Published on: August 16, 2022 Updated 10 times since publishing
- 🥇 Qustodio . Blocks potentially concerning websites and apps, monitors your kid’s SMS & calls — as well as their Instagram, WhatsApp, and LINE chats, sets time limits for specific apps, tracks your kid’s location in real-time, and has a dedicated YouTube monitoring feature, a panic button, and uninstall protection. Qustodio provides a great free plan and affordable paid plans, and it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
I tested many parental control apps to determine the best ones for Android. But it wasn’t easy — most are missing important features or are too easy to disable or bypass, and some don’t have the best privacy policies.
The parental control apps I’ve listed are good for Android phones and tablets. They can block a variety of inappropriate or dangerous sites, stop your kid from accessing specific apps, and track their location in real-time, while some can even monitor their texts, calls, and social media chats. Plus, they’re impossible for your child to delete from their Android.
My top choice is Qustodio — it has super intuitive Android apps with impressive features for monitoring and controlling all online activities and screen time.
Quick Summary of the Best Parental Control Apps for Android
🥇 1. Qustodio — Best Parental Control App for Android in 2026
Qustodio is the best parental control app for Android in 2026 — it has all the parental control features you’ll need to ensure your child is safe online (and offline), including:
- Web & app filtering — choose which websites (on Google Chrome and Firefox) and apps your child can access on their Android. You can also block any browser that Qustodio doesn’t monitor, so your kid can’t get around your restrictions.
- Screen time management — limit the amount of time your child is allowed to use their device each day.
- Social media monitoring — monitors WhatsApp, Instagram, and LINE chats for potential risks and sends you alerts with context.
- YouTube monitoring — view YouTube search and watch history.
- Location tracking — find out where your child is and where they’ve been.
- Call and SMS monitoring — monitor your child’s text messages and call history and block any phone numbers.
- Panic button — allows your child to send a distress signal to approved contacts.
- Activity reports — view what your child has been doing on their device, including search history, app usage, screen time, and more.
I like that Qustodio can set daily limits for overall device use and specific apps on Android. For example, you can allow 8 hours of total screen time, restrict YouTube to 1 hour, and cap Snapchat at 30 minutes, giving you full control over your child’s digital habits.
Its Routine feature lets you control what your kid can access on their Android at different times of the day. It includes preset modes like Entertainment (full access to apps and games), Focus (disconnects from the internet), and Study (only allows educational sites). You can also create custom schedules to block social media during school hours, while keeping calls and texts open for emergencies.
Qustodio tracks your child’s location in real time and keeps a location history. There’s an option to set geofenced zones of up to 200 meters (0.12 miles) and receive alerts when they enter or leave them. However, a larger geofencing range and more frequent location updates would be a great improvement, especially since Norton Family allows zones up to 3,200 meters (2 miles).
Qustodio makes it really hard to get around restrictions or uninstall the app. To get rid of the app on their Android, your kid needs your login credentials, and you’ll get a notification if your child tries to remove the app from their Android. Also, your kid can’t just connect to another network or change the time on their phone to bypass your rules — Qustodio tracks your child’s device on any network and syncs its time-based restrictions with its servers.
Qustodio has a good but limited free plan and 2 premium plans. Its free plan only includes web filtering and screen time management for a single device. Its Basic plan ($4.37 / month) adds location tracking and games and app blocking for 5 devices, while the Complete plan ($8.04 / month) includes all features for unlimited devices. All plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
Qustodio is the best parental control app for Android in 2026. It has excellent web & app filtering, screen time limits, location tracking, YouTube monitoring, social media monitoring, in-depth activity reports, and it makes it pretty hard to bypass its restrictions on Android. Qustodio has a pretty good but limited free plan, and it also offers 3 annual plans that allow 5 or unlimited simultaneous connections. Qustodio backs all of its paid plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
🥈 2. Norton Family — Great Web & App Filtering on Android Devices
Norton Family is able to block all Android apps, and its web filter lets you block websites based on 45+ site categories on Android’s built-in browser, Chrome, and the Norton Family browser. Both the app and web filters worked perfectly in all my tests, and I especially like how you can change the web filtering rules as you please.
I’m a big fan of Norton Family’s location tracking. In addition to showing your child’s real-time location and setting geofencing zones up to 2 miles (3,200 meters), it lets you schedule location alerts and request check-ins, so you know they’re safe without constantly tracking them.
Norton Family lets you set total screen time limits on Android, but you can’t set time limits for specific Android apps. However, it allows your child to request more screen time directly from the Android app. This is something that Qustodio doesn’t offer.
Norton Family monitors YouTube searches and videos on Android, like Qustodio, but only in specific browsers — the default browser, Chrome, and Norton Family’s in-app browser. It doesn’t track activity in the YouTube app, but you can block it to limit access.
Norton Family stops kids from removing your restrictions on Android by asking for a password. Similar to Qustodio, it lets you know if it detects any tampering attempts and enforces time limits through its servers, so your kid won’t be able to circumvent time limits by changing device time settings.
Norton Family has a really affordable plan that’s just $49.99 / year, and you can even get it for free with Norton’s 360 Deluxe internet security package — it’s one of the best antivirus programs to use in 2026, and it also comes with a virtual private network (VPN), a password manager, dark web monitoring, and lots more, for just $49.99 / year*. All of Norton’s paid plans come with a 60-day money-back guarantee, which gives you plenty of time to decide if this parental control app is best for your family.
Bottom Line:
Norton Family has great app and web filtering, provides excellent location tracking, and allows you to set total screen time limits. It can monitor your child’s YouTube search history and the videos they watch, but only in specific browsers, which is somewhat inconvenient. Norton Family is available as a standalone purchase or as part of Norton 360 Deluxe. All plans include a generous 60-day money-back guarantee.
Read our full Norton Family review
🥉 3. Bark — Great for Monitoring Teenagers & Social Media
Bark’s great for parents of teenagers who don’t require close scrutiny. It monitors texts, call history, emails, and 30+ apps and social media platforms and sends you alerts when it detects potential concerns. The alert includes the piece of content that triggered the alert, plus a small part of the chat that led to it for context — but you can’t read entire conversations, like with SMS Qustodio’s text monitoring.
Bark automatically monitors some social media apps like Instagram and Snapchat, so you’ll get instant alerts as soon as you set up the parental control app. However, for most other apps, you can easily connect your child’s accounts by entering their login details in the parent app or letting them log in privately from their device.
Bark lets you block internet access for a wide range of Android apps and offers flexible scheduling. However, it can’t block offline apps or set limits on total device use or specific apps.
That said, you can create custom schedules for each day of the week. For example, you can allow social media only an hour before bed or limit access to everything but educational sites during homework time.
Bark offers real-time location tracking and lets you set geofence areas up to 0.12 miles or 200 meters. If that’s too invasive, the app allows you to just request a check-in from your child, which they’ll have to approve on their child app to share their location with you.
Bark has uninstall protection for Android, so your kid will need a device code that’s sent to you to remove it from their device. Also, your kid won’t be able to get around your restrictions by changing the device’s time and zone.
Bark has only 1 plan, Bark Premium, which costs $14.00 / month. It monitors an unlimited number of devices and accounts, but there’s no money-back guarantee — you only get a 7-day free trial.
Bottom Line:
Bark monitors your teen’s social media accounts, texts, and emails and alerts you of any potential concerns. Since it encourages trust, it only shows you the concerning piece of content. It includes scheduling and real-time location tracking, too. It monitors an unlimited number of devices, but there’s no money-back guarantee.
4. FamiSafe — Great for Parents of Teens Who Drive
FamiSafe provides detailed driving reports on your teen’s habits, tracking sudden braking, speeding, and traffic rule violations via the Android app. You can also set alerts to receive notifications whenever they drive dangerously (over a certain speed limit).
When your kid isn’t behind the wheel, FamiSafe monitors 10+ social apps on Android, including Instagram, Discord, and Snapchat. It alerts you if your child encounters inappropriate words and lets you add custom keywords for alerts. It also tracks YouTube and TikTok activity, notifying you if your child interacts with inappropriate content. For TikTok, you can even see their full watch history.
It also monitors calls and messages — you can see who your child is talking to and how long they’re on the phone, block contacts, and read all text messages. Plus, its screen viewer tool takes screenshots at set intervals, letting you see full conversations and any images they view on apps like Snapchat.
FamiSafe lets you block Android apps individually or by category, which is great for making sure your kid isn’t playing games you don’t want them to on their phone or tablet. It filters web content, too, on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Brave, and Edge — however, some sites still slipped through in my tests, which is why I prefer Qustodio.
If you also want control over your child’s screen time, FamiSafe lets you set different limits for each day and specific apps. Once time is up, your child can request more, and you decide whether to approve it.
Finally, your kid won’t be able to uninstall the FamiSafe app from their Android and remove your restrictions without your password.
FamiSafe offers 3 paid plans starting at $4.99 / month. Its monthly plan allows you to monitor 5 devices, its quarterly plan covers 10 devices, and the annual plan lets you monitor an unlimited number of devices. FamiSafe offers a 7-day money-back guarantee on all its plans.
Bottom Line:
FamiSafe offers a unique driving safety monitoring feature. It can give you detailed alerts about how safe your child is driving and alert you if they’re excessively speeding. FamiSafe comes with social media, text, and call monitoring, too. All of FamiSafe’s plans include a 7-day money-back guarantee.
5. Mobicip — Great for Setting Custom Schedules on Android
Mobicip is an excellent option for creating custom schedules for your child’s online activities. You can create different web and app filters for specific days and times to block distractions, like games during school, and only allow them to use apps like Zoom when they’re talking to their tutor.
Beyond scheduling, the Android app has Vacation Mode and Family Time. Vacation Mode lets you set rules that are more lenient when your children for a set amount of days, and Family Time allows you to pause all device features for a certain amount of time.
I like how Mobicip lets you block specific apps from the Google Play Store, so your kid can’t download them. Plus, it blocks specific apps and restricts access to apps by 3 pre-defined categories (Social Media, Entertainment, and Games). For web content control, you can blacklist and whitelist 15+ content categories, but this is a lot fewer than Norton Family‘s 45+ categories.
Mobicip monitors Facebook and Snapchat, and it alerts you about anything that’s inappropriate in your child’s social media texts or images. I still prefer Bark, since it works with 30+ social media platforms.
The app comes with uninstall protection, meaning your kid will need your account credentials to remove the app from their Android to get around any of your restrictions.
Mobicip has 3 plans that are backed by a 7-day money-back guarantee. The Lite ($2.99 / month) and Standard ($4.99 / month) plans include device monitoring for 5 and 10 devices, respectively, while the Premium plan ($7.99 / month) allows up to 20 devices and adds features like social media monitoring. Mobicip also has a limited free plan, which monitors up to 2 devices.
Bottom Line:
Mobicip offers great customizability in terms of scheduling and time limits, which is great for parents who want to limit their kids’ time online to develop healthy screen habits. The Android app has great web filtering, very good app filtering, and good social monitoring. Mobicip comes with a 7-day money-back guarantee. There’s also a very limited free plan that only lets you monitor 2 devices.
6. mSpy — Great Supervision Tools on Android
mSpy is ideal for closely supervising your children’s online activities on any Android device. The app lets you view shared images, read messages and emails, and monitor conversations across a wide range of social media apps. You can also view bookmarked sites and track their browsing history.
mSpy’s screen recorder takes screenshots in Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Instagram, and WhatsApp whenever something changes — for example, when they send or receive a new message — and send it to you. It also has a keylogger that records everything your child types in messages or browser searches. If you want less invasive social media monitoring, I suggest Bark.
I was impressed to see that mSpy offers web filtering, but I’m not a huge fan, because it requires manual input for blacklisted websites. Apps like Qustodio let you filter content by categories, which is much more convenient.
One significant drawback is the need to jailbreak or root the child’s phone to access many of mSpy’s features. mySpy also doesn’t let you set daily limits or track how long your child uses their phone.
It’s very hard to uninstall, even for a tech-savvy child. With mSpy, you can hide the app from your kid’s device and monitor their Android activities without their knowledge. If you choose to hide it, mSpy won’t leave an app icon or send any alerts.
mSpy monitors 1 Android device on the Premium plan ($11.67 / month), which includes all features, and on the Android Extreme plan ($33.99 / month), which adds remote camera and microphone access and the ability to record your kid’s calls. You can monitor up to 3 devices on the Family Kit plan ($34.00 / month). Unfortunately, none of its plans are backed by a money-back guarantee, a free plan, or a free trial.
Bottom Line:
mSpy tracks all of your child’s online activity on Android. Its screen recorder captures screenshots of conversations on popular apps like Facebook Messenger and Snapchat, and its keylogger records everything they type. With the Android Extreme plan, you can even access their phone’s camera and microphone remotely. But mSpy doesn’t offer a free plan, free trial, or money-back guarantee.
