Bark is different from most parental control apps — it encourages parents to talk with their children about how to stay safe online and relies more on trust than spying. It monitors a child’s device and alerts the parents of a wide range of potential issues, BUT it doesn’t allow parents to actively track their child’s online activity. This can be great for parents with teenagers or children who have a basic understanding of online safety. As someone with younger children, though, it would be nice to see Bark function more like its competitors and give parents the option of knowing exactly what their children are doing online.
Bark monitors texts, photos, and videos on your child’s device, and it stands out from the crowd by allowing you to monitor 30+ social media platforms and apps at the account level. All you have to do is connect your child’s social media accounts with Bark and you’ll get alerts when the app detects anything risky or problematic. Bark also has easy-to-use apps, great customer support, and allows monitoring an unlimited number of devices, which is not something many parental control apps offer.
That said, Bark definitely has a few drawbacks when compared to the competition — it only lets you view activity that triggers an alert, it doesn’t track how long children are using certain apps (so you can’t set time limits for particular apps), it doesn’t allow you to see your child’s device location without requesting a check-in, it’s pretty easy to disable or work around some of its features, and it’s only available in the US, Australia, Guam, and South Africa.
Bark provides monthly and yearly plans starting at £3.94 / month. All plans come with a 7-day free trial, but Bark doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee like all of the top competitors.
| 🏅 Overall Rank | Ranked 3rd from 15 parental controls |
| 🖥️ Web & App Filtering | ✅ |
| ⏲️ Time Limits | ✅ |
| 📍 Location Tracking | ✅ |
| 💸 Starting Price | £3.94 / month |
| 📀 Supported Operating Systems | iOS, Android, Chromebook, Amazon Fire, Windows, macOS |
| 📱 Number of Devices | Unlimited |
| 🎁 Free Plan | ❌ |
| 💰 Money-Back Guarantee | ❌ |
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Bark Full Review
I spent weeks researching and testing Bark to see how it compares to the top parental control apps on the market in 2023. I installed it on my child’s phone to get “natural” test results, as well as on my Android device for more sensitive tests I didn’t want to do on my child’s device.
Bark has advanced technology to monitor 30+ social media platforms at the account level and alert parents about a wide range of concerning behaviors. Bark also has other parental control features like website and app filtering, scheduling, location tracking, and activity reports, but because Bark encourages trust, some of these features aren’t as functional as competitors like Qustodio or Norton Family.
Bark also has easy-to-use native apps for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Amazon Fire, and Chromebooks, and it has browser extensions for Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
BarkFeatures
Bark has the following industry-standard parental control features:
- Website and app filtering — Allows you to block children from accessing certain websites and also prevent them from using certain apps by disabling internet access to them.
- Scheduling— Lets you allow or disallow certain apps at different times of the day, like during school hours or at bedtime.
- Location tracking— Lets you know where your child’s device is located. Bark only lets you do this by request, and it requires your child’s cooperation. Competitors like Qustodio and Net Nannyallow you to view your child’s location at any time.
- Activity reports— Bark gives you general insights about your child’s activity over time. It provides a lot of information like top contacts, recently installed apps, and vague information about the overall mood of their conversations (whether they are having more positive or negative conversations).
Content Monitoring
Bark monitors text messages, emails, photos, videos, and 30+ social media platforms and apps.Instead of using a list of keywords to filter content, Bark uses machine-learning algorithms to scan for 15+ categories of potential issues like anxiety, bullying, weapons, drugs, and more.
The Bark for Kids app automatically monitors Chrome and Edge browsers, as well as a number of social media apps like TikTok, Kik, Skype, Discord, and even Snapchat.You can then monitor additional appsor social media platformsby either logging into your child’s account from the parent dashboard or allowing your child to log in from their own device. This lets you monitor their account while retaining trust by not requiring them to give you their password so you can see everything they’re doing.
