April 4, 2018

Tools to monitor content and manage screen time

Though we generally discourage spying on kids’ online activity, we understand the desire to use social media monitoring tools to help keep tabs on things. Social media rookies, especially, can benefit from the additional oversight that parental controls provide. Specifically, we hear parents talk about how they need tools to help with the following:

  1. Blocking inappropriate content (weapons, porn, profanity, violence, chat rooms with bad people, etc.) across all devices and platforms
  2. Managing screen time so that kids focus on priorities and learn how to manage their own screen time in the future
  3. Locating kids out in the real world via geolocation
  4. Monitoring content kids share with others

Net Nanny, Circle, and Bark are, parents tell us, some of the best tools out there. So, we looked into each and whether they offer the functionality most parents want. No one tool hits all four concerns above, but a combination would do the trick.

A quick note before we start: If you choose to use any of the following, we implore you to talk with your child before installing them. More about that later.*

The most popular options

Net Nanny

Of the three tools, Net Nanny is the oldest, having been released back in 1995, when cell phones were used only to call people. (Crazy.) The software blocks certain websites based on their content and allows parents to restrict screen time. But if your child uses social media apps — instead of accessing them in a web browser like Chrome or Safari — the content will not be filtered. Net Nanny only works in browsers.

For $39.99/year, you get a single license for Windows or Mac. The five-license Family Pass puts you back $59.99/year and includes monitoring on Android and the internet filter on iOS. There are 10- and 15-license passes, too.

👍 = Yes, this tool does that.
🚫 = No, this tool doesn’t do that.

  1. Blocks inappropriate content across all devices (👍) and platforms 🚫
  2. Manages screen time 👍
  3. Locates kids out in the real world 🚫
  4. Monitors the content kids share with others 🚫

You don’t get as much bang for your buck with Net Nanny as you do with new tools. According to a January 2018 PC Magazine article, the tool hasn’t been substantially updated in years.


There’s no one-size-fits-all tool to monitor and filter online content.


Circle With Disney

This monitoring tool hasn’t been around nearly as long as Net Nanny, having only come on the market in 2015. Unlike Net Nanny, which is software, Circle with Disney is hardware. It’s a small white box that you plug in at home and, using a mobile app called MyCircle, connect with the devices inside.

Like Net Nanny, it filters web content and sets screen time limits for social media apps and websites (without you having to install software on each device). Parents can choose to use one of Circle’s four preset general filters or customize the filters for individual sites.

Because Disney owns it, the MyCircle app comes with “access to Disney videos, blogs, GIFs, emojis, music, games, characters and lots more” for each family member. A Circle device will set you back $99, and if you want it to work outside your home wifi as well, you’ll pay an additional $9.95/month.

  1. Blocks inappropriate content across all devices (👍) and platforms 🚫
  2. Manages screen time 👍
  3. Locates kids out in the real world 🚫
  4. Monitors the content kids share with others 🚫

At the end of 2017, Circle With Disney got some bad press about a loophole that “gives attackers the opportunity to tap into every family member’s activities and spy on every device.” It can also slow down wifi, which is unhelpful at best if your family uses a smart TV.

At this point, you’ve probably noticed that neither Net Nanny nor Circle With Disney monitors activity inside social media apps. That’s where Bark comes in.


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Bark

This is the newest of the three tools, having launched in 2016. And it’s really different from the other two.

Net Nanny and Circle With Disney concern themselves with filtering content that kids are exposed to when it comes to them — via websites only. Bark, on the other hand, is a software that looks for and alerts parents to any inappropriate content being consumed and shared (coming from them) — via social media platforms only.

Bark relies on not just keywords like “suicide” or “naked,” but on “advanced machine learning and statistical analysis techniques” to find and alert parents to potential problems on an impressive and growing number of social media platforms and email clients.

  1. Blocks inappropriate content across all devices (👍) and platforms 🚫
  2. Manages screen time 👍
  3. Locates kids out in the real world 🚫
  4. Monitors the content kids share with others 👍

It costs $9/month. Note: It cannot monitor private Snapchat messages on iOS yet.


Want to avoid a hefty price tag? Use free apps and filtering tools that come with browsers. 


The layering technique

So far, there isn’t one solution that offers all four controls most important to parents. And neither of the three outlined above can tell you where your child is. So, you could consider layering. Use Bark for social media platforms and either Net Nanny or Circle With Disney for browser content and screen time.

Then, use an app called Find my Friends or Apple’s Find my iPhone to keep track of your child out in the world via their device.

  1. Blocks inappropriate content across all devices (👍) and platforms 👍
  2. Manages screen time 👍
  3. Locates kids out in the real world 👍
  4. Monitors the content kids share with others 👍

Want to avoid a hefty price tag? Use free tools that come with browsers like Google’s Safe Search tool and the safety settings provided by the apps themselves. We cover the most important settings in our Platform Playbooks. And the location apps mentioned in the paragraph above are free, too.

The most important thing*

When you use monitoring tools especially, you risk losing your child’s trust. Once you decide which tool or which combinations of tools to use, your next move is to talk with your child about what you’re doing and why. Huddle up. Use downloading the MyCircle app onto your child’s device or installing Net Nanny as a catalyst for conversation.


Make it easier on yourself and your kid. Huddle often.


On their website, Bark suggests explaining why you want to monitor your child’s social media content using their software like this:

“You know how when you first got your permit you had to have someone driving with you to help you watch out for other dangerous drivers? Well that’s kind of how Bark works, it helps me watch out for bad drivers on social media who put you in danger.”

Because think about it: If you are alerted to an email your child sends another with a nude photo, but you never told your child you were monitoring the content with Bark, what’s your next move? This parent found out the hard way.

Make it easier on yourself and your kid. Huddle often.

Other resources

Want some more reading on the topic? Check out these articles: