Updated on: May 1, 2024
Short on time? Here’s the best parental control app for Chromebook in 2024:
- 🥇 Qustodio: Excellent web and app filtering, easy time management, and real-time location tracking. With extras like YouTube monitoring and uninstall protection, plans are reasonably priced and all come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Knowing that my child is safe and protected while navigating the digital world is crucial for my peace of mind. With Chromebooks widely used in education, I made it my mission to find the best compatible parental control apps.
However, it’s important to understand how ChromeOS operates before choosing a parental control app. ChromeOS uses sandboxing — isolating every app in its own virtual environment to enhance security. This means that a parental control app won’t ever have full visibility or control over what’s happening on a Chromebook. Sandboxing is a super robust security measure, but it limits the functionality of parental controls.
Google Family Link offers a free parental control solution for Chromebook users — it provides essential features like web and app filtering. However, web filtering will only work while using the Chrome browser, and there are missing features that most other parental control apps have, like geofencing and location alerts.
After extensive research and testing I’ve made a list of parental control apps that provide really good web and app monitoring, ease of use, and affordability while offering either complete or limited compatibility with Chromebook. These apps will give you the tools to monitor your child’s online activities and help to ensure their safety in the digital world.
My top pick is Qustodio — it has comprehensive web monitoring and filtering, as well as excellent screen time management and a user-friendly interface.
Quick summary of the best parental controls for Chromebook:
- 1.🥇 Qustodio — Best overall parental control app for Chromebook with tons of powerful monitoring tools.
- 2.🥈 Bark — Excellent parental control app that takes a less invasive approach (good for teenagers).
- 3.🥉 Mobicip — Good parental control app for Chromebook with very flexible screen time scheduling.
- 4. Norton Family — Strong web supervision for Chromebooks with a unique screen time limit tool.
- 5. Eyezy — Surveillance app for monitoring your kid’s online activities on Chromebook.
🥇 1. Qustodio — Best Overall Parental Controls for Chromebook
Qustodio is the best parental control app for Chromebooks in 2024. Equipped with an array of features, this app goes beyond just offering protection — it helps parents instill healthy habits in their children’s digital lives.
The app’s web filtering feature is impressive, working efficiently across all popular web browsers with the Qustodio extension installed. Even when I had a virtual private network (VPN) turned on, Qustodio prevented access to blocked sites. This means it’s nearly impossible for children to bypass these controls — unless they uninstall the browser extension. However, when I tried this on my kid’s Chromebook, I was promptly alerted that tampering had been detected.
Qustodio offers really good app and screen time management, too. I was able to set daily or weekly limits and even control my kid’s usage for specific apps. This is a vital feature for me, as it ensures my child’s screen time stays within a sensible limit.
The platform’s YouTube monitoring is another plus, allowing you to keep an eye on your child’s activity on the platform, tracking their YouTube searches, and providing comprehensive details about the videos they’ve viewed (including the thumbnail images and channel names).
Qustodio’s location tracking feature works on Chromebooks when your kids are online, allowing you to see where the device was last used. It’s useful to track where your child has been while using the Chromebook, but it’s essential to note that it won’t notify you when they enter or leave specific zones, as they may be offline while moving.
For Android devices, however, Qustodio provides a pretty good geofencing feature with a range of 200 meters (650 feet). It lets you mark specific zones like school or a friend’s house and notifies you when your child enters or leaves these zones. Though there might be a slight delay in notifications, it’s not such a big deal. Alongside this, the Android version also includes SMS and call monitoring, a panic button for emergencies, and precise location tracking (our favorite location tracking feature in 2024) which is updated every 5–10 minutes.
One of the hallmarks of Qustodio is its user-friendly interface. All its features are easy to locate, understand, and use, making it a perfect choice for parents who have never used a parental control app before.
Qustodio offers a good free plan with web filtering and screen time management for 1 device. The Basic plan costs $54.95 / year, covers 5 devices, and gets you location tracking and app blocking. The Complete plan gives you all these features on unlimited devices for $99.95 / year.
