While the Internet is many things right, it is not always age-appropriate or safe for your little ones. Kids these days are becoming increasingly tech-savvy, and just monitoring their screen time is not enough. We need something more comprehensive such as parental control software for Mac.
These software could prevent your child from stumbling across or browsing sensitive content. And it is not just about monitoring their online activity; we also need to protect them against Cyberbullying and other such stuff. Thankfully, these software pieces can lessen the burden and simplify things for parents.
Best Parental Control Software for Mac in 2020
#1. Qustodio
Qustodio is honestly the best and highly recommended software. With an increase in devices used by kids, parents cannot supervise each passing second their kids spend on the internet. That is where Qustodio steps in.
This software blocks pornographic and explicit content from your child’s devices, even if they search something in a private browsing mode. It also tracks the time spent on Social Media and Games; and also sets a time limit on their browsing and internet in general. But an essential feature of this software is that it allows location-tracking across all of your child’s devices and also has a panic button that the child can use in alarming situations.
Price: $39.95
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#2. Kaspersky Safe Kids
Kaspersky has proven its credibility time and again over the years with their cybersecurity software and mobile apps. Its Mac parental control software also comes with excellent credentials. This software doesn’t just protect your kids in the virtual world, but it also takes care of them in the real world.
With GPS tracking, you can set a safe area zone for your kids, and every time they step out of that zone, you get a notification. Not only that, but you will also be notified if your child’s device is running out of battery so you could remind them to plug their devices.
Along with these fantastic features, the software also controls your kid’s internet usage and monitors their activities on the web.
Price: $14.99
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#3. Norton Family Premier
Award-Winning parental control software for Mac, Norton makes the web much safer for your little ones. It keeps them away from inappropriate websites, content, and online predators. Along with time and web supervision, Nortan also tracks their search, social networks, and videos.
The software sends an email alert to you whenever your child is trying to visit a blocked site or search for blocked content. You will also recieve weekly/monthly reports with concise activity tracks during that period.
Price: $49.99
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#4. Net Nanny Monitoring Software for Mac
Quite like the name suggests, Net Nanny is actually like a virtual nanny to your kids that will monitor your child’s online activities on your behalf. Net Nanny is one of the most trusted parental control software for the Mac and Apple devices. You could link it with all your devices and be assured of your child’s online safety.
It prevents your child from being exposed to inappropriate content in real-time along with search filter and website and app blocker as well. Set a Screen Timer for your kids so that they do not exceed internet usage.
Price: $39.99
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#5. Bark
Bark monitors a total of over 40 services and apps on various platforms, and gives you automatic alerts on email and text when Bark’s algorithms detect potential risks, like signs of cyberbullying, depression, online predators, adult content, and more. Its algorithms monitor four times more than any other similar app.
The software eliminates parents’ need to scour through their kids’ every post and text or spend hours looking at their kid’s phone or debating with them. You know that it is not possible or feasible to read every text of your kid. So, this is where Bark comes in. It has been created in collaboration with child psychologists, youth advisors, digital media experts, and law enforcement professionals.
Bark ensures that your kids are protected, and the family is secure. Unlimited children, twenty-four-seven monitoring, unlimited activity makes this affordable service worth trying.
Price: $9 per month for the whole family
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#6. Kidlogger Parental Control Software
Kidlogger has an extremely intrusive way of monitoring online activities. Not just web history, it also tracks the keystrokes and texts entered on Mac. Outsmarting even the smartest of kids, Kidlogger captures screenshots periodically. So, that you can catch them red-handed.
When the child opens a folder or document too frequently, that is recorded and reported as well. It can monitor chats and messengers logs and take a screenshot every 15 second during Skype videos. Kidlogger also prevents the risk of a data leak, by logging all USB flash drives, external HDD’s and other devices connected to Mac.
Price: Free (Standard – $9/3 Months)
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#7. KidInspector Mac Monitoring Software
The name says it all, and allow me to add that this one is a strict inspector. All visited websites, search queries, social media activities, keystrokes, and app usage is logged. Parents can view the collected data via text, graph, and screenshots.
Thanks to the Live Viewing feature, your child’s screen is accessible to you anytime. The webcam and mic become tools for a personal home surveillance system.
You can also program the recording to start by a specific action or time. All the screenshots and recordings are shared over a personal KidInspector account on a secured cloud server.
Price: $59/year for one computer
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#8. Mobicip – Best for Non-Tech Savvy Parents
A well-recognized and recommended parental control app for Mac. Mobicip protects your young ones from the strange world of the Internet. It also ensures that the child’s private data is not shared just with the guardians and not to any third-party app.
An advanced internet filtering ensures that only age-appropriate content is delivered to the user. Mobicip lends parents access to all the devices in the family. They can set screen time, lock/unlock devices, restrict access to certain apps, games, and social media.
Location Tracker lets them track their child or a lost device any time from anywhere. And thanks to a parent-friendly interface, all this and more can be done.
Price: $49.99 / year for 5 devices
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#9. PureSight Parental Control Software
When it comes to the Internet, parents need to keep a keen eye on their children. PureSight helps parents do precisely that simply and efficiently. It hosts a wide variety of features such as Internet curfew, cyberbullying protection, supervised file sharing, tamper-resistant, parental portal, etc.
PureSight observes your child’s online activity and sends detailed reports to parents about the same. If a potentially dangerous or suspicious behavior is detected, guardians will recieve real-time alerts. User-friendly installation and management settings make things easier for even non-tech-savvy parents.
Price: $5.99/month for 3 multi-device
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#10. 1Focus: App & Website Blocker
While not a children specific app, this one does a pretty decent job in blocking unwanted apps and websites. Perfect for non-helicopter parents who don’t want to monitor each step, and just protect their kids from certain content.
Moreover, the app is perfect for procrastinators, whether it’s a kid, teen or parent. The application can block websites in Safari, Google Chrome, Opera, and Brave. Notably, you can also choose to block specific parts of the website as well.
Block internet access by blocking all web browsers or schedule multiple blocking sessions in advance.
Price: $1.99/month
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Let there be more inspiring content !!
Well, that was the list of all the software pieces that you could use to monitor your kid’s internet usage. Little ones are pretty impressionable, and the right blend of entertaining, educational, and inspiring content is a must for them. Parental control software packages listed above can handle this job with finesse; all you have to do is instruct them. Let me know in the comments below if you have taken your pick of the software yet.
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