The 5 Best Parental Control Apps for iPhones

As a parent, it can be challenging to keep track of what your kids are up to on their iPhones. Our children's iPhones grant them access to the entire world, which unfortunately also comes with risks like cyberbullying, predators, explicit content, and endless distractions. Thankfully, parental control apps for iPhones allow concerned parents to monitor their child's activities, communications and location. After extensively testing over a dozen of the top iOS parental control apps available in 2023, we found the 5 very best options that stand out for their combination of robust features, reliability, and ease of use. These iPhone monitoring apps provide visibility and control to help keep kids safe. And yes, we did test the products!

Our 5 Picks for Parental Control Apps for iPhones in 2023

After extensive research and testing, we narrowed down the crowded field of iPhone parental control apps to find the very best options based on features, reliability, ease of use and value. These parental apps for iPhone allow you to view texts, track locations, block apps and websites, limit screen time and much more - with just a few taps on your device.

1: SpyBubble

SpyBubble is our top choice for the best iOS parental control app. This powerful yet user-friendly app allows parents to monitor their kids' iPhones without detection. SpyBubble is an industry-leading iOS monitoring app that gives parents total visibility into their children's iPhone or iPad activities. With its remote access capabilities, you can easily view your kid's texts, track locations, monitor app usage and more - all from your smartphone or computer. Based on our own experience, the intuitive yet robust dashboard allows for real-time monitoring and convenient access to historical data. Setup only takes a few minutes without needing physical access to the device. SpyBubble's combination of ease of use, reliability and advanced features make it our #1 pick.

Key Features

- Remote Access: Spy remotely on your child's iPhone in real-time from your device, via the secure online dashboard.

- Messages & Call Logs: Read your kid's texts (even deleted ones) and view call history, including the other party's name and number.

- Social Media Monitoring: Track activity on popular social media apps like Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp and more.

- Web Browsing History: See every website and search term visited on the iPhone's Safari browser.

- Location Tracking: Pinpoint your child's location on an interactive map in real-time. Location history is also available.

- Time Schedules: Set time limits for app usage, block apps and websites, and restrict overall phone use with handy schedules and time restrictions.

Pros

- Easy remote setup without physical access to the iPhone
- Excellent features and flexible parental controls
- Intuitive online dashboard
- 24/7 live customer support

Cons

- No free trial offered
- Monthly subscription required

Pricing

- The Basic plan is one month for $29.99
- The total Membership for one month is $49.99
- Full payment is due every month; it costs $26.66
- Full Membership for a year is $12.49

Try SpyBubble Now

2: mSpy

Another excellent parental monitoring app for iPhone is mSpy. mSpy is a powerful iPhone monitoring solution that gives parents robust tools to oversee their kids' activities. The easy-to-use online dashboard provides convenient remote access to track locations, read messages, view call logs, monitor app usage, filter the web and more. Due to our practical knowledge, this parental control app provides detailed reporting on your child's device use so you can stay informed. With mSpy, you can view your kid's latest texts, see locations on a map, set time restrictions, get inappropriate website alerts and much more from anywhere.

Key Features

- Text Message Monitoring: View SMS texts, even deleted ones, right from your control panel.

- Social Media Tracking: Monitor popular social apps like Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp and more.

- Web Filtering: Get alerts for inappropriate websites and block categories or sites.

- Geo-Fencing Alerts: Set location boundaries and get alerts when your child leaves or enters the area.

- Screen Time Limits: Restrict overall usage with handy time limits and schedules.

Pros

Very accurate and reliable data
Geofencing alerts are useful
Good selection of features

Cons

Can be tricky to install remotely
Monthly subscription required

Pricing

Basic (one month) – $29.99 per month
Premium service for one month – $69.99 per month
Premium Membership for three months – $39.99 each month
A premium membership for a year – $16.66 every month

Try mSpy Now

3: uMobix

uMobix rounds out our top three with its easy installation and intuitive parental controls. Monitoring your child's iPhone is straightforward with uMobix. uMobix makes iPhone monitoring simple for parents with its combination of easy remote setup and powerful features. Within minutes you can start tracking your kid's location, viewing texts, blocking apps and filtering the web.

Key Features

- Remote GPS Tracking: Track your kid's location in real-time without them knowing. Locations history is also available.

- Screen Time Control: Limit overall screen time and block usage during certain hours or at specific locations.

- Block Apps & Websites: Select apps and entire website categories to block from your child's iPhone.

- Text Message Monitoring: Read through your kid's iMessage and SMS texts for concerning content.