7. Kaspersky Safe Kids — Good App Filtering on Android
Kaspersky Safe Kids is currently unavailable from the Google Play Store, but you can download it from other app stores (like Samsung’s Galaxy Store or Huawei’s AppGallery) or get the .apk file on Kaspersky’s site. Please also note that you can’t purchase this parental control app from the US, as the US government has banned the sale of all Kaspersky products.
Kaspersky Safe Kids gives you full control over your kid’s apps on Android. You can block and whitelist 15+ app categories (like Games), restrict access to apps based on public age-appropriate ratings, and manually block and whitelist apps. You can also set time limits for individual apps. If an important app or website gets blocked by mistake, your child can request access.
I like that you can allow certain apps to bypass daily time limits, so your child can still use Google Meet for a lesson or chat with their tutor even after reaching their screen time cap. If your kid spends too much time on their device, you can set custom downtimes to block phone access at different times on different days.
It also has good web filtering on Android, which works on Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. You can filter content by 10+ predefined site categories, including Video Games, Profanity, and Violence, and choose whether you want the app to block the content or just want your kid to know about it. However, it offers fewer categories to choose from than Norton Family (45+) and Qustodio’s (25+).
Kaspersky Safe Kids requires parental login credentials to remove the app on Android, so your kid won’t be able to secretly get rid of it and the set restrictions.
Kaspersky Safe Kids’ subscription costs $28.30 / year and is backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can get a free 1-year subscription if you get the Kaspersky Premium plan, which includes one of the top antivirus programs. Whichever you choose, you’ll be able to monitor unlimited devices, which is great for large families.
Bottom Line:
Kaspersky Safe Kids provides advanced app filtering for parents who want more control over their kid’s online activities. It has great web content and app filtering, customizable time limits, and the option for kids to request access to blocked apps or sites. Kaspersky Safe Kids has an affordable paid plan that comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read our full Kaspersky Safe Kids review
8. Eyezy — Good for Monitoring Your Kids’ Texts & Emails
Eyezy allows you to monitor your kids’ email and texts on Android, as well as their messaging apps and all incoming and outgoing calls. It also tracks browsing history, photos, videos, and installed apps on Android through its Files Finder. You can even see available Wi-Fi networks, and block ones that look suspicious!
Like mSpy, Eyezy has a screen recorder that snapshots your kid’s activity on messaging apps like Snapchat, and it has a keylogger that tracks and records your children’s keystrokes.
Eyezy also requires jailbreaking your kid’s Android phone to use some of the features it offers, which isn’t safe, and it requires some technical knowledge. Another downside is that it takes a while for all the changes you’ve made in the parent app to take effect, which is a shame since most parental control apps apply all changes immediately.
While Eyezy doesn’t come with uninstall protection, it completely hides the app from your kid’s Android, so they won’t be able to find it to delete it.
Eyezy offers 3 plans that monitor Android devices: Premium, Ultra, and Family Kit. Premium starts at $7.99 / month and includes all the main parental control features, and Ultra starts at $19.99 / month and adds remote and microphone access. Family Kit costs $57.13 / month and is the only one that monitors more than 1 device (it covers 3). Eyezy has no free trial or a money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
Eyezy offers good monitoring options that give you full access to everything your kid is doing on their Android. You can view their browser history, photos, videos, and apps, and read the conversations they have on several social media apps. All of Eyezy’s plans monitor Android devices, but there’s no money-back guarantee.
9. Aura — Great App & Time Control on Android (US Only)
Aura allows you granular control over your kid’s app usage and time spent on specific apps. For example, you can set an overall 5-hour daily time, but only let your kid use video apps for 1 hour and set a 2-hour time limit for the YouTube app. You can even set time limits for specific sites.
I also found it very convenient how it shows you a list of all the apps your kid has installed (and pre-installed) on their Android device and lets you block each one by toggling a switch next to it.
In terms of website filtering on Android, Aura blocks 25+ website categories, including dating and gaming websites. It even blocks some VPNs, so your kid won’t be able to get around your restrictions.
I think it’s great that Aura shows you a list of blocked apps and blocked websites your kid tried to access. But, I prefer Qustodio’s activity reports as they offer a lot more detail, such as how much time your kid spent on specific apps and sites and their web searches.
However, there’s no uninstall protection. Your kid can simply delete the app as any other Android app — you’ll get a notification, but nothing is stopping them from bypassing all restrictions until you re-link their Android to your device.