However, Bark only shows you text messages or other content when a potential issue is detected. Bark will not allow you to view all of your child’s communications in real-time.This can be good if you want to give your child as much privacy as possible while ensuring they’re safe, but competitors like Qustodio will allow you to view all of your child’s text messages at any time.
| Bark Can Detect: | |
| Anxiety | ✅ |
| Body Image/Eating Related | ✅ |
| Bullying | ✅ |
| Change in Account Activity | ✅ |
| Dangerous Organizations | ✅ |
| Depression | ✅ |
| Drug/Alcohol Related | ✅ |
| Hate Speech | ✅ |
| Inappropriate Behavior/Content | ✅ |
| Medically Concerning Content | ✅ |
| Profanity | ✅ |
| Public Profile | ✅ |
| Risky Site/App Usage | ✅ |
| Self Harm or Suicidal Content | ✅ |
| Sexual Content | ✅ |
| Violence | ✅ |
| Weapons | ✅ |
I like that Bark can detect when your child switches or creates an alternative account. This helps prevent your child from creating a secret profile to circumvent Bark’s monitoring. In addition, I think it’s great that any app or platform you’re monitoring on the account level will be monitored regardless of what device your child is using (so long as they’re still using their own account). Finally, if your child starts using an app that Bark is able to monitor but still isn’t monitoring, it will send you an alert and allow you to connect the account (or allow your child to connect it) to enable monitoring.
Bark lets you adjust the sensitivity of its monitoring algorithm by letting you turn alerts on or off for each category of potential issues and for each child.This lets you give leniency to older or more mature children to browse freely when it comes to certain things like profanity without receiving alerts, while ensuring you’re still notified each time a younger child encounters a potential issue.
To test how sensitive the alert system is, I didn’t change any settings and instead allowed Bark to alert me of all potential issues — and it performed great. I received alerts any time a curse word appeared on the screen while browsing the internet, and I was also alerted any time a banner ad on a website was related to any potential issues like alcohol or gambling references (this led to dozens of alerts that I had to sort through and mark as reviewed). On this highest sensitivity level, Bark gave me a few false positive alerts — I even got an alert about violence because an email I received had a sentence about donating to a charity for war victims.
I also tested Bark’s text message monitoring by having a family member send me a threatening message. Bark sent me an alert 20 minutes later that included the text of the relevant message.
During my tests, Bark was also able to detect and alert me of concerning photos and videos — I took a photo of one of my kitchen knives, and Bark sent an alert about violence and showed me the picture.I also had a 15-second video of a tiny mouse trapped under a piece of furniture on my phone and Bark sent an alert about bullying. I consider this a false positive because I’m not sure what a trapped mouse has to do with bullying, but it’s nice to know Bark’s machine learning is able to monitor the videos my child might record with their phone and alert me if it thinks something is wrong.Bark also detected photos and videos that were downloaded from the web, and it sent an alert to my dashboard when I downloaded an image of a gun.
Bark is able to monitor apps other parental control providers can’t, like Spotify, making it perfect for parents who want to monitor the types of music their children are listening to.I connected my personal Spotify account to get an idea of the types of alerts it would give me and I was blown away. Bark not only alerted me when a song contained profanity or references to mature topics, but it also scraped the internet to find me the full lyrics of the song and linked me to Spotify so I could listen to it myself.
While Bark can scan content at any time on Android, it can’t do the same on iOS. It’s only able to monitor text messages, photos, and videos by manually scanning the device each time it’s connected to the same network as a desktop device with the Bark for Parents app installed and running. This means monitoring these files on iOS is only possible while your children are at home where the desktop app can scan their device, which can be really inconvenient.
Another issue is that you can circumvent Bark’s browser monitoring by downloading the Brave browser.Bark never alerted me that Brave had been installed, and I was able to freely browse the web without triggering any alerts on the parent dashboard.
Overall, Bark’s content monitoring feature is pretty good — it can monitor activity across 30+ apps and social media platforms for 15+ potential issues like anxiety, drugs, violence, and more. It’s able to monitor these platforms at the account level, so activity on the account will be monitored regardless of what device your child is using. It can also monitor the photos and videos taken with or downloaded to your child’s device. That said, Bark’s monitoring of browser activity can be circumvented by using a browser Bark can’t detect.
Website & App Filtering
Bark’s website and app filtering can block web access to websites and mobile apps — it uses a virtual private network (VPN)to route all internet activity on your child’s device through an encrypted server, allowing connections to some websites and apps while blocking others.
You can use default settings or create 3 alternative rule sets (free time, school hours, and bedtime) and automatically enforce different rule sets during different times of the day, manually switch your child to a different rule set, or completely pause the internet on their device at any time. Changing which apps are allowed is incredibly easy, and it simply requires toggling each app/website on or off.
