Best free parental control app of 2025: ranked, reviewed and tested by the experts

As touched on in our reviews of the above offerings, there are downsides to using free parental control apps.

Some only provide tools for monitoring your child online, which means they don't prevent your child from stumbling across content they shouldn't - they only alert you when they have. Some do have controls and restrictions you can deploy for free, but it's not uncommon for these features to be locked behind a paywall.

Also, some are limited to the platforms they accommodate. Not all have mobile apps, and iOS users may be particularly at a disadvantage, since Apple generally restricts the amount of control any app can have over one of their devices.

Moreover, some free services may share data and usage habits from your child's device with advertisers, as a way of sustaining their free models. You should therefore check carefully whether your child's privacy may be undermined by such practices.

"Many popular social media sites permit users to create accounts from just 13 years of age, despite the fact that age-restricted and illegal content can be accessed and shared. This, paired with the camera and video capabilities of modern smart devices, makes it all too easy for users to produce, upload and view inappropriate content quickly," says Michal Karnibad, Co-CEO of VerifyMy.

"The digital world therefore needs to catch up with the offline world, where viewing an individual's documentation and physical appearance is the norm, making it far easier and practical for authorities to restrict them from accessing age-restricted products and content," Karnibad concludes.

When deciding which free parental control app to use, first consider what your actual needs are, as budget software may only provide basic options, so if you need to use advanced tools you may find a more expensive platform is much more worthwhile. Additionally, higher-end software can usually cater for every need, so do ensure you have a good idea of which features you think you may require from your parental control app. It may also be worth learning about how parental controls work to help you decide which is the best service for you.

We evaluated each of the free parental control apps on this guide across a range of criteria. Primarily, we evaluated them on if they were free or came with a free trial, and secondary to this, their cost.

We also looked into the pros provided at the free tier, such as content blocking rules and device monitoring, and then evaluating these against the additional features unlocked at a paid tier. We also kept in mind the cons that could hamper your efforts to keep your children safe, such as if the content blocking can be bypassed with a VPN or if there is a set amount of devices that can be registered at the free tier.

We also looked into how many devices and operating systems were compatible with the apps, as these days a household can be full of technology that all needs to be monitored. So there it would be impractical for an app to only work on Android in a house full of iPhones. Moreover, the apps need to be just as user-friendly on one device as it is on another.

There is no simple answer to this question, unfortunately. While there are completely free parental control apps, some even come with built-in Windows and Mac PCs, there is a catch. Namely, the free parental control apps, more often than not, lack the functionalities that are offered by the paid versions. Other than that, the free versions are often easier to bypass by a curious child compared to a paid version, which can completely lock down the system to prevent the child from bypassing the app.

In our own experience, the trial or free options offered by the premium parental control apps can allow you to dip your toes into this area. With the free trial, you will be able to gauge how you want to set up the control environment that the app offers and figure out which features are essential and which are those that you can live without. Keep in mind that paid apps often give you a wide range of tools that offer a granular approach to monitoring your kid's activity online and on PC/Phone/Tablet.

If you see yourself just needing the bare minimum, without fear that the child will bypass the protection, we’ve found some success in using Screen Time settings for iOS or simply tweaking Content and Privacy settings on browsers (Chrome, Firefox, etc.). There are also free browser extensions that can help in blocking potentially harmful content on social media sites, and there are shutdown timers for PCs. Yet, if you lack the technical know-how and time to implement these solutions, then opting for a paid app might be the solution you’re looking for if you're trying to keep your child safe in the digital age.

As a parent, you hold the key to your child's digital world - and with built-in Content & Privacy Restrictions on iOS, you can lock the door on any apps or features that don't pass your safety standards. Whether you want to shield them from explicit content or prevent accidental purchases and downloads, you can customize the settings on their iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

If you lack the know-how or time to do this yourself, or are afraid the kids may circumvent your restriction, there are free plans for premium parental control apps that we found success with for managing screen time for one device, as these free plans are usually limited in the number of devices you can protect. For iPhone, Qustodio and Screen Time are viable options that we loved using on iOS. You can cover the basics with these apps and even utilize their free trial versions to test out the premium functionalities that you might find useful.

The American Academy of Pediatrics advises limiting your little ones' screen time to a mere two hours daily. And for those under 18 months, video chatting is the only electronic interaction recommended. Yet, it's no surprise that most kids surpass these guidelines. With that being said, we support the desire of parents to help their children create healthy habits when it comes to online and electronic activity.

While there are free trials for most of the paid, premium apps that will help you gauge how these apps function and what additional protection they offer your children, there are totally free versions as well.

Qustodio is a premium app that offers you a free 3-day trial (no credit card details needed), that contains most of the app's functionality. After the 3-day period, you are downgraded to the free plan, which allows you to monitor your child’s screen time. Keep in mind that you will have to take action manually. If you’re looking for a more automatized approach to locking down devices after a certain amount of screen time, then the free plan of Mobicip. A word of caution, all free plans usually cover only 1 device.

Other than that, the Google and Microsoft parental control apps are free, offer a larger number of devices, and are “cross-platform enough” to be recommended as a solid, yet limited, free choice.

Ensuring your kid's safety online is becoming increasingly complex with the advent of new technology, with more and more parents wondering how to protect a child online. But one of the most innovative ways to achieve this is by utilizing the latest apps or software to monitor your child's phone.

With this technology, you can become a digital detective, tracking your child's every move and staying informed about all their online activities. From their current location to the content of their text messages and social media posts, you can have full control. You can even block access to specific websites and prevent unauthorized transactions.

To do this properly, you will need to download and install an app on your child's phone but don’t worry, as most of the parental control apps are discrete. If you are confused as to which one to choose, we invite you to take a look at our article Best Parental Control Apps, to identify which app is best for you and your needs.