Bottom Line:
Qustodio is a feature-rich, highly customizable, and easy-to-use parental control app that works well on Chromebooks. With advanced features like web filtering, screen time management, and location tracking, it provides an all-round protective shield for children. Additionally, it offers a free trial, a 30-day money-back guarantee, and a free plan with basic features.
🥈 2. Bark — Parental Controls That Gives Teenagers Some Room
Bark is another good parental control app for Chromebooks. It’s unique in that it focuses on trust and open conversation rather than heavy monitoring. This makes Bark a smart choice for parents of teenagers who appreciate some level of online autonomy.
Bark adopts a different approach than most other parental control apps. Instead of hovering over every move your teenager makes online, Bark only alerts you when there’s something you really need to see. After you’ve linked it to your child’s Chromebook, it can monitor the Gmail account your child uses on the device, their Google Drive, pictures, videos, web browsing, and activity on more than 30 popular social media apps. You can also create lists of websites you want to always allow and those you want to block.
With its clever use of machine learning, Bark can sift through content, picking up on anything that’s not quite right — whether it’s violent, explicit, or just inappropriate content. What’s great about Bark is that you can tailor the monitoring sensitivity for each child. This allows more freedom for older kids in areas like profanity, while still being alerted for potential concerns with younger ones.
Bark does let you block certain apps and sites. However, the thing that really caught my attention is its ability to customize rules according to the time of day — perfect if you want to block social media apps during school time but allow a few hours of TikTok and Facebook after dinner.
While Bark’s focus is on trust and communication, some parents might still wish for a bit more control. Offering optional features like detailed screen time management or real-time location tracking could cater to those needs and would allow for closer monitoring without contradicting Bark’s philosophy. For example, while Bark already includes live check-in requests, integrating more advanced location options similar to what Qustodio offers would provide that extra reassurance for parents who want it.
Bark’s subscription options offer a choice of 2 plans — Bark Premium costs $14.00 / month and gives you access to all the features, while Bark Jr. costs $49.00 / year but doesn’t have content monitoring, making it a bit of a hard sell for most parents. That said, one major perk of Bark is that you can install the app on an unlimited number of devices with either plan. And don’t forget that both plans come with a 7-day free trial.
Bark also offers another product — Bark Home — that is worth mentioning. For $6.00 / month, you get a small device that connects to your router. It allows you to manage the internet traffic on all the devices in your house, including smart TVs, Chromebooks, and gaming consoles, which is pretty cool!
Bottom Line:
With Bark you won’t see every single thing your kid does online. But Bark will keep a watchful eye out for any potential risks and notify you when you need to step in. It’s a balanced, user-friendly solution for parents who are guiding their teenagers through the digital world. The lack of a money-back guarantee is a bit disappointing, but being able to cover unlimited devices more than makes up for it.
🥉 3. Mobicip — Most Flexibility With Screen Time Scheduling
Mobicip earns its place on my list with its highly customizable scheduling feature — a game-changer for parents wanting to tailor their child’s screen time on a Chromebook.
Mobicip allows you to establish detailed web and app filters for particular times and days. There’s also the app’s Vacation Mode and Family Mode, giving parents the flexibility to adjust controls for special occasions or temporarily lock devices.
I like that Mobicip’s web filtering lets you blacklist and whitelist specific sites. It provides 15+ content categories for filtering — a bit less than competitors like Qustodio — but the ability to set custom filters based on specific keywords helps bridge this gap.
Mobicip has decent app filtering capability, too. It allows you to restrict apps by 3 predefined categories — Social Media, Entertainment, and Games. You can also block specific apps from being downloaded from the Chrome Web Store.
I must mention Mobicip’s social media monitoring. It keeps an eye on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat for potential red flags related to bullying, sex, violence, drugs, and even self-harm. If something pops up, you’re immediately notified with a snippet of the concerning content — allowing you to gauge if there’s a need for intervention. While this is a great feature, it doesn’t quite match up to Bark’s expansive reach across 30+ platforms or its ability to detect a broader range of issues.
