iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. They’re some of the most powerful tools ever made for learning, exploring, and staying in touch. Parents love them. Kids love them. And we’re continually designing new features to help make sure kids use them in the ways you want.
Tools that let parents know, and feel good about, what kids are doing.
You know your kids better than anyone. That’s why we’ve put a lot of thought into helping parents choose how — and how often — their kids can use their devices.
Kaspersky Safe Kids protects your children from harmful content on the internet. Also, you can limit time spent on the use of computer or games and social networks specifically. For more information about Kaspersky Safe Kids for Mac, see this article. Qustodio is honestly the best and highly recommended software. With an increase in. Kid Pix 3D is a great program for Kids and it is also fun for the young at heart too. Of course I am talking about the Mac version not the Windows version. I recommend for potential buyers to.
Keep track of your
family’s app usage.
Screen Time gives you a better understanding of the time you and your kids spend using apps, visiting websites, and on your devices overall. You can get weekly reports or see specific app usage, notifications, and device pickups.
Set limits and
exceptions.
Screen Time also lets you set the amount of time you and your kids can spend each day on specific apps and websites. You can create exceptions for specific apps, like Messages or education apps, and kids can always request more time for you to approve.
Take time away.
With Downtime, you can set a specific time, like bedtime, when apps and notifications are blocked. You can choose which apps are on and off limits.
The App Store.
A safe place for kids.
The Kids section is carefully curated to be a great space for children. And we review every app to make sure it does what it says it does. In Restrictions, you can also tap an age range and, just like that, your kids can buy or download only apps appropriate for them — including curated recommendations.
Choose which apps they can use.
If you want to, you can prevent kids from installing new apps, like social media or photo sharing — or even turn off the Safari web browser. Enable Ask to Buy, and you can approve or decline their app purchases and downloads right from your device.
Easily create app limits.
With Combined Limits, you can combine individual apps and websites, and even whole categories, into a single, easy-to-manage limit. Set a limit for a group of apps and websites, like games or your kids’ favorite streaming apps.
Decide who can talk to them.
Communication Limits let you choose who your children can communicate with throughout the day and during downtime, so you can make sure they’re always reachable.
Keep them safe on the internet.
You can set up your kids’ devices to limit adult content or open only websites that you select. You can also install special web browsers that are designed to display kid-friendly content and nothing else.
Get one more minute.
Give your kids an extra minute to wrap up what they’re doing. They’ll get a notification when they’ve reached their time limit, so they can quickly wrap up a conversation, save a file, or close a game session before their time runs out.
Make sure what they see is appropriate.
With a few taps you can keep your kids from accessing movies, TV shows, music, music videos, apps, books, or podcasts that contain things you don’t want them to see or hear.
Manage in‑app purchases.
Many apps, even free apps, allow (or encourage) purchases within the app itself. A setting in Restrictions lets you block all in‑app purchases automatically.
Find your missing device with Find My.
The Find My app combines Find My iPhone and Find My Friends into a single, easy-to-use app on Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Find My can help you locate a missing family member’s iPhone, Mac, iPad, or Apple Watch — even if it’s offline and sleeping.
Map its location.
The Find My app enables offline, Wi-Fi–enabled devices to send out Bluetooth signals that can be detected by other Apple devices in use nearby. They can then relay the detected location of your missing device to iCloud so you can locate it in the app.
Share locations with friends and family.
Easily locate friends and family members to stay coordinated and keep kids safe. Using the People tab, you can invite friends to share a location or automatically receive location-based alerts — like when your child leaves school. Parents can even manage how their kids share locations.
It’s all anonymous.
The process is anonymous and encrypted end-to-end so no one, including Apple, knows the identity of any reporting device. And because the reporting happens silently using tiny bits of data that piggyback on existing network traffic, there’s no need to worry about your battery life, your data usage, or your privacy.
Share apps, movies, music, and more.
Family Sharing lets you share the things you love with the people you love, so you don’t all have to buy the same stuff over and over. It’s simple to set up and gives everyone in your family access to shared iCloud storage.
