Review of Parental Control Apps for mobiles and more

I was frustrated looking for a working and useful parental control app for all the smartphones and tablets. Now, after the work is done, I am getting back at some of them. Here is the review:

First, my aim is to monitor and limit usage of the phone when I am not around. I'm not interested in web content filtering because doing it well on the phone will be difficult. The home router and cloud filter are the better choices. My kids won't spend a lot of time away from home and alone.

Project Fi data only SIM

This may be the world's first use of this SIM as a parental control. And this is the hail Mary strike when nothing else works. On the phone of the Project Fi account, you can "remove" the data-only SIM from the account instantly via the Project Fi app. The SIM is disabled instantly. And when you want to reenable the SIM instantly, you can just do the same when you first activate the SIM.

To activate the SIM, you go to fi.google.com/data and enter the activation code that comes with the SIM. That's it. It doesn't matter who orders the SIM. If you activate the SIM on your fi account, it's yours. There is an activate by date about a year in the future. I suppose you can remove and activate the SIM for an unlimited number of times before that date. Just don't lose the activation code.

The data-only SIM works for all phones and tablets that can use a T-MO SIM. Yes, it works for android phones and iPhones too, either locked to the T-MO network or unlocked. Though, you need a normal Fi SIM with talk and text on a Fi approved phone. It may be worthwhile to have a Fi phone for parental control, even if all your devices are with iOS.

On phones, you need either a dual-SIM phone or use a VOIP app. One of the Amazon exclusive phones is a dual-SIM one perfect for kids. For VOIP, the best is Hangout because you can have a phone number like everybody else. Nobody knows you are using VOIP; people dial your number and see your caller ID. In the latter case, it is more awesome as you not only take away all 4G data privilege, but also the ability to talk and text.

Dinner Time Plus

It works but only for Android. Once there was an app on iOS but it was only for monitoring the kids. The one off price model is right, making it the cheapest of all other parental apps. You can set arbitrary schedules to block the phone and you can set time limits for all or individual apps at other times. You can also whitelist or blacklist individual apps. You also have the history of apps the kids use.

The newer apps depend on admin privilege and if you ban the settings app, it would be rather difficult to hack to bypass the parental control.

Screen Time

This one is truly multiplatform, working for Android and iOS. Schedule works and time limit works. But the critical deficiency is that you have only a bedtime schedule and a school time schedule. Unbelievable! The school time schedule is enforced only for weekdays. You can pick the weekdays to enforce the bedtime schedule but you can only have one schedule. Really, I couldn't care less about any other feature requests. I don't see why they cannot do that because they have already done it. Just allow multiple "bedtime" schedules and you are done. The only reason I can think of is that the only programmer had left.

On iOS, there is the device profile similar to admin privilege in android. The profile is protected by the passcode so you should keep the tablet unlocked for kids to use. You should also ban the "deletion" of apps via the iOS restriction options. On Android, they once used a non-approved method to prevent bypassing. You have to load a special version outside of the Play store.

I'm still using it for iPad. Phones are difficult if you can't have enough schedules. iPad's are easier as you don't need it to call home. If you don't have a schedule for the day, you still have time limits.

kidslox

Locking the iPad is a sure thing on arbitrary schedules. But the time limit doesn't work on it. I was told that kidslox need to run in the background to monitor time limits. But first, my ipad 4 doesn't have the multitasking option to enable or disable and the background refreshing option is on. Even if my iPad has multitasking, restarting it or crashing it deliberately would likely kill the app in the background.

OurPact

Looks good but parents are limited to iOS. I didn't even try.

Family Time

Looks perfect. But the pricing and web pages looked like a design by a scammer. Claim discount? You have to pay for the whole year. Free Trial? You have to pay for the whole year still, though you have the first day free! Is that some new marketing strategies you learn from colleges nowadays? I'm so out of touch! Nowhere at the website says how to get a refund before the free trial ends. Pass.

MMGuardian

This is the earlier one and much more expensive at the time. If I know that it is so much cheaper now, I might have tried again. I did go through the 14 day free trial and then on and off after that on the free plan. The problem is - it's two complicated. I just need to monitor what my kids are doing and if I am not around, I want to enforce automatically bedtime and study time. Having time limits and control on an individual app is a plus, allowing a more flexible schedule. The complicated menu when you turn on the app is a big deterrent. Now, things may be a lot different now and it is.

But still, the list of functions is long and the pricing is complicated. Gone are the deal maker training with more useful things added such as GPS.

Think about it, if everything works perfectly, why are the other apps still around?

getScreen

Another cross platform app. But I can't install it on the iPad. It would enter a loop if I already have a device profile (admin privilege) installed. Even if I cleared and uninstall everything, the loop still goes on.