Parental control software FAQ

Even the world’s most advanced parental control software is vulnerable to tech-savvy kids finding creative workarounds past blocks and restrictions. It’s difficult to explain precisely how this is possible since each software functions in a variety of different ways, but there are a multitude of loopholes to exploit across the board.

For example, blocked websites can sometimes by circumvented with the use of a web proxy, especially in the case with DNS (domain name system) parental control like OpenDNS. Alternatively, utilizing a VPN achieves a similar goal although a few parental controls have learned to adapt and will filter any VPN traffic to prevent this. Then there’s Apple’s Screen Time which has numerous simple small tricks that can have children evading time restrictions by manually turning back the phone’s clock or getting past a YouTube block by launching it through a third-party app.

Kids have a helping hand too, as it’s easy to find online guides or video tutorials from others who have managed to find their own solutions and have shared that information with the rest of the world.

Can children delete parental controls?

Going one step further than bypassing parental control software is to get rid of it entirely. Companies try their best to make it as difficult as possible for children to uninstall or delete the software. However, as the old adage goes, where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Many software companies do their best to make their program hidden or password-protected but, although this will be sufficient protection in most cases, it isn’t 100% impervious.

Almost all desktop parental controls rely on employing administrative powers which are password-protected. This, on the face of it, seems like a good idea since without the password your child won’t be able to remove the software. However, there are surprisingly straightforward hacks that allow users to change the admin password even without knowing it. Of course, from there your child will be able to do whatever they want. When it comes to mobile devices, something as elementary as resetting factory settings will erase any monitoring software.

What can I do to stop it?

In truth, there isn’t much that can be done to prevent a determined child from finding a way through even the most secure parental control software. It actually demonstrates a lot of ingenuity and technological skill that should be praised and encouraged. Of course, there are a lot of benefits to your parental control software, so if you find your child has the skills to easily bypass parental controls then you’ll have to try a different approach.

Instead of having to resort to an extreme action like physically removing phones or tablets from their hands it would be best to sit down and discuss thoroughly the reasons for using the software and how the safety features will also benefit them. If need be, you can always compromise by lifting a few restrictions or time limits in exchange for assurances that they won’t try to sidestep the controls again. Something akin to Norton Family Premier’s ‘house rules’ system might be effective to make sure your child knows their limits.

It’s a common situation these days: your child seems to have become addicted to a new game on their phone or they spend too much time on social media. At times, drastic steps have to be taken and that can involve blocking the app completely. Luckily, there are various methods to achieve this. Some are built into devices and others require specialist parental control software to really do the trick.

iOS users will know that Apple, despite its many benefits, doesn’t always make things easy. Blocking apps is no exception. With the introduction of Screen Time with iOS 12, Apple users are now able to block certain apps. It doesn’t work perfectly since it only restricts categories of apps and not individual ones. This means if you wanted to block let’s say, Snapchat, it would mean you’d have to block the whole category of social media apps which, obviously, isn’t practical.

Similarly, Android users have a frustrating experience using the Google Play store which can only restrict apps by age preferences. To make matters worse, nowadays children access apps through multiple devices which can mean needing to block the app over and over again – a time-consuming process.

This is where parental control software comes to the rescue. Instead of having to rely on inadequate default settings to block apps, specialist software like Norton Family Premier and Qustodio do exactly that. Such software is able to see exactly what apps are installed on your child’s devices and can show you how much time has been spent on these applications. From there you’ll be able to enable time restrictions or completely block an app altogether. This is what makes parental control software so effective. Apple and Android would much rather consumers installed more apps than block existing ones. To put it in a less cynical way, they’re simply not designed with parents in mind. That’s why we’d always recommend parents invest in proper parental control software over any default settings.

Are children nowadays spending too much time in front of a screen? Or is the idea of excessive screen time being detrimental to a child’s development simply a myth? It seems like every other article tells you something different. With every study saying screen time has a negative impact on mental health or on school performance, there’s also another one telling you it’s simply not true. So, in light of the fact that there are so many contradictory studies and that, as of yet, there is no school of thought on how much screen time is too much, you’ll just have to trust your own instincts with your child.

There’s plenty of software to help you limit your child’s screen time, both Apple and Google provide their own free solutions although they’re not as all-encompassing as the specialist products.

