The best parental control apps of 2025
With many young children having access to - or even owning - a smartphone, it’s vitally important to protect them as they navigate online. There are a variety of measures that parents can take to ensure the protection of their child when accessing the Internet, which include setting time limits and restricting apps and websites.
Whether you are on a tight budget, or happy to spend a little more, there are parental control apps available to suit every parent across iPhone and Android handsets.
You can also find a variety of child-friendly phones in our collection of contract, SIM-free and refurbished devices.
How to choose a parental control app
Think about what you need to accomplish with a parental control app when choosing one. A free app is great for parents that have younger children and can gradually upgrade to more tools as they get older, but for those with older children, more comprehensive apps can provide a greater amount of customisation. Larger families might also benefit from a paid app given the number of phones you’ll need to monitor.
The particular features of an app should also be considered. If you’re concerned about schoolwork being impacted by screen time, an app like Norton Family is a great option. Likewise, if your child has an Xbox, Microsoft Family Safety is designed with those scenarios in mind.
Best overall
Net Nanny
Price: Free, subscription optional for more features
Available on iOS and Android
Our pick for the best parental control app is Net Nanny, which excels with its vast array of filtering and monitoring features. You can block access to any app on the Android version and up to 100 apps on iOS; one of the only areas across both versions where they differ. Quite impressively, there’s a level of parity between Android and iOS that few parental control apps have, so you can make use of Net Nanny regardless of what phone your child has.
If you don’t want to blanket block websites or apps, Net Nanny can be set up to intelligently filter what is shown to your child. This also applies to social media apps, giving you peace of mind while they’re online.
The excellent features of Net Nanny are wrapped up in one of the cleanest and most responsive interfaces we’ve seen. Everything works intuitively and is incredibly easy to set up from the moment you install it.
Best for large families and school
Norton Family
Price: £14.99/year
Available on iOS and Android
Norton have been one of the leading names in cybersecurity for decades, and this expertise is clear to see on the Norton Family app. For large families with kids constantly on the move, this is the best parental control app to have at your disposal.
One of this app’s standout features (Android only) is geofencing, which enables you to monitor your child’s location. You can also use geofencing to see where your child was at a particular time. The preciseness of this feature is what impressed us most, accurately returning a location and lacking any of the doubt that some apps can possess.
Another useful feature on Norton Family is School Time. With it, you can limit access to websites and apps so your child can only spend time on educational sites while doing their homework. It’s a great way of keeping your children’s focus on their schoolwork rather than being distracted by other media.
App blocking on Norton Family is limited compared to other alternatives, and the iOS version of the app isn’t on par with Android, but it more than makes up for it with these superb features.
Best for Android
Google Family Link
Price: Free
Available on iOS and Android
Most suitable for families with Android phones, Google Family Link is a free parental control app that allows you to adjust screen time, set app restrictions, approve and disapprove apps, as well as help reset passwords where necessary, making it one of the best apps on the market.
You can manage your child’s phone settings from your own device, so that you can ensure their safety and make changes to their restrictions with ease. Also, while your child is at school or out with friends, you can view the location of any shared device within the app; your child’s device just needs to be powered-on, connected to the Internet and recently used.
Best for iOS
OurPact
Price: Free, subscription optional for more features
Available on iOS and Android
For iOS users, OurPact stands out as an excellent parental control app and a must-have if your child owns an iPhone. The key selling point of OurPact is how it involves the child in monitoring their activity, giving them some responsibility and encouraging sensible time management; it’s not just about restricting what they can and can’t do. Those features are there such as filtering of adult content, but the real brilliance of OurPact lies in educating the user first and foremost.
The premium plan of OurPact also includes the ability to take screenshots of what your child has seen, as well as block messaging apps if needed.
Best features
Qustodio
Price: Free, or from £39.95 per year
Available on iOS and Andriod
With a free version, as well as two payment plans, the Qustodio app includes parental control features such as app blocking, screen time limits and web filtering. It’s perfect for parents who need help supervising their children effectively, while developing a positive relationship with technology.
For a larger yearly price, the premium version also includes custom alerts, call and message monitoring, and control across unlimited devices; perfect for big families and parents with the need for deeper parental controls on their child’s smartphones.
Best premium option
FamiSafe
Price: from £9 per month or £49 per year
Available on iOS and Android
If you want to spend a bit more money on a parental control app, FamiSafe is a top choice. This software is reliable in protecting your children from harmful online content, enabling users to disable things they deem inappropriate on their child’s smartphone and blur or remove images. Their web safety features mean you can filter content or enable safe search, as well as view browser history on your child’s smartphone.
FamiSafe is a great, all-round child safety app, offering not only content control, but screen time limits, location tracking and regular activity reports, so you can keep a close eye on your child’s social media habits.
Best value option
Kaspersky Safe Kids
Price: £23.99 first year
Available on iOS
Kaspersky Safe Kids is one of the more affordable parental control apps, with payment plan options to suit a wide variety of users. Its features allow you to monitor, protect and educate your children while they use their smartphone. Most uniquely, you can get alerts about your child’s device if the battery is low, so you can ensure they have time to get home safely if out with friends and view real-time GPS tracking of their phone.
You can also set device scheduling and have your children track rules with the child limit bar to teach healthy phone habits, and set protection based on their age, so you can slowly lessen the controls as they get older.
Best for Microsoft users
Microsoft Family Safety
Price: Free, or £7.99 per month
Available on iOS and Android
Another great parental control app is Microsoft Family Safety. With screentime limits, app and web filters and location sharing, Microsoft Family Safety has all the essential features for a fraction of the price. What's more, is that it can be used across Xbox as well! If your child wants a bit more extra time online, you can accept or decline this request in real-time.
If you love the app, but want more detailed features, you can upgrade to premium for £7.99 a month, and get control over six devices, 6TB of cloud storage, premium features on Word, PowerPoint and Excel, as well as Microsoft Defender security.
With these tools in hand, it’s much easier to protect your child as they navigate the online world from their phone. If that phone goes missing or is misplaced, our guide will show you the ways you can track it down remotely with ease.
FAQs
Do parental control apps block all inappropriate content?
This will depend on the app itself, and what you deem to be inappropriate. Certain content might be more suitable for older children, so consider what blocking or filtering features the app has before landing on an app of choice.