Bark can block or allow internet access to many websites and apps like social media, streaming services, and games. It can also require safe search to be enabled when using search engines like Google, DuckDuckGo, and Bing, and it can require restricted mode to be turned on when using YouTube.
| Bark Can Block: | |
| YouTube | ✅ |
| ✅ | |
| TikTok | ✅ |
| Netflix | ✅ |
| ✅ | |
| Discord | ✅ |
| ✅ | |
| ✅ | |
| Telegram | ❌ |
| Snapchat | ✅ |
Bark also lets you create lists of custom exceptions to either allow certain websites or apps that get blocked by its VPN, or block certain content if Bark’s algorithm isn’t picking it up. This is also really easy, and all you have to do is add URLs to your lists of exceptions/exclusions.
Bark did a really good job during my tests — after installing the Bark Kids app to my own Android phone, I tried to visit 10+ adult and online casino websites. Bark blocked every one of them and sent alerts to my dashboard that one of my “children” had attempted to visit this type of website. Unfortunately, when Bark alerts you about a blocked website, it doesn’t give you an option to immediately whitelist it from within an alert page, and you’ll need to manually go into the app settings and add the URL to the list of allowed websites.
One major drawback is that Bark’s VPN is incredibly easy to disable — I was able to easily turn off the VPN on my child’s Android device in just 4–5 quick taps. If your child can read or knows how to use their phone, they can easily bypass Bark’s ability to block websites and apps. I reached out to customer service about this issue and was told that there was nothing I could do about it because phone manufacturers prevent VPN settings from being locked in. Despite this, Qustodio and Net Nannycan both block your child from accessing the settings menu on Android.
Another big drawback with Bark is that it can’t block offline apps.The app filtering features offered by Qustodio and Net Nanny allow you to completely block apps by placing an overlay on the screen when it’s accessed. Bark is only able to block internet access to mobile apps, so it can’t block offline apps like games, video players, or the phone’s camera app.
Overall, Bark’s website and app filtering works well, but it’s not as good as top competitors’ versions — it can block your child’s device from accessing certain websites based on category or by manually adding them to a list, and it can block internet access to 30+ mobile apps. That said, Qustodio and Net Nannyare able to block far more apps from being accessed both online and offline and are much more difficult to disable than Bark.
Screen Time Management
Bark’s screen time management works by applies different web and app filtering rules to different times of the day. This lets you determine which apps and websites your child should be allowed to access during school hours, bedtime, or free time. You can create different schedules for each day, too, allowing you to restrict access to certain apps during school hours and giving more free time on the weekends.
Unfortunately, Bark doesn’t allow you to set strict time limits for specific apps(like only allowing 2 hours of YouTube per day). Top competitors like Qustodio allow you to impose strict time limits that allow your child to use a chosen app for only a set amount of time each day.
You can also change your child’s rule set at any time, or disable web access until a specific time.This came in handy when my children were misbehaving — with just 3 or 4 taps on my phone, I was able to disable the internet on their devices for a couple of hours, preventing them from watching YouTube or playing their favorite online games. It should be noted, though, that Bark can only disable the internet and can’t directly control apps, so any offline games or apps will be unaffected by these rules.
Overall, Bark’s screen time management is okay, but it could be improved — it allows you to create 3 different lists of allowed or blocked websites and apps and to choose what times each set of rules is applied. Bark doesn’t track how long your child is using each app, or even their device, so you can’t set strict time limits with Bark the way you can with Qustodio and Net Nanny.
Location Tracking
Bark lets you view your child’s current location, but only by requesting a check-in — this is because the provider encourages trust between parents and kids. This will send a notification to your child’s device, who is then expected to open the app and press the check-in button. You’ll then get an alert in your dashboard that will give you a physical address and timestamp. This can be great for parents of older children, but if your child is unresponsive or simply loses their phone, Bark can’t help locating the device.
In my tests, location tracking worked well, but it’s still not as functional as top competitors— Qustodio and Net Nannyboth allow you to instantly see the location of your child’s device at any time (on a map), without requesting them to check in.
Unfortunately, Bark doesn’t have a geo-fencing feature that allows you to mark certain boundaries on a map, but it does allow you to create a list of addresses and get an alert when your child leaves or arrives at any of them. I listed my house to test this feature and Bark always sent me an alert within 5–10 minutes any time I left or got back home.
Also, Bark’s location tracking and alerts only give information in text form, which I don’t like. When your child checks in, you’ll get a physical address, but unless you recognize that address, you’ll still have to use Google Maps or another GPS app to view it on a map.
Overall, Bark’s location tracking isn’t very good. It doesn’t allow you to see the live location of your child’s device without requesting a check-in from your child. It allows you to get alerted when your child arrives at or leaves a given address, but its geofencing and location tracking just doesn’t stand up to competitors like Qustodio and Net Nanny.
