Parental control app – unGlue is the topmost and popular app with more than 10,000+ installations with 2.5 / 5.0 star average rating on Google playstore. It is available to download for FREE on mobile platforms. Whereas, for the Desktop platform, the app is not developed. Officially there is no way we can install this app on PC.
Set Content & Privacy Restrictions
Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
Tap Continue, then choose 'This is My [Device]' or 'This is My Child's [Device].'
If you're the parent or guardian of your device and want to prevent another family member from changing your settings, tap Use Screen Time Passcode to create a passcode, then re-enter the passcode to confirm. In iOS 13.4 and later, after you confirm your passcode you'll be asked to enter your Apple ID and password. This can be used to reset your Screen Time passcode if you forget it.
If you're setting up Screen Time on your child's device, follow the prompts until you get to Parent Passcode and enter a passcode. Re-enter the passcode to confirm. In iOS 13.4 and later, after you confirm your passcode you'll be asked to enter your Apple ID and password. This can be used to reset your Screen Time passcode if you forget it.
Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions. If asked, enter your passcode, then turn on Content & Privacy.
Make sure to choose a passcode that's different from the passcode you use to unlock your device. To change or turn off the passcode on your child's device, tap Settings > Screen Time > [your child's name]. Then tap Change Screen Time Passcode or Turn Off Screen Time Passcode, and authenticate the change with Face ID, Touch ID, or your device passcode.
In addition to a browser, children may also spend a lot of time on Mac apps such as social media apps and game apps. Parental control Mac software should enable parents to block or limit app usage on Mac. A good Parental Control Mac app should be easy to install, set up and customize. Good software is supposed to make things easy.
The Ultimate Guide to Mac Parental Controls. Unlike many PCs, which rely on web-based controls, Apple has delivered a smart suite of parental controls on Mac, built directly into the operating system. These let you control the apps and websites your children view, who they interact with online, and even their amount of daily screen time.
If you forgot your Screen Time passcode, update your device to the latest iOS or iPadOS then reset your passcode. If you can’t update your device, erase it and set it up as new to remove the passcode and choose a new one. Restoring your device from a backup won't remove your passcode.
Learn more about using Family Sharing with Screen Time.
Prevent iTunes & App Store purchases
You can also prevent your child from being able to install or delete apps, make in-app purchases, and more. To prevent iTunes & App Store purchases or downloads:
Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions. If asked, enter your passcode.
Tap iTunes & App Store Purchases.
Choose a setting and set to Don't Allow.
You can also change your password settings for additional purchases from the iTunes & App Store or Book Store. Follow steps 1-3, then choose Always Require or Don't Require.
Allow built-in apps and features
You can restrict the use of built-in apps or features. If you turn off an app or feature, it won’t delete it, it’s just temporarily hidden from your Home screen. For example, if you turn off Mail, the Mail app won't appear on your Home Screen until you turn it back on.
To change your Allowed Apps:
Go to Settings > Screen Time.
Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
Enter your Screen Time passcode.
Tap Allowed Apps.
Select the apps that you want to allow.
Prevent explicit content and content ratings
Parental Controls For Internet
You can also prevent the playback of music with explicit content and movies or TV shows with specific ratings. Apps also have ratings that can be configured using content restrictions.
To restrict explicit content and content ratings:
Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions, then tap Content Restrictions.
Choose the settings you want for each feature or setting under Allowed Store Content.
Here are the types of content that you can restrict:
Ratings For: Select the country or region in the ratings section to automatically apply the appropriate content ratings for that region
Music, Podcasts & News: Prevent the playback of music, music videos, podcasts, and news containing explicit content
Music Videos: Prevent finding and viewing music videos
Music Profiles: Prevent sharing what you're listening to with friends and seeing what they're listening to
Movies: Prevent movies with specific ratings
TV shows: Prevent TV shows with specific ratings
Books: Prevent content with specific ratings
Apps: Prevent apps with specific ratings
Prevent web content
iOS can automatically filter website content to limit access to adult content in Safari and apps on your device. You can also add specific websites to an approved or blocked list, or you can limit access to only approved websites. Follow these steps:
Go to Settings > Screen Time.
Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions and enter your Screen Time passcode.
Tap Content Restrictions, then tap Web Content.
Choose Unrestricted Access, Limit Adult Websites, or Allowed Websites Only.
Depending on the access you allow, you might need to add information, like the website that you want to restrict.
Restrict Siri web search
To restrict Siri features:
Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions, then tap Content Restrictions.
Scroll down to Siri, then choose your settings.
You can restrict these Siri features:
Web Search Content: Prevent Siri from searching the web when you ask a question
Explicit Language: Prevent Siri from displaying explicit language
Restrict Game Center
To restrict Game Center features:
Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions, then tap Content Restrictions.
Scroll down to Game Center, then choose your settings.
You can restrict these Game Center features:
Multiplayer Games: Prevent the ability to play multiplayer games
Adding Friends: Prevent the ability to add friends to Game Center
Screen Recording: Prevent the ability to capture the screen and sound
Allow changes to privacy settings
The privacy settings on your device give you control over which apps have access to information stored on your device or the hardware features. For example, you can allow a social-networking app to request access to use the camera, which allows you to take and upload pictures.
To allow changes to privacy settings:
Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions. If asked, enter your passcode.
Tap Privacy, then choose the settings you want to restrict.
Here are the things you can restrict:
Location Services: Lock the settings to allow apps and websites to use location
Contacts: Prevent apps from accessing your Contacts
Calendars: Prevent apps from accessing your Calendar
Reminders: Prevent apps from accessing your Reminders
Photos: Prevent apps from requesting access to your photos
Share My Location: Lock the settings for location sharing in Messages and Find My Friends
Bluetooth sharing: Prevent devices and apps from sharing data through Bluetooth
Microphone: Prevent apps from requesting access to your microphone
Speech Recognition: Prevent apps from accessing Speech Recognition or Dictation
Advertising: Prevent changes to advertising settings
Media & Apple Music: Prevent apps from accessing your photos, videos, or music library
Allow changes to other settings and features
You can allow changes to other settings and features, the same way you can allow changes to privacy settings.
Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions. If asked, enter your passcode.
Under Allow Changes, select the features or settings you want to allow changes to and choose Allow or Don't Allow.
Here are some features and settings you can allow changes for:
Passcode Changes: Prevent changes to your passcode
Account Changes: Prevent changes to settings for Accounts & Passwords
Cellular Data Changes: Prevent changes to cellular data settings
Volume Limit: Prevent changes to volume settings for safe listening
Do Not Disturb While Driving: Prevent changes to Do Not Disturb While Driving
TV Provider: Prevent changes to TV provider settings
Background App Activities: Prevent changes to whether or not apps run in the background
Learn more
Set up Family Sharing with up to six people to share content, as well as request and make purchases with Ask to Buy.
You can also use Restrictions on your Mac or PC and Apple TV.
Learn how to prevent in-app Purchases or change the credit card that you use in the iTunes Store.
See how to view and limit your child or teen's Apple Cash activity.
Businesses and schools often use profiles, which can turn on Restrictions. To find out if your device has a profile, go to Settings > General > Profiles. Contact your administrator or the person who set up the profile for more information.
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.
Parental Control Mac App Download
Price: $39.95 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
#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.
Preview app not working on mac. Price: $49.99 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
#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.
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
#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.
Price: $ 9.99 /month 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
#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.
Price: $49.99 / year for 5 devices Download
#9. PureSight Parental Control Software
Parental Control App For Mac
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. Cartoon creator app mac. 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
#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
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.
You may want to take a peek at:
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.