When it comes to keeping our family safe, there is almost nothing we wouldn’t do. In the physical world, we depend on alarm systems, burglaries, and dogs to keep us safe; the same is true in the digital world.
As you know, kids are active online; from catching up on the latest gist, gossip, and school research work to watching games, cartoons, and videos. Unfortunately, while all of these are fun, they are also dangerous. Fortunately, you can be at peace with parental apps such as Bark, knowing your kids are safe and secure everywhere.
Although there are tons of Bark reviews, they don’t tell that this parental control app isn’t like the others. For one, the software reveals when it’s in use as it occupies a complete view of your phone. Also, it doesn’t allow for unscheduled views. Instead, it alerts you when there is unusual behavior from your kids.
So, what is the bark app? Is it worth it? We place the parental control app on the hot seat in this unbiased review of bark to find out. Read on.
What is the Bark app?
Bark is filtering, monitoring, and blocking parental control app. The computer software is designed to filter, monitor, and block YouTube content, messages, emails, and tons of other social media networks.
It enables parents to track and manage what their kids do online and who they communicate with, thereby keeping them safe and secure while also building their independence and confidence.
The app boasts several remarkable statistics, such as detecting 363,000 self-harm incidents and 2.4 million bullying issues. Also, they claim to have prevented 16 school shootings, according to the information published on their official website (www.bark.us).
Looks interesting? Let’s explore it in detail through this honest review of the Bark app.
Features of Bark parental control
Bark deploys a unique approach to monitoring your children‘s online activities. Instead of letting you view their activities whenever you wish, it keeps tabs on your kid’s activities in the background. It then notifies you when it notices a mischievous activity such as cyberbullying.
Upon testing the app, we noticed the lack of screen time on administrative devices. The Bark app is strictly a monitoring tool that alerts you when suspicious tests, emails, and other social media content are sent or received.
Fortunately, this management tool has now been included in the latest version of the parental control app. Also, it comes with a web filter too.
Bark’s device, social media networks, and email monitoring
Bark’s biggest strength is its ability to recognize and capture suspicious content across a wide range of devices, email accounts, and social media networks. In addition, it records and takes screenshots of every suspicious activity, including:
- Violence
- Sexual content
- Profanity
- Guns and other weapons
- Risky website or app usage
- Depression
- Alcohol and drug-related content
- Cyberbullying
- Inappropriate content
- Alteration in account activity
The app covers vital social media networks such as Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and Facebook. But, that’s not all; it also effectively monitors messaging apps, including text messages, Instagram DM, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp.
Here is a proper breakdown of Bark’s monitoring capabilities:
- Scheduling– You can set which apps to allow or disallow based on the time of the day, such as school hours or bedtime.
- Location tracking– Bark lets you monitor your child’s location. However, unlike other competitors, Bark allows location tracking by sending a request to your child’s device, which they must cooperate with for you to know their location.
- Website and app filtering– This feature enables you to block certain websites, making them inaccessible to your child. It also enables you to block certain apps by disabling their access to the internet.
- Activity reports– If you’re interested in the overall usage of your device, this is the feature that will interest you the most. It provides insights into recently installed apps, most contacted persons, and conversation moods (that is, whether positive or negative).
- Alert speeds– This feature is unique to this app. For instance, in a test that we carried, Twitter messages with sexual content sent at 5 pm didn’t pop up in alerts until it was 8.38 am the following morning. However, other usual notifications showed up in as less than 15 minutes.
- Social media monitoring– There are several limitations to this feature. For instance, while you can monitor your child’s Facebook posts, the app doesn’t allow you to view what they search for or post on other users’ timelines. Also, on Instagram, the app doesn’t show what direct messages your child exchanges but only the post they make. However, this is only limited to iPhone, but it’s possible to view messages on Android.