Activity Reports
Bark sends weekly activity reports to your email, but they’re incredibly vague.It gives general information about what apps your child is using most and the types of activities that were blocked or allowed.
These reports aren’t really helpful— the parent dashboard will give you much more insight into your child’s activity, but even that doesn’t report as much as top competitors like Qustodio and Net Nanny. Bark typically doesn’t share any information about your child’s activity unless it triggers an alert, and it doesn’t allow you to view your child’s browser history or complete app usage.
Overall, Bark’s weekly activity reports aren’t very useful — they give vague information about how your child is using their device, but Bark doesn’t allow you to view your child’s full browser or app history.
Bark Plans & Pricing
Starting at £3.94 / month, Bark offers 2 plans for families, Bark Jr. and Bark Premium. The only difference between Bark Jr.and Bark Premiumis that Bark Jr.doesn’t include the content monitoring feature that makes Bark stand out from its competition. Bark Jr. still includes the website and app filter, screen time management, and location tracking, and it’s much cheaper than Bark Premium.
Both plans allow you to monitor an unlimited number of devices, which is pretty uncommon with parental control apps and makes Bark perfect for large families with lots of devices to monitor. Google Family Link also allows an unlimited number of devices, but I still think Barkoffers a better value because of its powerful content monitoring.
There’s also Bark Home, which is a physical device that connects to your Wi-Fi router to monitor content, manage screen time, filter websites and apps, or even turn off the internet for any device on your home network. It also filters websites and apps and alerts you of any attempt to view sensitive content on devices not supported by the Bark apps like game consoles and smart TVs. Bark Home won’t be able to monitor devices or alert you of issues when your children leave home, but it could be a great way of letting parents set permissions for different times of the day, including rules about which apps are allowed during bedtime, without adding another recurring subscription to the budget.
Bark even offers a phone with built-in parental controls and protections. The Bark Phone is a Samsung smartphone that comes pre-installed with Bark. You can pick and choose which parental control features the phone uses from the parent dashboard, and it prevents your child from deleting text messages or downloading apps without permission, or changing any of your parental control settings. The Bark Phone starts at £38.56 / month, includes a Bark Premium membership and wireless service, and it doesn’t require a contract.
Overall, Bark’s plans are competitively priced and offer a great value — it has monthly and yearly plans for families starting at £3.94 / month, a physical device for managing devices at home for a one-time fee, and an Android smartphone with Bark built-in. All of Bark’s paid plans come with a 7-day free trial, but they don’t include a money-back guarantee.
BarkInstallation & Setup
Bark has three separate apps— the main Bark Parent app for Android and iOS is a parent’s control panel, while the Bark for Kids app monitors your child’s device and is available for Android, iOS, and Chromebooks (Chrome OS). Bark’s desktop app is only useful for setting up the Bark for Kids app for iOS.
Installing the main Bark app and the Bark for Kids app only takes a few minutes.You’ll then need to spend some time connecting each of your child’s accounts so Bark is able to monitor activity. This means setup can take anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour depending on how many accounts you would like to monitor.
The first step to set up Bark is to create a child account.
Enter your child’s name and birthday, then select any devices and apps they use. After that, Bark will guide you through installing the Bark for Kids app.
On Android, you need to download the Bark for Kids app from the provider’s site, as the app is not available on the Google Play store. Bark guides you through the whole process with step-by-step instructions.
Setting up the Bark for Kids app on iOS isn’t as straightforward, though. Because Apple doesn’t allow apps to scan internal data like texts and photos, Bark has to manually scan the phone using a desktop device with the Bark desktop app installed on it. I was unable to test this as my children and I all use Android devices, but Bark provides step-by-step instructions for this process just like it does for Android, and there are even video guides to help if you get stuck. You’ll only have to physically connect the iOS device once for the initial setup. Then, the Bark app on your desktop device will be able to scan texts, photos, and videos on the iOS device, but only when they’re both connected to the same network.
After you set up the Bark for Kids app, it will automatically start monitoring content, including text messages, photos, and videos. To monitor emails, social media, and other apps, you’ll need to log into your child’s account for each platform/app you want to monitor. Setting up each one only takes 1–2 minutes, and Bark gives you the option of logging in yourself or allowing your child to log in using their own device.
Any accounts you connect to Bark will be monitored regardless of what device your child is using,and you can use Bark to monitor activity on any of these accounts without ever installing the Bark for Kids app on your child’s device (though the rest of Bark’s features like text, photo, and video monitoring, location tracking, and website/app filtering won’t work if you don’t have the app installed).