Pros

Very easy to install remotely
Excellent location tracking
Intuitive parental control settings

Cons

Social media monitoring is limited
Monthly subscription required

Pricing

Complete (1 month) – $49.99 per month
Full Membership (three months) – $27.99 per month
Whole year Membership – $11.66 each month

Try uMobix Now

4: EyeZy

Next up is EyeZy, which stands out for its compatibility across many iOS versions and devices. It packs robust features into an easy-to-use app. EyeZy is an affordable and reliable iPhone monitoring solution for parents concerned about their kids' digital activities. It stands out for its broad compatibility across iPhone models and iOS versions.

Key Features

- Text Message Monitoring: Read your kid's iMessage, SMS texts, and messages from many third-party apps.

- Browser History Monitoring: View all sites and searches made on Safari or any other browser app.

- Blocking Capabilities: Block apps, games, sites, and content categories with robust filtering options.

- Location Tracking: Check in on your kid's location in real-time or view location history.

Pros

Broad iOS and device compatibility
Very reliable app and data monitoring
Affordable pricing plans

Cons

Social media monitoring is limited
Monthly subscription required

Pricing

1-Month Plan – $47.99 per month
3-Month Plan – $27.99 per month
12-Month Plan – $9.99 each month

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5: Bark

Last on our list is Bark, which excels at detecting signs of cyberbullying, depression, and other potential issues. Beyond standard monitoring features, Bark analyzes your child's iPhone activities for concerning content. What makes Bark stand out is its use of AI and machine learning to detect potential risks like cyberbullying, suicidal thoughts, drug use, and more in your child's texts and app activity. It goes beyond typical monitoring apps by alerting parents when there are signs of trouble.

Key Features

- Smart Alerts: Uses AI to detect signs of cyberbullying, depression, drug use, and other risks in texts.

- Text & Social Media Monitoring: View iMessage, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and more.

- Web Filtering: Block sites and get alerts about inappropriate content.

- Time Limits: Restrict app usage with handy time schedules and limits.

Pros

Excellent risk alert capabilities
Monitors major social media apps
Filters web content very reliably

Cons

The installation process can be tricky
Monthly subscription required

Pricing

Bark Phone – starts at $29/month
Bark Premium – starts at $14/month
Bark Home – starts at $6/month

Try Bark Now

Compare the Best Parental Control Apps:

To help you see how the top parent controls for iPhone stack up against each other, here is a detailed comparison chart:

As you can see, each app has particular strengths based on the features that matter most to you as a parent. SpyBubble stands out as the best overall thanks to its unmatched remote access, social media monitoring, and intuitive controls. But other apps also offer robust capabilities that may better suit your needs.

- How To Choose a Parental Control App for iPhone

With so many options on the market, it can be overwhelming to select the right iOS parental control app for your family's needs. Here are some tips for choosing the best parental control app for your child's iPhone:

Make a list of your top concerns - Do you want to see messages? Monitor location? Block apps? Filter the web? Identify risks. Rank these priorities.

Consider your kid's age - If your child is younger, you'll want robust filtering, location tracking and time limits. For teens, text and social media monitoring may be more important.

Look for ease of use - The app should have an intuitive interface you can use to adjust settings and view reports easily from your device.

Check reliability - Look for consistent positive feedback from current users about the accuracy and reliability of the iPhone monitoring data.

Compare pricing - Prices range from $5 to $50+ per month. Look for competitive pricing for the features you need.

Check compatibility - Make sure the app works with your child's iPhone model and current iOS version.

Consider jailbreak vs non-jailbreak - Jailbreaking allows deeper access but isn't needed for most robust monitoring features.

Following this criterion will lead you to the best parental control app for your unique needs!

- Our Final Recommendation

While any of the apps in our top five list can potentially be the right choice, we recommend SpyBubble as the best parental control app for iPhone overall. The combination of robust remote features like text message monitoring, excellent social media tracking, and easy-to-use parental controls makes SpyBubble our top choice. With SpyBubble, you get peace of mind knowing you can easily monitor your kids on iPhone and iOS while protecting them from digital dangers.

To recap, here's why SpyBubble is the best:

- Remotely access your child's iPhone activities from any web browser
- View iMessages, texts, calls, social media and browsing history
- Set time limits, schedule restrictions, app blocks and web filters
- Track location in real-time from anywhere
- Intuitive online dashboard with insightful reports
- Works non-jailbroken iPhones and iPads
- Excellent customer support

So download SpyBubble today for full iOS monitoring and parental control without the hassle or learning curve! With the digital dangers facing kids today, the best parental control apps like SpyBubble for iPhone have never been more useful for my peace of mind.

 

(Note: This article is written by the Brand Desk.)