Remotely Locking a Kids' Smart Phone--Does That Exist

[umsami]

So, DS1 may be getting a new smart phone for his bday.  He's had an old un-updatable iPhone 4 for about six months now.  Problem is, he can't update the IOS to make most of the apps out there work.  He has some apps his teachers use too, so it's time to update.

 

I've had some issues with him, though, not turning off his iPhone at night, etc.  Our router is supposed to block access, but somehow there's a glitch, and he can still watch youtube videos late into the night.

 

Do any Android or Apple phones let you remotely lock a phone? I know I can lock/erase his phone with my Apple iCloud/find my Iphone thing, but I don't want that.  Rather I want some sort of parental lock which overrides his password if that makes sense.

[Guest]

I think there is a way, but the most secure, simple answer is to have the charging cables in your room so he has to plug it in away from his space every night.

Edited August 15, 2016 by Arctic Mama

[Um_2_4]

Android phones can using the app Qustodio.

Qustodio works on iphones, but has limitations and I recall that the time constraints is one thing that may not work on iphones.

Edited August 15, 2016 by Um_2_4

[catz]

We have a charging station in the main area of our house.  All phones are checked in there at night.  If I find a phone (or iPad) in a bedroom at night, it's mine for a week.

[Kim in Appalachia]

I know Verizon is selling a service that allows you to have control over your kids' phones, and I think there is something with ATT that allows some sort of parental control on the phone itself.  

 

Cutting him off with your router is not the best idea, since then he can stream and do stuff using your data, which could get expensive.

 

But I prefer the low tech option. If he can't stay off it when you say he should, it gets charged in your room.  

[redsquirrel]

It's not a 'glitch'. He's using data to stream youtube videos.  He can do anything he wants on a smartphone without needing wireless.  Turning off the router does nothing to limit his access.  That is what a smart phone does.If you only what him using wireless data then you need to get him an Ipod.  An Ipod only works when there is wireless. So DS1 has a phone that works anywhere, DS2 has an Ipod that only works at home or on another wireless system.

 

If you don't want him using it at night then take it away. He plugs it in elsewhere and that is that.  Get him a nice alarm clock if that is what he uses his phone for in the morning.

[LucyStoner]

Low tech here. All devices get placed into a charging basket away from their room at night.

[zoobie]

Circle by Disney is a device that attaches to your wifi router. Parents can control the settings, time, access, and see where kids are spending time online. We got it on amazon prime day, and it's working well so far.

[catz]

It's not a 'glitch'. He's using data to stream youtube videos.  He can do anything he wants on a smartphone without needing wireless.  Turning off the router does nothing to limit his access.  That is what a smart phone does.If you only what him using wireless data then you need to get him an Ipod.  An Ipod only works when there is wireless. So DS1 has a phone that works anywhere, DS2 has an Ipod that only works at home or on another wireless system.

 

If you don't want him using it at night then take it away. He plugs it in elsewhere and that is that.  Get him a nice alarm clock if that is what he uses his phone for in the morning.

 

There are phone options where the smart phone capabilities ONLY run on wireless.  All 4 of us have phones from Republic Wireless with unlimited voice and texting, and no data plan.  So it is possible to get a phone that does not use data.  I don't know if other companies have these types of plans or not, but it is possible.  We only pay $10 a month per phone.

[sassenach]

We also have them charge in our room. You cannot control a smart phone's access via wifi alone. They have data.

 

You could set up parental controls and turn off youtube/safari access altogether.

[Guest]

I wish we had done the "all phones in the kitchen after 10pm" plan.  It helps train discipline, as well as removing access.  

 

AT&T has a plan that lets you monitor/control one phone for $5 a month, all phones for $20 a month.  You can set it up to limit the number of texts and phone calls from each person, if that is an issue, and to allow texts from and to particular people, and set the times.  You can set it up to turn off data at specific times of day or night for that phone and you see which user on your plan is using how much data.  You can turn off data for the rest of the billing period if a person goes over their fair share.  

 

If you don't put the phones in the kitchen or whatever, and just turn off your router, the user can still stream over your data plan (yikes) or can use the data plan to connect to one of the public providers, which saves your data spending but still doesn't get the user off the late-night videos.  

[redsquirrel]

There are phone options where the smart phone capabilities ONLY run on wireless.  All 4 of us have phones from Republic Wireless with unlimited voice and texting, and no data plan.  So it is possible to get a phone that does not use data.  I don't know if other companies have these types of plans or not, but it is possible.  We only pay $10 a month per phone.

 

Yes, lots of parents give their kid an old smart phone without the data plan, essentially turning it into an ipod.  But the important thing is that she realize that it isn't a 'glitch' that is allowing her son to access youtube without the router, but the way the phone works. It's like thinking you can take away someone's bicycle by taking off the bell, that isn't what keeps them from riding it.

 

My son's ipod allows for texting and email on wireless and we pay nothing for it, aside from our wireless plan. I am guessing there is a way to get voice as well, but he's never looked into it. In order do use voice you have to speak into headphones. I see teens doing it all the time. It's nothing I would want to do, but it is free!

Edited August 15, 2016 by redsquirrel

[Janeway]

I do it all the time. I just use the lock phone from the find my iPhone app. Or you might call it "lost mode." Just don't give your child the passcode.

[ktgrok]

Check with your phone plan. We have TMobile and there are family controls. We can turn off the data, or the wifi, or the texting ability, or whatever, whenever we want. If we lock it down we can have a list of people he can still call, like me and his Dad, but no one else. 

