Using Find My Friends
Find My Friends is an app made by Apple that hasnt received a lot of attention, mostly because there are a ton of other third-party apps that do much of the same and have become way more popular.
Plus, new features in iOS 8 pretty much make the app obsolete, but theres still a use for it for parents and their kids.
Find My Friends is a pretty simple app that allows you to see where your friends and family are at. You send them an invite and when they accept, you can start following their location and they can even send a request to follow your location as well.
This is a great app to track your childs location, as it doesnt require that they hand over their Apple account password. However, they have to give you permission in order to view their location and If at any time they dont want to be tracked, they can hide their location with a quick flip of a switch.
With that said, Find My Friends is an app that goes on the honor system and your kids have to agree that they wont pull the plug when theyre not supposed to. However, the app has some cool features that parents will love, including the ability to receive notifications when your child arrives at or leaves a specific location.
The only downside to this app is that you cant use if you dont have an iPhone, whereas with Find My iPhone you can log onto a computer to use it if you need to.
Use A Kids Monitoring Software
If you are a concerned parent, you can get help from parental control software to monitor your childrens activities. If you find out that your kids are entering risky sites or browsing irresponsible content, then you block inappropriate websites through parental control software. Kids monitoring software allows you to access your childs device as long as they are connected to the internet. With the advancement of technology, several parental control apps that are compatible with Android, iOS and Window devices are on the rise.
Is It Possible To Monitor Childs Text Messages On iPhone
As mentioned, everything is digital now and there are a number of ways to monitor your childs phone activities without them knowing. Aside from manually checking their devices, you can also use software and applications to get access to their messages and other apps. Consider this as a step to protect them, at least up to a certain age.
Nowadays, you can see reports involving sexting, drugs, and pornographic contents that can affect your childs mental state. However, you also want them to use a mobile phone to connect to them when needed. At least, do the necessary measures to track their messages whenever you are.
Also Check: How Do I Play Pool On Ios 10
How To Monitor Your Kids’ Mobile Devices
Parental control apps can help you maintain control in a variety of ways. Some of the most common types of monitoring include web content filtering, app blocking, time management, and location tracking. We dive into more detail about these top features below. Keep in mind some of the products we highlight are mobile-only solutions, meaning they cannot monitor your child’s activities on Macs or PCs. If these platforms are your greatest concern, make sure to check out our roundup of the best parental control software.
Most parental control services work similarly. You install a monitoring app on every device you want to keep tabs on and manage settings and restrictions from either a web desktop or a parent-focused mobile app. Changes you make on any devices take effect immediately. We appreciate those services that offer flexible device management.
Can I Monitor My Child’s Phone Without Installing Software
No. It is a must to install the app on your child’s phone. Worry not, some advanced apps like KidsGuard Pro can do it in a matter of five minutes. After that, your child’s phone can be monitored remotely without touching it even once.
An Array of Amazing Features
-
Keep track of the whereabouts in real time and view route history
-
Monitor all incoming, outgoing and deleted calls & SMS
-
Access social media apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, LINE, and more
-
Check specific browsing history even in ingconito mode
-
Record keystrokes on the target device and also take screenshots without knowing
Also Check: How To Remove Email Account On iPhone
How To Avoid My Child Getting Cyberbullied
In todays day and age, it is common for kids to get cyberbullied on the internet. This can ruin them psychologically and some things can even scar them for life.
Therefore, every parent needs to know a few tips to stop their child from getting cyberbullied. Here I have listed five things that you can do as a parent to make sure it never happens:
- Understand that the internet is a part of life now:
Some parents completely deny their child from using the internet just to make sure they are safe. This is the wrong strategy. This will encourage your children to use the internet in hiding.
Accept that the internet is a part of life in todays world. However, encourage them to socialize offline more than they socialize online.
- Setting up Rules:
You need to set up various rules for your kid when he is on the internet. These rules should include basic things like not talking to strangers, sharing about the people they interact with, etc.
- Restricting Certain Websites:
You need to restrict some websites for the child which you feel could lead to cyberbullying. There are so many websites aimed for children to talk to strangers. You should always restrict your childs access to such places on the internet.
- Teaching your Child to be respectful:
Making sure that your child doesnt get cyberbullied isnt enough. You also need to make sure that your child does not cyberbully anyone.
- Keeping an eye:
What Are The Best Parental Control Apps
No parental-control app is perfect, but Net Nanny consistently delivered the best mix of web filtering, location tracking and app management on both Android and iOS devices. It also works on Amazon Kindle Fire tablets, Windows, Macs and Chromebooks that support Google Play.
Kaspersky Safe Kids was a close runner-up, offering full-featured support on an unlimited number of Android and iOS devices, plus Macs and PCs. Its free tier includes web monitoring, time limits and app management, and its full-featured paid plan is just $15 per year.
Norton Family offers almost all the features a parent could want, including recently added geofencing, although its app-management abilities don’t work on iOS. Along with smartphone and tablets, it also monitors Windows PCs but not Macs.
Many antivirus products, including some from Norton and Kaspersky, have parental controls built in. To see how well those stack up against the stand-alone services, please see our overview of the best antivirus software for parents.
All these parental-control apps can see and do more on Android than on iOS, due to Apple’s tighter app restrictions and system control. If you’re really serious about keeping tabs on what your kids do online, get them Android phones.
Just be wary of any Android parental control app that you need to “sideload” on your own. There’s usually a good reason that app isn’t in the official Google Play store.
Read Also: How To Change Background Photo On iPhone
Stalking Your Kid From The Messages App
But you dont have to fire up the Find My Friends app just to see where they are. You also can check locations from within the Messages app. When you are viewing a conversation thread that includes your child, just tap the little button at the top right of the screen, and along with the rest of the info screen a map will load showing their location.
If you do this in a private conversation thread, with just one person, you will see only that persons location. If you do it in a shared thread, you will see everyone who has enabled location sharing from their own device.
Why Parents Should Not Check Their Childs Phone
In fact, it can lead to a host of unwanted consequences, like building mutual distrust between you and your children. It can backfire and encourage them to try even harder to hide risky behavior because they know youre looking for it. Yet, surveys say its quite common for parents to digitally snoop on their kids.
Recommended Reading: Can You Make iPhone Keyboard Bigger
How To Choose The Best Parental Control App For You
What you need from a parental-control service mainly depends on how old your kids are. If you’re the parent of children under 12, you absolutely want to be able to block objectionable websites, but you might also consider an app that’s available on Amazon Fire tablets.
If you’ve got teenagers, you might want to let them have a look at objectionable things online, but only if you’re aware of it. You might also want to see whom your teens are talking to in messenger apps, and to see where they are late on a Friday night. And you might want to consider a service that monitors your kids’ Windows and Mac devices as well as their smartphones.
The best parental control apps will offer, at a minimum, a website filter, location tracking, screen-time limits including a scheduler, and an app blocker that works at least on Android.
Useful extra features include geofencing, which alerts you if a child’s phone leaves a designated “safe” area like school or a relative’s house. Most of these apps let you monitor your child’s phone from a desktop computer web interface as well as your own smartphone.
A couple of these apps let you block and log the calls and texts a child makes and receives, and even read a child’s text messages, but they require extra steps to do so. But none lets you listen in on a call, because that’s illegal.
See the chart below for what each of our reviewed parental control apps offers.
Can I Access Stealth Mode
Yes, its possible to toggle Stealth Mode. After you install the app into the target phone, you can hide it so your child doesnt find out theyre being monitored. Furthermore, Neatspy doesnt consume too much battery either so your child wont find out theyre being monitored.
You may like: How to Track My Sons iPhone Without Him Knowing
Recommended Reading: Trivia Crack Imessage
Best For Seamless Home Setups
Pros
- Reliable web and time restrictions.
- Detects and implements restrictions for devices on the network quickly.
- Intuitive apps.
- Supports an unlimited number of devices.
Cons
- Lacks top features, such as geofencing and ability to fully lock device use.
- Physical device introduces some vulnerability.
Pros
- Kids can bypass desktop browsing restrictions.
- Awkward iOS configuration.
Pros
- Excellent iOS and Android app design
- Accurate and well-implemented location tracking
- App blocking and usage schedules
- Free version available
- No support for Macs and PCs
- No social media monitoring
Track Kids Web Browsing Activities
The internet has paved the way for a whole new world. As adults, we do have the ability to process what is available on the net and filter out whats not necessary however, kids might be unable to do that. Questions that linger in parents minds are: is YouTube safe for my child or what content is my child reading or watching online? With the number of online bullies and crimes perpetrated on the web, it is advisable to use an app to track internet history of your kids.