Get everyone started with an Apple ID.
The first step to sharing is making sure each family member has an Apple ID. That way you all have your own private logins, and everyone’s info stays separate. It’s fast and easy — parents can even set one up for kids under 13.
Be one big happy, healthy family.
We’re always working on new ways for our products to be even more helpful. Here are some features everyone in your family can use to stay safe and be well.
Make teen driving safer.
No one should be distracted by the phone while driving. With Do Not Disturb While Driving, iPhone won’t interrupt you with messages, calls, or notifications until you reach your destination. In an emergency, callers can override it and get through.
Keep everyone fit.
Apple Watch offers a fun way for everyone to get fit and stay fit: Introduce a little daily competition to see who can close their Stand, Move, and Exercise rings first. And the winner is…your whole family.
Turn down the blue light at night.
Research has shown that exposure to blue light before bedtime can make it harder to fall asleep. Night Shift automatically changes the display to a warmer hue when the sun goes down.
Better sleep for better health.
Set up iPhone or iPad to tell you and your kids when it’s bedtime and wake you with customized alarms — which might save a few “time to get up” visits to their bedrooms. And you can all track your sleep over time with daily, weekly, and monthly summaries.
Reduce distractions overall.
Do Not Disturb eliminates distractions from calls and notifications for a specified period of time. It’s a great way to keep your kids from getting interrupted when they’re sleeping or doing homework. If you need to get through in an emergency, you can.
Your medical info, there when it’s needed.
On iPhone and Apple Watch, emergency personnel can quickly access a Medical ID with important information like allergies, blood type, emergency contacts, and more.
Emergency SOS.
If you need help, ask Siri to call 911 or your emergency contact. You can also enable your iPhone and Apple Watch to automatically dial emergency services with a press or a few taps.
Reach kids in an emergency.
Even if your children don’t have their iPhone at school, you can still reach them in an emergency if they’re wearing an Apple Watch with cellular.
Technology should be for everyone.
We design products for everybody, including people with disabilities. In fact, every device we make offers a wide range of innovative tools that help people of all abilities create, explore, stay in shape, and communicate.
Help first responders locate you.
Get help when you need it most. When you call 911 with your iPhone, you can automatically and securely share your location with first responders.
Your privacy comes first.
So much personal data lives on your family’s devices. That’s why we’ve designed our hardware and software to keep this information private. Touch ID and Face ID, for example, are two of the most advanced security technologies on personal devices. We’ve also made it easy for parents to set privacy controls on their kids’ devices.
Apple helps in the classroom, too.
Our commitment to families doesn’t stop at your front door. Apple devices expand what’s possible in the classroom, and apps like Classroom help teachers keep students on track. Educators have access to many of the same controls you do. And Apple doesn’t use your kids’ information to create a profile or market to them.
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.
#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
Download
Download
#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
Download
Download
#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 receive weekly/monthly reports with concise activity tracks during that period.
Price: $49.99
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Download
#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
Download
Download
#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.
Free Games For Kids For Mac
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
Download
Download
#6. FamiSafe Parental Control Software
This parental control software features all the standard tools for keeping your kids safe, such as setting time limits and blocking inappropriate content. It can also recognize and filter out potentially inappropriate images and text messages.
Further, you can monitor your child’s whereabouts using the GPS and geofencing. Block any apps and games that you don’t want your kid playing and use the Smart Schedule feature to set up different access plans. It’s an excellent choice for managing your child’s screen time and content consumption.
Facebook Messenger Kids For Mac
Price: $ 9.99 /month
Download
Download
#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
Download
Download
#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.
Khan Academy Kids For Mac
Price: $49.99 / year for 5 devices
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Download
#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 receive 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
Download
Download
#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
Download
Download
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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The founder of iGeeksBlog, Dhvanesh, is an Apple aficionado, who cannot stand even a slight innuendo about Apple products. He dons the cap of editor-in-chief to make sure that articles match the quality standard before they are published.
Best Macbook For Kids
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