[zimom]

Verizon has either the Family Base, or there is a new product called Disney Circle that allows you to control your internet/wifi at home and for an extra monthly fee control your kids smart phones for away from home.   I have been very happy with the Disney Circle product for home use but do not use the away from home $$ feature (the home feature does not use a $$ subscription fee).

[Daria]

I saw an app the other day where you could remotely block a kid's phone.  The only number they can call is you, until they enter the passcode you just entered.  So, essentially, their phone stops working until they call mom.

 

I don't know what the app was called.

[theelfqueen]

Verizon offers a parental control plan also. No apps -- it can be set to block certain numbers or only allow certain numbers, it can be set to only work to those numbers during certain times, etc.

 

[Daria]

Here's the article I read:

 

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/mom-made-app-allows-parents-to-lock-their-kids-phones-95121969584.html

[umsami]

OK...let me edit to add he doesn't have a cell phone data plan.  He uses the old iPhone only with Wifi, so he is getting around the Parental Controls on the router.  I haven't given him a data plan yet because 1) his phone is so old and so limited   and 2) not sure I trust him yet to responsibly use our family data.

Edited August 15, 2016 by umsami

[umsami]

Yes, lots of parents give their kid an old smart phone without the data plan, essentially turning it into an ipod.  But the important thing is that she realize that it isn't a 'glitch' that is allowing her son to access youtube without the router, but the way the phone works. It's like thinking you can take away someone's bicycle by taking off the bell, that isn't what keeps them from riding it.

 

My son's ipod allows for texting and email on wireless and we pay nothing for it, aside from our wireless plan. I am guessing there is a way to get voice as well, but he's never looked into it. In order do use voice you have to speak into headphones. I see teens doing it all the time. It's nothing I would want to do, but it is free!

 

Yes...this is our case.  No data plan linked up with his iPhone.  He's getting around Linksys's parental controls and a lot of people talk about it on their message boards.  It's a known glitch re: youtube. 

[redsquirrel]

unplug the router so it's not working at all? Or, again, take away electronics at bedtime.  I know lots of people have a zero electronics in bedrooms rule...even for the adults in the house.

 

Or, as someone mentioned, use find my iphone to put it into lost mode. But that seems like it's a pain. Might as well take it away if you do that. I don't think the alarms even work if that is the case.

Edited August 15, 2016 by redsquirrel

[MegP]

Try this--http://www.mmguardian.com/parental-control-for-android-smartphone

[amo_mea_filiis.]

It's not a 'glitch'. He's using data to stream youtube videos. He can do anything he wants on a smartphone without needing wireless. Turning off the router does nothing to limit his access. That is what a smart phone does.If you only what him using wireless data then you need to get him an Ipod. An Ipod only works when there is wireless.

I've found YouTube to be very hard to block. I have it blocked through my modem/router, and tried 3 free parental control programs; YouTube was still fully accessible.

 

I have SEVERAL other successfully blocked through my router, so it can't completely be user error.

[melmichigan]

Have you manually blocked youtube on his phone through parental controls?  We blocked the app, and then manually blocked all the addresses you can use with youtube.  There are quite a few.

 

Edited August 15, 2016 by melmichigan

[Spryte]

TeenSafe is an app you can download - you put it on your phone and his, and link them.

 

You can control when the phone is used and how it's used, and monitor all activity when it's used.

 

DS just got a phone, and his phone is really only for emergencies.

 

You can choose which apps to block, or you can filter the apps by age rating, or a few different options.

 

You can make the phone unusable at certain times of day.

 

And at any time you can open the app on your phone and either change any of those options or "pause" your kid's phone, making it usable for phone calls only, for emergencies.

 

I really like this app.

 

ETA: YouTube is not accessible on his phone. It's totally blocked. App is not installed, he can't install new apps, and it would be blocked by TeenSafe anyway. We only allow YouTube on the family room tv, through Apple TV, and it's password protected. That way I enter password and they get approval on their viewing, and I see it all from the kitchen.

Edited August 15, 2016 by Spryte

[MegP]

If you are looking to block content, like porn, you could try Covenant Eyes. The app I listed above does not block content.

 

ETA-My husband is telling me that the Covenant Eyes app for PHONES does not block content. Only the Covenant Eyes that you have on a laptop can block content. Sorry. .

Edited August 16, 2016 by MegP

[Scarlett]

Is this the 12 year old? I would absolutely just not allow electronics in his room. Our boys are 15/ and 16 and phones say in the kitchen charging over night. If either of them tried to get around this their phone would,live in our bedroom at night.

 

It is just too tempting if they have it in their room.

[zoobie]

I've found YouTube to be very hard to block. I have it blocked through my modem/router, and tried 3 free parental control programs; YouTube was still fully accessible.

 

I have SEVERAL other successfully blocked through my router, so it can't completely be user error.

Circle blocks YouTube. I had to change DD's settings for her to be able to look at some links I sent her. :)

[freesia]

All devices --kindle fires, I-pods-- come for a sleep over in our bedroom. Even our "most compliant" child can not resist the siren call of electronics .

Edited August 16, 2016 by freesia

[Josh Osborne]

I've found that true security for homeschool kids on smartphones and tablets is super hard.

 

We make our kids use their Internet connected devices in the main room of our home so everyone can see what's going on. We also have time limits and filtering set on our Wi-Fi.

 

The most important thing is that you have an open relationship with your kids. If your children feel they will be in huge trouble for confessing a slip up they've had, you're going to have difficulties. My daughters aren't perfect but they know that any questions they have will be answered openly and honestly by Mom and Dad. No reason to sneak around trying to satisfy their curiosities online.

 

You can't "nerf the world" for your kids but you can teach them good character and have a loving but consistent relationship with them....there is no substitute for that. Eventually they will be on there own and you won't always be there to filter their life choices.