Overall, Bark is really easy to install and set up — installing the app only takes about 1–2 minutes, but the setup time can vary depending on how many of your child’s accounts you want to connect and monitor. iOS devices require a desktop device to install Bark, but still only takes about 2–3 minutes to set up.
BarkEase of Use
All of Bark’s apps are intuitive and easy to use, but they don’t all work the same. I never experienced any bugs or glitches during my tests, but it should be noted that the Bark for Kids Android app must be downloaded from the official Bark website, not the app store. If you’re already using a parental control app like Google Family Link, you may be blocked from downloading the apk (Android Package Kit) file to install the app.
Desktop
Bark’s desktop app is required to monitor texts, photos, and videos on iOS devices (over Wi-Fi)— it’s incredibly easy to use, but that’s mostly because it doesn’t have the same functionality as the mobile and web apps. While it’s easy enough to access the control panel from a web browser, it would be more convenient to have a fully functional desktop app.
Unfortunately, Bark doesn’t have a native app for monitoring Windows and macOS devices. Anything you’re monitoring on an account level (emails, social media, etc.) will be monitored regardless of what device your child is using, but you’ll need to use Bark’s browser extension for Chrome and Edge for web filtering, and you’ll need to purchase the Bark Home physical device in order to enforce screen time or disable web access for certain apps on desktop devices. It would be nice to see Bark create an app for desktops that is capable of enforcing filtering and screen time rules like Kaspersky Safe Kids.
Also, the Bark desktop app can only scan iOS devices data manually, and will do so whenever the iOS and desktop devices are connected to the same network — after a first-time setup that requires physically connecting the iOS device to a desktop computer running the Bark app. This is because Apple restricts the amount of information that is allowed to be shared between apps on iOS devices.
Overall, Bark’s desktop app isn’t useful unless you want to monitor iOS devices — a desktop device running the Bark app is required to set up and monitor iOS devices, but Bark doesn’t have a native app for monitoring desktop devices (except Chromebooks) or a desktop app for parents. While it’s easy enough to use Bark’s web app on desktops, it would still be nice to see a fully functional desktop app for parents.
Mobile & Tablets
Bark has 2 mobile apps available for Android and iOS devices, one for parents and the other for the child’s device.It would be nice to see Bark build a single app that works for both purposes, though. Qustodio and Kaspersky Safe Kids both have a single app and allow you to choose whether it’s being used on a parent or child’s device.
The Bark app for parents is your control panel and is fully functional.It’s incredibly intuitive and makes it easy to manage your content monitoring, web filtering, and screen time settings, request a check-in, view alerts and insights about your child’s activity, and more.
The Bark for Kids mobile app will handle all of the monitoring on your child’s device, but only the Android version is able to actively scan texts, photos, and videos 24/7. If your child is using an iOS device, Bark can be monitored over Wi-Fi via the Bark desktop app.
Unfortunately, on Android, it’s possible to get around web filtering and screen time management by disabling the built-in VPN that controls those features. This is really easy to accomplish, and while Bark will alert you if this happens, it would be nice to see Bark include app removal protections like Qustodio and Net Nanny.
Bark also provides an app to monitor photos and videos on Chromebooks. I was, unfortunately, unable to test the Bark for Chromebook app, but the installation and setup follow the same method as on Android, and Bark provides step-by-step guides for getting it all set up to monitor the photos and videos saved on your child’s Chromebook.
Overall, Bark’s mobile apps are easy-to-use, but they could use some improvement — its mobile apps for parents are fully functional and intuitive, but its app for children can only monitor texts, photos, and videos 24/7 on Android devices, and it’s very easy to disable Bark’s web filtering and screen time management on Android.
Web App
Bark’s web app is your only access to the control panel on desktop devices.I really like that Bark maintains a consistent interface across all devices. Everything is clearly labeled and uncluttered, and Bark provides descriptions for nearly all of its settings.
I prefer using the web app over the mobile appwhen I’m at home simply because I have a larger screen and everything is spaced out better. Sometimes alerts can contain a lot of information, so viewing them on a smartphone can require a lot of scrolling.
Overall, I really like Bark’s web app— it’s very easy to use, navigate, and manage all of your parental control settings.
Browser Extensions
Bark offers browser extensions for Chrome and Edge. While connecting your child’s email account allows Bark to monitor their browser and search history, Bark’s browser extension takes it a step further and is able to monitor content while in incognito mode. If the browser extension is removed or stops working for any reason, Bark will send an alert to your dashboard.
