Anonymous wrote:If you use Apple products, the screen time feature within Apple is quite good. You can block specific websites. So you could block your daughter accessing Instagram from the internet browser. And of course you can control all apps and how much access they have to any you allow.

But then there is brave and duck duck go and other browsers that escape detection. It’s a tough battle. Screen time is so hackable it’s a joke. Anything from changing clock times to get more time or doing a multitask app select (Ie. Half swiping up) stops the app count and they could still watch the whole video without using any screen time etc. we have tried everything from net nanny to qustodio and they say they can’t prevent it. (We wrote to them and finally realize it is useless and cancelled the service)

In short, you have to have conversations and or battles with your teen.

They go on all platforms it’s like whack a mole. And once they installed it the first time even if you turn off and disallow install apps under screen time restrictions, they can re download it freely. Qustodio does track and notify you on the app reinstall but that’s about it.
There is also finsta Ie. Fake instas that is open to public eyes (and parents) and another one they actually use.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you block and control too much all they need is a friend with an old phone and the internet.

That sounds like a lazy parent's way of making excuses for doing nothing.

Are you suggesting a friend will give them a phone for all the time? And no one would notice? You can see what devices are connecting to your network.

And if you're suggesting they'll do it when with the friend...okay, oh well. They're still under your roof with you a hell of a lot more.

Nice try. It’s reality. See for yourself.

you can easily sign out of quistodio I recommend https://www.secureteen.com/how-it-works
it works for IG, Snapchat, etc, you'll never have full control but this gets you close enough

Anonymous wrote:Snapchat parental control lol

Snapchat is designed to evade parents.

It’s negligent parenting to let your kid use it. Same with TikTok.

There is zero sure-fire way to control app and phone use short of taking it away.

I f***ing hate Snapchat!!!

I didn't understand it and didn't know how to monitor it at first (and still there is no good way.)
But I noticed my 13 year old's mood start declining and going into a dark place, I took her phone one night and started going through apps.
I opened Snapchat and found several random boys/men sent dick pics and more to my kid! I was horrified. God knows what else was there before then. Anyway, we sat down with her and deleted Snapchat and other crap from her phone and have been doing damage control for the next year.

Bump. Any recommendations for overall parental control apps?

Anonymous wrote:If you block and control too much all they need is a friend with an old phone and the internet.

That sounds like a lazy parent's way of making excuses for doing nothing.

Are you suggesting a friend will give them a phone for all the time? And no one would notice? You can see what devices are connecting to your network.

And if you're suggesting they'll do it when with the friend...okay, oh well. They're still under your roof with you a hell of a lot more.

If you block and control too much all they need is a friend with an old phone and the internet.

If you use Apple products, the screen time feature within Apple is quite good. You can block specific websites. So you could block your daughter accessing Instagram from the internet browser. And of course you can control all apps and how much access they have to any you allow.

Thank you. Can someone recommend an overall parental control better than Qustodio which allows us to manage screen time, restrict certain websites and possibly view search history?

Snapchat parental control lol

It’s either they have it and you have zero control ( which sounds like you’d freak out about) or they do t have the app.

No. There is no way to monitor Snapchat. Only one user on at a time. If you sign on it will kick your kid off. If you open their snaps or screenshot, they will know.

You could create a Snapchat account and add your kid as a friend to see what they post on their story but they can block you from seeing it and probably have 3-4 private stories you can’t see.

How does Snapchat parental control work? Can I only activate/access it on my teen’s phone or can I do this on my phone without a third party app? I like how I can do family pairing on Tik Tok to control settings. Is this how Snapchat works? DH handles the parental control for DD’s phone but he’s not very good at it. He can’t seem to view her history and only controls amount of screen time.

I’m thinking of taking this responsibility away from DH to put tighter controls out there. For example, DD can’t download the Instagram app but she uses the internet browser on her phone to access. Can you also recommend a better parental control? DH uses Qustodio.