Mobicip’s plans offer good value for money, with the paid plans starting from $2.99 / month. The Premium plan costs $7.99 / month and covers up to 20 devices with additional features like social media monitoring. There’s also a 7-day money-back guarantee and a limited free plan for monitoring a single device.
Bottom Line:
Mobicip is a strong contender among Chromebook parental control tools. With its friendly approach to scheduling and app filtering, attentive social media monitoring, and handy location tracking, it’s a wise pick for many parents. It’s certainly worth a closer look if you’re in the market for a balanced blend of control and convenience.
4. Norton Family — Best Unofficial Parental Control for Chromebook
Norton’s parental control tool isn’t officially supported on Chromebooks, but it honestly worked quite well in my tests. I was able to track my kid’s internet usage using the Chrome web extension and see their location in real-time while they were using their Chromebook.
Norton’s Web Supervision works really well — it allows parents to monitor and limit website access in over 45 predefined categories, tailored for different age groups. It’s compatible with popular browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Edge via extensions, and it efficiently blocks restricted sites. It also gave me the ability to generate detailed activity reports on my child’s web usage.
What also stands out is Norton Family’s precise location tracking. Not only does it provide timely updates, but it also has a geofencing feature, allowing parents to set up zones spanning up to 2 miles or 3,200 meters — a distance notably more generous than some competitors. This extended range offers more flexibility and control for parents.
The Time Supervision feature is really intuitive, too, allowing parents to set specific screen times for their kids. There’s also a unique “School Time” function, which restricts web usage during school hours, ensuring that learning remains the primary focus.
Norton Family works great on Android and iOS phones. Given that you can install it on multiple devices, I still got to benefit from web filtering, location tracking and screen time management when my kid was on their phone rather than their Chromebook. However, I wish there was a dedicated Chromebook app or official support like Qustodio offers.
Norton Family costs $49.99 / year and covers unlimited devices — perfect for larger families. It’s also part of the Norton 360 Deluxe plan ($49.99 / year*), which includes Norton’s excellent antivirus, a secure VPN, a password manager, and much more.
Bottom Line:
Norton Family is a formidable parental control tool, even without official Chromebook support. Its comprehensive web supervision, combined with excellent location tracking, gives parents peace of mind. Its unlimited device support and inclusion in the Norton 360 Deluxe internet security suite make it a top choice, especially for families with lots of devices.
Read the full Norton Family review
5. Eyezy — Monitor Kids’ Web Usage Without Them Knowing
Eyezy, while also not officially supported for Chromebooks, offers a monitoring solution through its Chrome extension — though it’s limited to the Chrome browser, and it’s more of a surveillance tool than a traditional parental control app.
Web filtering and monitoring works via the Chrome extension. It allows parents to block specific websites and gain insights into their child’s entire browsing history. However, the platform requires manual configuration as it lacks predefined website categories, a feature present in many competitors, including Qustodio and Norton Family.
Additionally, there’s a notable delay in the application of web blocks, taking up to 15 minutes for restrictions to reflect on a child’s device. On the other hand, I like how parents can access a comprehensive log of visited URLs, although this could be overwhelming due to the sheer volume of data and the absence of immediate alerts for suspicious sites.
If your child also uses an Android or iOS device, Eyezy is worth considering if you want to know exactly what they do there. It goes beyond typical monitoring, providing deep insights into text messages, conversations across several messaging apps, and even capturing every keystroke made on the device. Beyond just communication, Eyezy allows parents to view all contacts, calls, photos, videos, and installed apps on the device.
Eyezy offers distinct mobile and desktop plans, each tailored for monitoring a single device. For Chromebook users, the desktop plan at $7.99 / month is more relevant, providing a suite of monitoring tools accessible via a browser. However, it’s designed for 1 device, so for families with multiple kids or devices, alternatives like Norton Family or Bark might be more suitable.
Bottom Line:
Eyezy provides in-depth web monitoring for Chromebook users through its web-based dashboard. Despite providing solid surveillance capabilities, Eyezy’s restrictions on immediate updates and its 1-device limit might lead parents to explore more flexible options.
