Spryte Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 What do you like, and why? We used to use Teen Safe, but they have become quite pricey. I don't mind spending a bit, for the best option, but want to look at other options. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 We don't have iPhones, but the children have both iPads and Android smartphones. Here is what we do: 1) We do not allow the children to use their devices in their bedrooms. 2) We turn on parental controls provide by the cellular carrier. In our case, T-Mobile provides the following levels of "Family Controls": - No restrictions - Young Adult - Recommended for ages 17 and up - Teen - Recommended for ages 13 and up. - Child - Recommended for all ages. They have high-level descriptions of each type of filter. 3) We use OpenDNS to limit which websites our children can access when they are connected to WiFi. (This will NOT work if you have a router such as those from Apple which ONLY route IPV6 packets or routers which do not allow you to turn off IPV6.) 4) We use router settings to prevent the children from going around OpenDNS. 5) We set restrictions on the iPads and choose appropriate restrictions for each child. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted July 26, 2017 Author Share Posted July 26, 2017 (edited) We've got the above down. :) My DS has enough independence - this is an expanding area for him, and we want to scaffold him - that we have certain features we want: text and phone call monitoring, if we decide it's necessary; limits on which apps he can use at times of day; alerts when/if he leaves a particular area; tracking by location (this is more for health reasons, as we want to know if he needs help with his severe allergies); a few other things which might be nice but not completely necessary. We are looking at Family Time, right now, if anyone's used it, is love to hear about it. ETA: we have iPads, but the parental controls on those felt easier to navigate. What we've run into now is kids texting links to inappropriate YouTube videos, etc. We solved that by removing YouTube and Safari access on phone, of course, but I'd still like the ability to see what other kids are up to, via text. I'm pretty happy about how DS handled it, over all, but knowing we are monitoring things might help moving forward. DS is a young 13, amd is fine with monitoring his phone usage. Edited July 26, 2017 by Spryte 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 Restrictions on the device itself, with a code that you know and the kids do not. We use Qustodio. I have not yet tried it for iOS but as a filter, it works very well on our PCs. That plus OpenDNS makes me pretty confident that my kids aren't going to be exposed to p*rn easily. Plus, it turns the devices off at a time of my choosing so they can't stay up all night. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 Apple itself has parental controls which ask you permission to download apps from the App store. We use that plus Qustodio. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted July 26, 2017 Author Share Posted July 26, 2017 I'll check out Qostodio, too, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solascriptura Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 I'm new at this business, but I'll tell you what I do. I may be naive and if I am, please tell me so! I don't have allow Safari, restricts the apps seen and all apps need my password in order to install. My dd was fine with this because it's mom's way or no phone. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 I'm new at this business, but I'll tell you what I do. I may be naive and if I am, please tell me so! I don't have allow Safari, restricts the apps seen and all apps need my password in order to install. My dd was fine with this because it's mom's way or no phone. That should do it assuming you block the messaging app and YouTube. But doesn't that simply turn it into a regular cell phone with perhaps some games included? I prefer the children to be able to send and receive texts and use their browser features, and that is where filtering comes into play. We don't (yet) have any concern with text messaging that OP is interested in limiting. Our issue with text messaging is getting the kids to actually send some! I'm sure that will change when they leave for college, but I would prefer them to learn how to use it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macmacmoo Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 We use OurPact. We been using it for years since before they had a paid account so we are grandfathered into a free version of the $2 a month plan. I keep eyeing the premium plan. When it first came out I could not imagine paying $5 a month for parental control but there are days recently were I've debated the thought of letting apps be aviable all the time and permentatly blocking others vs an all or nothing is tempting. But then the kids do things they should and we are now screen free for a few weeks so don't have to worry about it again for a few weeks lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 (edited) When I took a look at the App Store for Qustodio, I saw 17 feedbacks and only 3.5 stars. I see that OurPact has 762 feedbacks and 4.5 stars (on iOS). Here are the pertinent links: OurPact website iOS App Store listing for OurPact Google Play Store listing for OurPact Jr. (only 2 stars) They are new (last year) on Android and it appears they are not quite all the way there, yet. Since they have a version with a zero monthly charge, I may give it a try (though I doubt it does more than I already do). P.S. DD15 is NOT pleased that I am looking at this! That's a good sign! Edited July 26, 2017 by RegGuheert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 We use OurPact. We been using it for years since before they had a paid account so we are grandfathered into a free version of the $2 a month plan. I keep eyeing the premium plan. When it first came out I could not imagine paying $5 a month for parental control but there are days recently were I've debated the thought of letting apps be aviable all the time and permentatly blocking others vs an all or nothing is tempting. But then the kids do things they should and we are now screen free for a few weeks so don't have to worry about it again for a few weeks lol. Looking at this, I see that they have a family tracker feature for both iOS and Android devices. Now that we have both of our mothers and several younger children on our devices, I think this could be very useful. I'm a bit confused about the OurPact pricing. Is that pricing per device or per family? If it is per family, it seems quite reasonable for a family the size of ours. I see that OurPact has 762 feedbacks and 4.5 stars (on iOS). Here are the pertinent links: OurPact website iOS App Store listing for OurPact Google Play Store listing for OurPact Jr. (only 2 stars) They are new (last year) on Android and it appears they are not quite all the way there, yet. I just wanted to correct a misunderstanding that I had: The OurPact Jr. app is the one which goes on the handset for control and tracking. In other words, the Android product IS full-featured, but they do not offer the parent app on Android. (BTW, it turns out that the OurPact Jr. app on iOS also has very low ratings. Apparently, children do not like the app so they give it a low rating. That's probably a good sign!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 O.K. I played with OurPact with the parent app on my iPad Air 2 and the OurPact Jr. child app on my Samsung Galaxy phone. With the free version I can establish bedtime and/or block access to everything on the phone (only five times a month for free). It all works fine as far as I can tell. FWIW, I think I could use the bedtime scheduler to block access whenever I wanted (more than five times each month). One thing I see that is not great is that the app allows you to block access to Settings in order to prevent the child from uninstalling OurPact Jr. That seems a bit like using a sledgehammer to break an egg. Such a block prevents the child from doing such things as turning on a WiFi hotspot or connecting to WiFi. As such, I guess if I want the child to be able to use these things, I would have to turn off that block and just instruct them not to uninstall it. I turned off the part that blocks settings, and it then informed me that I MUST block settings to use the tool. Sure enough, it doesn't seem to block anything if I don't block Settings. What's odd about the entire thing is that while I CAN turn off the app if settings are on, I could not find a way to uninstall it. So this is making me wonder if this will work as a "family tracking" app. Does anyone know if I need to block access to Settings just to be able to track devices? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen A Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 We recently installed "Unglue" on our kids' ipads (no phones for now). It allows to set limits on entertainment time online, has filters, reports on where kids spend time. I chose it over OurPact, b/c people were complaining that OurPact reorganized apps out of folders. Unglue seems great for what it does, BUT if the game my dd plays is not ONLINE, it doesn't count against her screentime. So I STILL have to pay attention to what she's doing on the screen... We finished the free trial, and with several upcoming vacations, I'm waiting to start the $10/month! subscription fee, and debating if I should try OurPact first. We already do the Open DNS stuff, Google safe search, know passwords, etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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