Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, instead of blocking or allowing them entirely.

The only thing Net Nanny can't do on a smartphone is monitor calls or texts. No apps we tested can do that on iOS, but a few still do on Android. Read our full Net Nanny Parental Control review. Norton Family's power and features are ideal for Android and Windows households with many children, offering nearly every feature a parent could want from one of the best parental control apps.

It's also just added geofencing. This service's location-tracking, time-scheduling, and web-filtering and -monitoring capabilities work on both iOS and Android, but Norton's time allowances are only for its Windows and Android software.

App management doesn't work in the iOS app at all. At that price, getting Norton Family along with Norton's excellent antivirus protection is a no-brainer, unless your kids use Macs instead of Windows PCs. Read our full Norton Family review. Kaspersky's location tracking and geofencing work in both iOS and Android, as do its web monitoring and device scheduling. But app management is limited on iOS.

Likewise, a feature that lets you block specific kinds of YouTube searches , and review YouTube search history if you're a paid user, works on Windows, iOS and Android, including the YouTube Android app — but not on Macs.

Still, if you don't feel a need to read your kids' text messages, then Kaspersky Safe Kids is well worth considering. In , Kaspersky Lab filed an antitrust complaint against Apple for allegedly forcing the removal of features from Kaspersky Safe Kids.

Apple a few months later relaxed some of those restrictions , but the Kaspersky case continued. In , the Russian antitrust authorities ordered Apple to reverse its changes. We'll have to wait and see what Apple does. Read our full Kaspersky Safe Kids review. It also lets you set time limits for individual apps and individual devices. This service's limited location tracking works on both iOS and Android, and Qustodio finally added a geofencing option in the fall of A Family Locator feature that shows you where all your kids are at once was added in September You can manage only a few dozen apps on iOS, as opposed to all Android apps.

Web filtering is more powerful on iOS, while monitoring texts and calls works on only Android. Read our full Qustodio review. Once the most powerful parental-control app for iPhones, OurPact was hobbled by an Apple rule change in late that nixed the service's geofencing, location tracking and time allowances on iOS. At its peak, OurPact was the only parental-control app we tested that could manage or block any iOS app.

It can still do so for Android devices. OurPact also gets kids involved in managing the daily allowance of screen time that you give them, and it does a good job of scheduling. Yet, its website filtering simply blocks porn, and it can't monitor calls or texts at all, even on Android.

However, you can block messaging apps, and OurPact remains a joy to use. Read our full OurPact review. Screen Time -- not to be confused with the "Screen Time" feature in iOS -- does an excellent job of managing and scheduling kids' device access. Unfortunately, it doesn't do a whole lot else, at least on iOS devices.

App management and web filtering are for Android only. Screen Time also has baffling upcharges for location tracking and web filters, both of which are arguably essentials and come standard with other parental-control apps.

You can get both features in the day Screen Time premium trial. We did like how Screen Time lets you dole out additional, yup, screen time to kids who perform chores or good deeds. But you can't block apps on iOS, and there's no call or text monitoring at all, although geofencing and location history were recently added. Read our full Screen Time review.

ESET Parental Control for Android sticks to a single platform, but it doesn't shine even there, lacking text-message- and call-monitoring and number blocking features and implementing clunky controls on what it does have. The app management and time management you receive with the free version of ESET Parental Control for Android do work well, as do the location tracking and geofencing you'll get if you pay for a subscription.

There's a day free trial, plus steep discounts for multiyear plans. And we liked the feature that lets a kid send an SOS message to designated phones with a single tap. MMGuardian has nearly every parental-control feature you might want on Android phones, but its abilities are somewhat limited on iOS and the user interfaces are outdated and frustrating on both platforms.

The iOS and Android smartphone apps offer location tracking and excellent web filtering, and MMGuardian now has an artificial-intelligence component to spot nudity in saved images. On an Android phone, the parent can use MMGuardian to read every text and block any number. Unfortunately, time management and screen-time scheduling are Android-only, and the separate MMGuardian app for Android tablets has no location tracking.

However, it recently added SMS and instant-message monitoring via a desktop app connected via Wi-Fi to a child's iPhone. Read our full MMGuardian review. What you need from a parental-control service mainly depends on how old your kids are. If you're the parent of children under 12, you absolutely want to be able to block objectionable websites, but you might also consider an app that's available on Amazon Fire tablets.

If you've got teenagers, you might want to let them have a look at objectionable things online, but only if you're aware of it. You might also want to see whom your teens are talking to in messenger apps, and to see where they are late on a Friday night. And you might want to consider a service that monitors your kids' Windows and Mac devices as well as their smartphones. The best parental control apps will offer, at a minimum, a website filter, location tracking, screen-time limits including a scheduler, and an app blocker that works at least on Android.

Useful extra features include geofencing, which alerts you if a child's phone leaves a designated "safe" area like school or a relative's house. Some of these apps let you block and log the calls and texts a child makes and receives, but only on Android. A couple even let you read a child's text messages, but none lets you listen in on call, because that's illegal.

And most let you monitor your child's phone from a desktop computer web interface as well as your own smartphone.

Evaluation criteria We focus on parental control apps that emphasize proactively setting up filters and limits before your child uses the phone rather than merely tracking activities after the fact.

We take the following criteria into account:. We tested each app on every platform it supported twice, from installation to testing to uninstall. We typically monitored activity from the MacBook Pro, but if apps offered control from a smartphone app, we tested those features as well. Calls and texts for monitoring purposes were made from a secondary Android device.

Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance, or use of third-party websites or products. Apple makes no representations regarding third-party website accuracy or reliability. Contact the vendor for additional information. In iOS This can be used to reset your Screen Time passcode if you forget it. If you're setting up Screen Time on your child's device, follow the prompts until you get to Parent Passcode and enter a passcode. Re-enter the passcode to confirm. If asked, enter your passcode.

Choose a setting and set to Don't Allow. Allow built-in apps and features You can restrict the use of built-in apps or features. Enter your Screen Time passcode. Tap Allowed Apps. Select the apps that you want to allow. Prevent explicit content and content ratings You can also prevent the playback of music with explicit content and movies or TV shows with specific ratings. To restrict explicit content and content ratings: Go to Settings and tap Screen Time. Choose the settings that you want for each feature or setting under Allowed Store Content.

Prevent web content iOS and iPadOS can automatically filter website content to limit access to adult content in Safari and other apps on your device. Follow these steps: Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.

Tap Content Restrictions, then tap Web Content. Scroll down to Siri, then choose your settings. Scroll down to Game Center, then choose your settings. Allow changes to privacy settings The privacy settings on your device give you control over which apps have access to information stored on your device or the hardware features. To allow changes to privacy settings: Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.

Tap Privacy, then choose the settings that you want to restrict. Allow changes to other settings and features You can allow changes to other settings and features, the same way you can allow changes to privacy settings. Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.

Under Allow Changes, select the features or settings that you want to allow changes to and choose Allow or Don't Allow. Learn more Set up Family Sharing with up to six people to share content, as well as request and make purchases with Ask to Buy.

Learn how to prevent in-app Purchases or change the credit card that you use in the iTunes Store. See how to view and limit your child or teen's Apple Cash activity.

Published Date: November 19,