Apple’s Screen Time, introduced with iOS 12, gives Apple users more power over their apps and functionality. Of course, the clue is in the name as to what Screen Time can do but it also allows you to track app usage, set downtime, and restrict content. However, although there are plenty of useful functions for parents, Apple Screen Time feels like a tool more designed for productivity rather than for children. Similarly, Google’s own Family Link is also able to restrict screen time, and allows parents to view their child’s activity, manage apps, as well as enable GPS to track a child’s location. Again, like Screen Time we miss more of the extensive features that can be found elsewhere.

Apple and Google have put in valiant efforts but the best way to limit children’s screen time is with some specialist software. Famous parental control systems like Kaspersky Safe Kids, Norton Family Premier, and Qustodio are all designed exactly for this purpose and, naturally, they have plenty of other features that are useful for parents. On top of that, since parental control apps are compatible with a variety of different platforms you can limit screen time across the board, instead of having to go through the laborious process of setting up time limits individually on every device.

Of course, the best way to use screen time controls effectively is in agreement with your children, collaborating on a set schedule or hourly usage. This is a great way to make limiting screen time feel more inclusive rather than restrictive, while also encouraging other activities away from the constant glow of a screen.

Parental control apps work by automatically restricting, filtering, and monitoring activity on a child’s device. This can mean blocking access to inappropriate websites or preventing the use of specific apps. Obviously, these are just the basic functions and the full capabilities of parental control software go far beyond that – for example the ability to monitor private messages, social media activity, or even reporting on a device’s GPS location.

What parental control apps allow you to do is to customize permission settings so you can shape your children’s internet experience in whichever way you see fit, whether that means giving them more protection and security or gradually increasing their online freedom.

How do I set it up?

Parental control software is incredibly easy to set up. First, you’ll need to download your chosen app on your children’s devices, whether that’s desktops, phones, tablets, and even video game consoles in some cases.

The next step is to add user profiles for each child. Some apps have default settings depending on your child’s age, while others require you to go into more detail about which apps or what content you want to restrict. Each account is customizable, so you’ll also be able set up schedules, time limits, and a whole host of other options that each solution has to offer.

What do I do next?

After you’ve installed the software on your devices and set up your children’s profiles, you can sit back and relax knowing that your kids are now a great deal safer online.

Now the software will start monitoring your children’s device usage and internet traffic, while sending the information directly to you. Usually, this will be in the form of emails or text notifications, but you have the option of seeing more information with the software’s parent app or on its web dashboard. Typically, you’ll also get the choice of receiving daily or weekly activity summaries. If your child tries to access content that’s restricted, then you’ll receive a special notification straight away.

What stops kids from just deleting it?

Don’t be surprised if your child attempts to delete or uninstall the software, as it’s only natural that they’ll try eventually but you’ll find that most apps are designed with this in mind. One solution is that certain parental control apps require a username and password for uninstalling, which of course, your children shouldn’t have access to. Some software is even made to be completely invisible so not only can your children not uninstall it – they might not even know it’s there.

However, although every app does its best to prevent any child from removing it, ultimately it’s never going to be completely indestructible. Often children can find guides written online with complex methods of removing the software, and some kids are just technologically gifted enough to do it on their own. Of course, if you notice a drop in notifications and see less data being reported, then chances are your child has found a way around the app. Fortunately, many apps actually report to parents when the program has been removed immediately – at that point it’s best to talk with your child about why having the app installed is beneficial for everyone.

Parental controls are an important way of keeping your children safe online and because the internet is such a huge part of our everyday life, it’s now more important than ever. Unfortunately, there are a large number of threats online that can endanger your child, and parents can’t monitor their children all the time, especially not when every device in the house can be connected to the internet. So, parental control tools aim to constantly help parents protect their children from online perils.

What threats exist?

There are numerous threats to children online that require protection. Of course, the internet is filled with content that is inappropriate for kids that they can easily stumble upon by mistake. Parental control software filters and blocks websites that aren’t suitable, so you no longer have to worry about your children seeing the pornography, violence, or hateful content, and filters can be altered for parents to change what is acceptable or not.

Screen addiction is a problem that affects many children, and it can have a negative impact on their education as well as their social lives and concentration levels. Often parental control software is able to set screen time limits that will lock a device if a child has gone over an allotted amount of time or lay out a schedule for when a device can be used.

