Parental Controls on Phone

[ChristmasKoala]

I currently use Google's Family Link app to monitor my daughter's phone use - set time limits on apps, turn the phone off at bedtime and track her location as she has a habit of going completely off route. However she's found so many loopholes in the app it's pointless in having it. Can anyone please recommend which apps they use?

@ChristmasKoala did you ever get an answer to this? I am in the same boat

@AlicesPalace Unfortunately not! All the apps seem to have loopholes or the ability for the child to uninstall them 🙄

this isn't 100% what you're asking about, but i got so frustrated with internet safety apps for computers (not phones) that i literally built my own parental controls app. that's a bit absurd, but i mention it because i can relate to how difficult this is for parents. i've found it difficult, and i'm a computer programmer by trade -- i often wonder how non-techy parents manage it at all!

it's not for everyone, but if you use mac computers, and want to err on the side of being really strict and careful, after about 2 years of using my own app myself and only sharing it with friends, i made it available - https://gertrude.app

i've tried to put a bunch of other useful info on the site too, including a really detailed guide for locking down an iphone. i spent several weeks trying to exhaustively document how to do that really well.

i often think that the number one bit of advice i want to give parents on this subject is that there is no one single, easy technological solution. you need to mentally prepare for the fact that it's going to take a chunk of your time on a regular basis, and probably some money to do a good job protecting your kids. it's a responsibility no other generation of parents have had, but it's ours, and we've got to take it seriously.