Quick Comparison Table
How to Choose the Best Parental Controls for Chromebook in 2024
- Choose a product that’s easy to set up and use on a Chromebook. Look for user-friendly interfaces and straightforward installation processes. Brands like Qustodio stood out here for their intuitive design.
- Look for comprehensive web and app filtering capabilities for Chromebook. The ideal app should offer the capability to either block or approve specific sites, categorize content, and schedule screen time. Mobicip notably delivers with its tailored web and app filtering functionalities.
- Consider how the app monitors social media platforms. A parental control app worth its salt will monitor platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, alerting parents to inappropriate activities promptly. Bark‘s coverage of over 30+ social media platforms is a testament to its excellence in this regard.
- Pick a brand with good location tracking and geofencing. A reliable parental control app should provide spot-on location insights. Mobicip, for instance, not only tracks location but also enhances safety with its geofencing feature.
- Look at the pricing plans and the number of devices they cover. Great parental control apps should offer versatile plans accommodating diverse family dynamics without breaking the bank. Brands like Qustodio and Mobicip are prime examples, offering affordability without compromising on features.
Top Brands That Didn’t Make the Cut
- FamiSafe. FamiSafe is another good app that works on Chromebooks, but it has limitations. The web filter occasionally failed to block inappropriate content, and its screen time controls, while effective on mobile devices, are easily bypassed on Chromebooks. Additionally, while FamiSafe claims to monitor apps like TikTok and YouTube, these features didn’t prove reliable in testing.
- mSpy. While mSpy boasts powerful surveillance capabilities, it doesn’t offer compatibility with Chromebooks, making it unsuitable for my list. Its other limitations include the absence of crucial features like screen time and app usage limits, commonly found in top-tier parental control apps like Qustodio.
- Net Nanny. Net Nanny, despite its comprehensive suite of parental control features, didn’t make the list. While it shines in areas like web and app filtering, screen time management, and location tracking on other platforms, it lacks full compatibility with Chromebooks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there free parental control apps available for Chromebook?
Yes, some parental control apps, like Qustodio, do offer free plans for Chromebook. However, these often come with limited features — Qustodio’s free plan only allows monitoring of 1 device. By investing in a paid plan, you unlock additional functionalities such as app filtering, YouTube monitoring, and location tracking. This ensures more comprehensive oversight of a child’s online activities. Additionally, many premium parental control apps offer free trials or money-back guarantees, allowing parents to test the full range of features before committing to a purchase.
Can parental control apps track a child’s location?
Absolutely. Parental control apps, including Qustodio and Mobicip, offer location tracking and geofencing features. These capabilities enable parents to pinpoint their child’s real-time location and even define specific geographic zones, receiving notifications if the child enters or exits those boundaries. It’s a valuable addition that ensures safety, particularly for parents of younger children.
Is it possible to monitor social media activities with parental control apps?
Yes, several parental control apps, such as Bark, specialize in social media monitoring. Bark can scan content across 30+ platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. By keeping an eye on your child’s online interactions and flagging any concerning or inappropriate content, you can gain an added layer of security and peace of mind.
How do parental control apps for Chromebook handle web and app filtering?
Parental control apps typically allow parents to blacklist or whitelist specific sites to control web and app access on Chromebook. They can categorize content, set custom filters using keywords, and restrict access to content types like social media or games. Some, like Qustodio and Mobicip, also offer custom schedules for app usage, helping your kids to maintain balanced screen time. These nuanced features allow you to create a safe online environment that’s perfectly suited to your child’s age and individual needs.
Is it possible to implement parental controls on a Chromebook?
Configuring parental controls on a Chromebook is straightforward. Given the rising popularity of Chromebooks among school-aged children, establishing parental controls becomes essential in guiding children towards safe online behaviors. Simply go to the Play Store and download one of the apps from the list above. With Qustodio, you can monitor screen time and regulate website accessibility for multiple devices. You have the option to either manage these settings through the downloadable app or via the online platform, which is great!