Social media can turn children’s online threats into real-life ones with cyber bullying and online predators a serious risk for parents to consider. Some parental control tools are able to monitor social networks, so parents are able to see who their children are communicating with, what new friends they make, and even read private messages.

These are just a handful of the huge amount of threats that exist for children online, not to mention worries like malware, scams, and giving away personal information. This is why parental control software has become such a big industry with millions of customers worldwide.

Do I need to download specialist software?

Most desktop and mobile operating systems nowadays come with some form of basic parental control software already installed. Although these have improved in recent times, they are still incredibly basic compared to the professional products.

For example, Windows desktops have Microsoft Family Safety, an app which has a selection of the features you often see in commercial parental control software. Family Safety can monitor history, block websites and apps, as well as setting time limits and spending limits, this perhaps the best of a built-in OS but it hasn’t nearly as much flexibility as the professional software. Meanwhile, the protection you receive on Android is very limited; Google Play has age restrictions on apps but for full protection it’s highly recommended to download a specialist parental control app.

Apple has the most robust default parental controls since they’re more protective over their own operating systems. When using macOS you can manage applications, filters, prevent modification, and even block access to the built-in camera. iOS meanwhile has the ability restrict apps as well as a few privacy settings.

As you can see these all differ with each setup and none of them are fully realized parental control solutions. We’d recommend using specialist software because not only do they have a more complete list of features, but they’re made especially for parents. This means they are able to provide more feedback to parents including monitoring reports and notifications about their children’s activity. Dedicated parental control software is also more difficult for tech-savvy children to circumvent, designed knowing full well that kids today are often more knowledgeable than their parents about how computers work.

Keeping children safe online is a crucial responsibility for parents, and it’s a task made more difficult because these days kids are constantly connected to the internet. Parental control software is a tool designed to help parents in the modern age. Products can schedule screen time or filter out inappropriate content as well as performing more complex functions like preventing children from spending online or tracking GPS location on phones. Some companies send out reports to parents as a summary of what the kids have been doing.

So, parental control software can cover lots of different roles, but the essential aspect is that it’s designed to work with parents to protect children from online dangers.

Why is parental control software used?

Though the internet is an amazing educational tool for children that broadens their minds and teaches them about the world around us, parents have to worry about the internet’s dark side.

Naturally, parents just want their kids to be safe, but it requires constant vigilance because even websites as popular as Facebook and YouTube are full of inappropriate content, and there’s the lurking threat of online predators. Installing parental control on computers, tablets, and phones is the solution for many parents, allowing the software to step in and ensure children’s online experience is a positive one.

Of course, there’s a fine line between monitoring and spying and it’s up to the parents themselves to decide where that line is. Ideally, the software should be used as a set of collaborative house rules of how children should use the internet, but there’s a danger that monitoring may turn into surveillance which can hurt trust between parent and child. Some products can monitor messages or provide GPS location, so it leaves little room for personal privacy which is also important in a child’s development.

What can it be used for?

Each parental control solution has different features, but they all aim to do the same thing – help parents. Of course, everyone has different requirements, so software typically covers a wide range of functions.

For some parents just having an application that monitors screen time is sufficient while others are looking to apply online filters to obstruct access to undesirable content or instead create a safe space made only from approved websites. Parental control software frequently monitors children’s social media accounts, which is especially important because social media can become a hotspot for cyber bullying and a haven for predators. Parents can even choose to block social media apps and websites completely if necessary.

Monitoring activity on mobile devices is also possible with some select software. Many allow you to block apps or read messages, and a few are able to monitor battery levels and even GPS locations to find out exactly where your child is. Some products even come with a panic button that sends out a distress signal when kids are in danger.

What types of parental control software are there?

Parental control software comes in different styles with a variety of features. Some can simply change your DNS to filter out adult content like OpenDNS Family Shield. There are apps designed just for Android and iOS that function more like the NSA than parental control, hidden from view whilst intercepting messages, calls, and social media interaction, this includes apps like MobiStealth and XNSPY.

Others are more complete packages that give you monitoring capabilities for tablets, phones, and desktops, as well as restricting content and feeding back all the information to you – Qustodio and Norton Family Premier are great examples of these types of software.

Parents have a large market to choose from with different solutions for different online risks and we’d recommend exploring all the different options available to find what’s right for you.