Aura’s parental controls start at $8.33 / month, and this is because they’re only available as part of the Family plan, which comes with its antivirus and VPN. Still, this is a great plan, backed by a 60-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
Aura offers great app filtering and screen time features for parents in the US. The app makes it super easy to block any app on your kid’s Android, allows you to create custom time limits for specific app categories, in addition to your kid’s overall screen time, and its web filtering works as advertised. The parental controls are only available on the Family plan, which comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee.
Quick Comparison Table
Testing Methodology: Comparison & Ranking Criteria
I used our tried-and-true testing methodology to ensure these are the best parental control apps for Android. I tested each app in different real-life scenarios to assess functionality and overall value. Here are the testing criteria I used to pick and rank these parental control apps:
- I looked for apps with standard parental control functionalities. The apps I recommend can set time restrictions on Android, block apps and websites, and monitor your child’s location.
- I searched for additional features. High-quality parental control apps offer features beyond basic monitoring. For example, Qustodio includes YouTube monitoring, social media monitoring, SMS tracking, and a panic button. Some parental control apps I recommend also give you full access to your kid’s Android, including photos, videos, and their conversations on social media.
- I tested for ease of use. All the apps on this list have easy-to-use interfaces or web-based dashboards for Android that make managing your child’s online activities straightforward, even for less tech-savvy users. Plus, the parental control apps that include an app for your kid are also very intuitive and suitable for small children as well.
- I checked for uninstall & bypassing protection. Most of the apps on my list require parental credentials or a device code to remove the app from your kid’s Android. Also, they monitor your kid’s Android device regardless of the networks and use their own servers to determine time spent, so your kid won’t be able to simply change the time settings to get around time limits.
- I selected apps that deliver good value. The apps I recommend cover all requirements you may need as a family, including a sufficient number of devices. Qustodio and Bark stand out as they both allow you to monitor an unlimited number of devices.
Top Brands That Didn’t Make the Cut
- Google Family Link. Google Family Link is a free parental control app for Android and Chromebook, but it only works until your kid turns 13 and is too basic — its web filtering is limited, and the screen time limits and location tracking don’t work nearly as well as the top parental control apps for Android in 2026.
- KidLogger. KidLogger is an easy-to-use app for Android that allows you to monitor your child’s browser history and messages, but it doesn’t let you set screen time limits.
- AirDroid. AirDroid provides pretty good app filtering, screen time management, and location tracking features, but it doesn’t include web filtering to keep your children from visiting mature or concerning websites on their Android device.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best parental control app for Android?
In my opinion, Qustodio is the best parental control app for Android in 2026 — it has excellent web and app filtering, screen time management, location tracking, and in-depth activity reports. It also includes useful extras like YouTube monitoring and social media monitoring for Instagram, WhatsApp, and LINE.
Are there free parental control apps for Android?
Yes, there are free parental control apps, but they’re usually pretty limited. Free parental control apps might not have the features you need to effectively monitor your child’s Android device, and they could also sell your data to third parties.
I always recommend using a premium parental control app like Qustodio that includes all industry-standard features as well as extra features like YouTube monitoring, social media monitoring, and a panic button.
Can my child uninstall parental control apps from their Android device?
Most parental control apps prevent your kids from uninstalling the app — for example, top parental control apps like Qustodio have uninstall protections that require your account password in order to delete the app on Android.
How do I delete a parental control app on Android?
To delete a parental control app on Android, find the app in the menu, hold, and then tap “Uninstall.” You’ll then be asked to confirm the action with the parental credentials or a device code sent to the parent’s device.
Depending on the app, you might also have to go to “Security” in the settings menu, select “Device Administrators,” and uncheck the app (at this point, you may again have to enter the parental credentials). This step is crucial because some parental control apps require administrative access to function properly, and you won’t be able to uninstall them without disabling this access first.
Will my child know I’m monitoring their Android device?
Very likely, yes, and I think that’s a good thing — having open conversations with your child about how to be safe online is the only way to make sure they grow up with healthy online habits. Not many parental control apps will be able to monitor your child’s Android device in total secret, so it’s probably best to talk to them about why monitoring their device is necessary.
If you insist on hiding your monitoring, apps like mSpy and Eyezy have Stealth Mode, which removes the app icon and makes sure no notification pops up on your kid’s Android.