You May Like: Closing Open Apps On iPhone 11
Track My Childs Phone Without Them Knowing Using Android Device Manager
In case you need to monitor your childs Android-operated device, consider using Android Device Manager . Its a built-in tool by Google that allows tracking someone elses GPS location.
Just the same as iCloud, AMD makes it possible to locate the target phone, lock it remotely, erase the data on it, and reset the lock-screen password.
Follow these steps to monitor someone with AMD:
- Log into the Google Account linked to a target device
- Swipe to the bottom of the screen to see the connected phones
- Choose the one you need to monitor
- View the target persons location or lock their device if needed.
How To Track Activity On iPhone For Free With Screen Time
Screen time is a great feature included in iOS devices running iOS 12 or later. It allows you to track installed app activity including the total spent time, block or limit specific apps, restrict explicit content and other information. It’s free and it’s very effective if you want to know what your children are doing with their time. The same goes for your partner as well. If you’re interested, keep reading on how to monitor iPhone activity by this method easily.
Also Check: Siri Suggestions Contacts
How To Find Your Kids Lost iPhone With Find My iPhone
One day your child will lose their iPhone. When they do, youll be glad you enabled location sharing, because it will help you get it back.
Step one is to download the Find My iPhone app to your own device. Launch it, then sign into your iCloud account if prompted. Youll see a list of the devices that have made their locations available to you. Some of these will have green dots next to them, showing that they are online and sharing their location. Theres also a map showing where these devices are, or where they were the last time they checked in.
Track Your Daughters Phone Using Secureteen
SecureTeen app comes with a lot of tracking options such as tracking chats, call logs, filtering apps and websites. It allows you to monitor your kids social media activities. You can also use it to track them with them knowing. Here is how you can use SecureTeen:
- If you are using Android, you have to install the apps on both phones and log in with the same credentials.
- If you are using an iPhone or iPad, you can simply use iTunes credentials to get connected.
- When you are logged in, you can start controlling and monitoring the target device. You can monitor their Facebook, Instagram., and other social media platforms.
Tracking your kids phones was never this much easy. Now you can see what they are facing in the social world, and communicate with them properly.
Don’t Miss: How To Start 8 Ball On Imessage
Solution : How To Track An iPhone Using Google Maps
Google always gathers information about your iPhone. Therefore, you can rely on Google Maps to track an iPhone anonymously.
Step 1 Locate maps.google.com/location history.
Step 2 Select today’s date from the calendar.
Step 3 Check the last reported location and related updated time.
Track an iPhone using google maps
Footprints Monitoring For iPhone
FootPrints, meanwhile, focuses on the location of the small, something that already made some of the previous apps but includes some interesting nuances. Not only will it tell you where your child is physically, but it will let you see which path you have followed until you reach that point.
Features:
- Inbound and Outbound Call Logs
- Web Browser, Sites Visited
Pros:
It is a multi-featured tool for parents who pay attention to their children’s online activities. It is compatible with iOS and Android platforms and with almost all smartphones and tablets.
Cons:
It is still unaffordable for most people though the price for the app is reasonable by a wide range of useful functions.
To have a better understanding, visit its official web https://pumpic.com/.
Don’t Miss: Skullcandy Indy Case Flashing Lights
How To Track Your Childs Cell Phone Without Installing Software
Whether your child is using an Android or iOS device, there is a way you can track their phone location without installing any app. Here are the different ways.
If you have an Android phone, download the Find my Device app from the Google Play Store. The new Android cell phones come with the app already activated.
Once you download and install the app, sign in with the phones Google credentials. Every time you want to check the cell location, open the app, and you will be taken to a dashboard showing you the location of the phone. The interactive map enables you to locate the exact place where your kid is.
The app also gives you the following options for taking action.
The Find my iPhone feature also allows you to play sound, lock the phone, and erase all data.
Solution : How To Track An iPhone Using Google Timeline
Note: You need to enable Location Services on your iPhone in advanced, and your iPhone should be connected to the Internet.
Step 1 Log into Google Timeline.
Step 2 Choose “Today” or the present date from the left panel.
Step 3 Scroll down and find the latest location update.
Step 4 Track the iPhone location by Google Timeline.
Google timeline
If your iPhone location stays unchanged, you should go to the location to find lost iPhone back. However, if the iPhone location is moving, then definitely it was stolen.
Also Check: How Long Does It Take To Activate Facetime