Uneasy about your kid's iPhone obsession? These 3 parental control apps can help. (2025)

Everyone with an Apple device has Screen Time, making it one of the most convenient options out there. It's also completely free, while still offering a host of customizable settings, making it our top pick for most Apple users.

If you want to be aware of how and how much time your kid is spending on their phone, iPad, or MacBook, Screen Time has got you covered.

The app can be found directly in your settings. Once you add your child's Apple account, you can start adjusting the settings and see their daily usage, with the amount of time they're spending on each app (in the exact same way as your personal Screen Time). With the Downtime feature, you can limit what apps they use and when, along with who they're contacting, whether they're using Messages, FaceTime, or their iCloud account.

If at any point your child wants to spend more time texting a friend or scrolling on TikTok, they can send you a remote request to extend their time for 15 minutes, an hour, or the rest of the day. For some apps like YouTube, Screen Time doesn't actually offer much in content restriction or monitoring, so if that's an important feature, you might want to check out the paid option on our list, Bark.

However, Screen Time does include the option to filter web browser content and to approve or deny requests to download any apps from the App Store. For location tracking, you'll have to switch to the Find My app, which is also automatically downloaded on any iOS device.

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If you have an iPhone but your child has an Android, Google Family Link will be a better solution than Apple's Screen Time.

Diehard iPhone owners who still use Google Maps, Google Docs, or Gmail aren't hard to find, and we don't blame them —Google's apps are as straightforward to use as the search engine itself, and often easier to organize than an Apple version (if one exists). Unsurprisingly, the tech giant has its own parental control app. Google Family Link offers a pretty damn comprehensive list of monitoring and management features, and the fact that it's free makes it hard to justify paying elsewhere. Plus, its already streamlined design just got a refresh earlier this year, along with an option to designate certain app settings for school hours.

The "you get what you pay for" mantra usually applies to parental control apps —the free versions of apps with optional premium subscriptions are purposefully meager to get you to pay. But when it's Google that we're talking about, simplicity doesn't mean skimpy. Family Link covers screen time limits including bedtime schedules, app management like activity reports and a requirement for parent approval for new apps, a website blocker, and location tracking (as long as they have their device on them). You can Setup is a breeze for anyone who already has a Gmail account, though the controls gets tripped up when school email accounts and Google Classroom are thrown into the mix.

Streamlined as it is, Family Link does have some limitations. You won't be able to see your child's screen, read their messages or emails, change the password on their Google account, or listen to their calls.

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If you want more active monitoring than Screen Time or Google Family Link, Bark allows for an impressive amount of screen time customization, and allows you to see more of how your child is spending their time on their phone.

Like our other picks, Bark allows you to limit screen time and restrict certain websites and apps on multiple devices. So how's it different?

Well for starters, Bark can scan how your child is actually using their device, whether it be texting, scrolling on TikTok, or searching queries online. The app does this by using an AI that can identify any mentions of suicide, drugs, alcohol, cyberbullying, or other predatory indicators that you might want to know about — you can toggle which you want to keep a look out for. If any issues are identified, the app will send you an alert along with a snippet to review to ensure your child is engaging in safe behavior online.

It makes sense that Bark's functionality is more involved than the other two apps on this list — it costs $14 per month. However, you can add an unlimited number of devices to your account for monitoring.

Along with the AI feature, Bark's screen time settings allow you to adjust which apps are available for different times of the day, like bedtime, school, and free time. The app also uses geofencing, so you can track your child's location in real-time, and toggle settings to receive alerts or check-ins from your child directly.

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