Overall, Bark’s browser extensions are good, but it would be nice to see them on more browsers.
BarkCustomer Support
Bark’s customer support is pretty good overall— it provides email support, a great chatbot, video guides, and 100+ FAQ articles.
Bark’s email support is great — I submitted requests for email support at different times of the day and always received a response within 1–3 hours. I got a different representative each time but always received a knowledgeable and helpful answer.
Bark also has a chatbot that can help you find answers to many questions by providing thoroughly-written auto-responses and linking to FAQ articles for additional information. But I think it’s a shame it’s missing live chat support like Net Nanny.
In the Bark dashboard’s Discover tab, parents can find a wealth of valuable information, like how-to and educational videos, curated blog posts based on children’s ages, and even slang translations to help parents keep pace with the ever-changing language of internet-savvy children.
Bark’s FAQ page is really impressive — instead of just the basic topic coverage with brief sentences that most tech companies offer, Bark goes a step further. The FAQs answer 100+ questions with detailed articles. Some of the FAQs are full step-by-step guides that can help you get started and figure out any troubleshooting issues you may face in the app.
Bark offers an unique feature where you can schedule a one-on-one call with a representative to help set up the app. I scheduled a call via the chatbot and received a callback within hours. The representative was extremely helpful and quickly guided me through the process. This could be especially beneficial for users who aren’t tech-savvy, but I’m not a fan of Bark insisting on scheduled calls rather than having a phone support line that users can reach out to when needed.
Overall, I’m happy with Bark’s customer service— Bark has video guides, in-depth FAQ articles, a chatbot, and more. If you still need help, Bark’s email support quickly provides knowledgeable answers. I just wish the provider would also offer live chat support.
Is Bark Good & Worth the Cost in 2023?
Unlike most parental apps, Bark encourages trust and privacy over spying. It monitors texts, photos, and videos, as well as 30+ social media platforms and apps. It also has industry-standard parental control features, easy-to-use apps, and good customer support. Plus, it allows you to monitor an unlimited number of devices.
However, some of its feature a bit limited — you can only view content that’s relevant to a potential issue, you can’t set strict limits on how long your children can use particular apps, you can’t view your child’s location without requesting it, and disabling some of its features is pretty easy.
That said, a parental control app like Bark can be great for older kids who you don’t have to monitor so closely. It allows you to monitor the most severe instances of concerning behaviors without making your child feel like they don’t have any privacy.
Bark offers monthly and yearly plans starting at £3.94 / month. All plans include a 7-day free trial, but there’s no money-back guarantee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Bark be bypassed?
Yes, many of Bark’s features can be bypassed. For example, you can disable the VPN that handles Bark’s website and app filtering and screen time feature on Android. Also, during my tests, I was also able to use the Brave browser to prevent Bark from monitoring my browsing history. Bark never alerted me that Brave had been installed, and I was also never notified when I visited websites that should have triggered alerts.
If this is a deal-breaker for you, consider getting a parental app whose features are much harder for kids to disable, like Qustodio.
Can my child delete the Bark app?
Yes, it’s pretty easy to uninstall the Bark for Kids app. Bark didn’t prevent me in any way from uninstalling the app from my child’s Android device. This disabled Bark’s website and app filtering, screen time management, and monitoring of text messages, photos, and videos, but Bark kept monitoring activity on accounts I had connected through the dashboard.
I recommend using a parental control app that provides uninstall protections like Qustodio or Net Nanny.
What does Bark monitor?
Bark monitors 30+ social media services and various data on your kid’s device, including text messages, photos, and videos. It monitors your child’s activity at the account leveland will alert you of potential issues regardless of what device your child is using, even without installing the app.
Can Bark track my child’s location?
Bark allows parents to request a check-in from their child,which then requires the child to open the app and respond. You can also create a list of addresses and receive an alert any time your child arrives at or leaves one of these locations.
Bark’s location tracking doesn’t allow you to view your child’s location in real-time the way competitors like Qustodio and Net Nannydo.
What devices can Bark monitor?
Bark has monitoring apps for Android, iOS, and Chromebooks.Monitoring iOS devices works a little differently and requires a few extra steps to get set up, but Bark provides step-by-step guides to help you get started. Bark also has browser extensions for Chrome and Edge that allow you to monitor desktop devices.
Will Bark slow down my child’s device?
Any parental control or monitoring app can slow your device a bit, but it should never be significant. During my tests, I never noticed Barkslowing down my computer or my child’s devices.
