Online Safety for Kids: 12 Parental Control Apps Parents Can Try

Managing screen time and keeping children safer online can be easier with the right parental control app. These tools can help parents set limits, filter content, monitor activity, manage apps, and in some cases keep track of a child's location.

We compared the 12 supplied parental control apps and ranked them by available rating, using review count as the tie-breaker where ratings matched.

Quick Comparison

*Canopy's available rating data comes from its current third-party App Store aggregation because the main Android listing now points users toward the companion Canopy Shield app. The supplied Canopy app should therefore be treated separately from Canopy Shield.

1. Parental Control App- FamiSafe

FamiSafe gives parents tools for managing children's screen time, monitoring digital habits, filtering inappropriate content, controlling app usage, and tracking location. It is designed as a broad family safety solution.

Best for: Screen time & family safety   |   Standout: Screen limits, app controls, content filtering, location tracking, and activity monitoring.

Download & View DetailsInstalls5M+Rating4.40★Reviews16.1K+

2. Bark - Parental Controls

Bark focuses on digital safety by monitoring supported messages, email, YouTube, social platforms, and other online activity for potentially concerning content. Parents receive alerts when something may need their attention.

Best for: Content monitoring & alerts   |   Standout: Content alerts, screen time management, website filtering, and online activity monitoring.

Download & View DetailsInstalls1M+Rating3.90★Reviews11.6K+

3. iWawa - Parental Control

iWawa helps parents manage children's tablets and phones by controlling how long devices can be used and which apps are available. Parents can also customize the child's desktop with selected apps and themes.

Best for: Kids' devices & app control   |   Standout: Time limits, app selection, kid-friendly desktops, and device management.

Download & View DetailsInstalls10M+Rating3.60★Reviews9.86K+

4. Qustodio Parental Control App

Qustodio combines screen time limits, app blocking, web filtering, activity reports, and family location features. Parents can set schedules and manage connected devices from a central dashboard.

Best for: Screen time & family monitoring   |   Standout: Screen limits, app blocking, web filters, reports, and GPS location.

Download & View DetailsInstalls5M+Rating3.60★Reviews24K+

5. Teen Time - Parental Control

Teen Time was designed around managing children's screen time, games, apps, and location. The app is no longer available through Google Play, so availability should be checked before choosing it for a current family setup.

Best for: Teen screen time management   |   Standout: Screen limits, app blocking, location tools, and parental controls.

Download & View DetailsInstalls100K+Rating3.64★Reviews1.77K+

6. Safe Lagoon Parental Control

Safe Lagoon provides screen time limits, schedules for bedtime and school, app and website rules, and location features. It also offers optional monitoring and alerts designed to identify potentially risky activity.

Best for: Screen time & content controls   |   Standout: Time limits, schedules, web filtering, location, and activity alerts.

Download & View DetailsInstalls500K+Rating3.30★Reviews5.91K+

7. Norton Family Parental Control

Norton Family helps parents supervise websites and online content while setting limits for children's internet use. Its tools are designed to encourage healthier online habits across home, school, and everyday use.

Best for: Web supervision & screen limits   |   Standout: Website monitoring, content blocking, and internet schedules.

Download & View DetailsInstalls1M+Rating3.20★Reviews26.7K+

8. Screen Time - Parental Control

Screen Time focuses on helping parents understand and manage children's device use. Parents can monitor app usage, set time limits, block content, and use location features where supported.

Best for: Screen time & app usage   |   Standout: Usage monitoring, time limits, content blocking, and location tracking.

Download & View DetailsInstalls1M+Rating3.00★Reviews49.4K+

9. Parental Control FamilyTime

FamilyTime gives parents tools for managing screen time, blocking apps and games, setting schedules, monitoring activity, and tracking family locations. It is designed around managing multiple aspects of a child's device use.

Best for: Screen time & family tracking   |   Standout: App limits, schedules, location tracking, and activity monitoring.

Download & View DetailsInstalls1M+Rating2.80★Reviews12.2K+

10. Bitdefender Parental Control

Bitdefender Parental Control combines content filtering, internet time management, location tracking, routines, rewards, and safe-search controls. Parents can manage children's devices through the Bitdefender ecosystem.

Best for: Content filtering & online safety   |   Standout: Content filters, routines, location, safe search, and internet controls.

Download & View DetailsInstalls100K+Rating2.40★Reviews1.22K+

11. Circle Parental Controls App

Circle provides tools for setting screen time limits and web filters while adding features such as pause, history, rewards, and bedtime controls. Parents can customize controls according to their family's preferences.

Best for: Screen time & Wi-Fi controls   |   Standout: Filters, schedules, pause controls, history, rewards, and bedtime settings.

Download & View DetailsInstalls100K+Rating2.20★Reviews2.17K+

12. Canopy - Parental Control App

Canopy focuses heavily on online safety, using content filtering to help prevent exposure to inappropriate material. It also offers screen time management, website and app controls, location awareness, and alerts.

Best for: Content filtering & screen time   |   Standout: AI-assisted filtering, website controls, screen time, app management, and location awareness.

Download & View DetailsInstalls100K+Rating4.00★Reviews445+

Which Parental Control App Should You Try?

FamiSafe ranks highest among the directly verified Google Play listings in this group, combining screen-time controls, app management, content filtering, and location features. Bark is another strong option for parents who want alerts about potentially concerning online activity.

For simpler device management, iWawa focuses on children's tablets and app access, while Qustodio offers a broader combination of screen-time, web-filtering, app-control, reporting, and location tools. Families should also check device compatibility and current feature availability before choosing a parental control service.