Guide to Monitoring Children’s Online Devices — 2025 Edition

Authors: Lee Anderson
Published: May 19, 2025

The Innocent Lives Foundation aims to protect kids and bring online predators to justice. An essential part of prevention is giving parents up‑to‑date, practical ways to watch over their children’s digital lives with transparency and trust. This article is a refresh of a previous post from 4 years ago. Technology has improved and changed a lot, but the underlying approach is still the same. 

This guide to monitoring children’s online devices compares options for various devices (phones, tablets, PCs). We are not recommending any particular option, but we provide information to aid you as you decide what is best for those in your care. The Innocent Lives Foundation does not receive sponsorships, affiliate commissions, or any other compensation for the products and services mentioned in this guide. Every recommendation is included solely on merit to help families protect their children online.

Start With Open Conversation

Before you install filters, apps, or dashboards, sit down with your child and create a family media plan together. If this is a new concept, check out our course that walks you through the process. Additionally, the American Academy of Pediatrics offers a free, age‑based Family Media Plan template; filling it out with your children sets expectations and shows that monitoring is there to help, not to spy.

Why collaboration matters: Research shows kids are far more likely to tell a parent when something goes wrong online if they understand why limits exist.

It’s worth restating that talking openly with your child about monitoring their devices can build trust and respect, while implementing monitoring without your child’s knowledge may jeopardize much of your hard work.

1. Built‑In Parental Controls (Free & Already Installed)

Not all efforts to apprehend child predators are conducted responsibly. Several groups operating today use vigilante tactics, taking the law into their own hands without adhering to legal procedures or respecting due process. While these groups might have good intentions, their actions can compromise legitimate investigations, put survivors at risk, and potentially harm the prosecution of offenders.

Tip: Lean on these first—they cost nothing and avoid the trust hurdles of third‑party apps.

2. Full‑Featured Monitoring Apps

These will install on your child’s device and allow you to set boundaries from a parental app. The app will work even when the device isn’t at home. There is a chance that kids can bypass the controls, which is why establishing an environment of trust and open communication at home is vital for these to be successful.

*Annual prices shown; most offer monthly billing.

Choosing an app:

1. Decide the risk you’re addressing (e.g., explicit images vs. too much TikTok).
   
2. Match features to platforms—iOS still limits deep text scanning for any third‑party app.
3. Share the dashboard occasionally with your child to reinforce transparency.

3. Whole‑Home Hardware & DNS Filters

Mobile devices might not be the only thing you want to monitor or set boundaries for. Many homes have computers, gaming consoles, and other ways kids can access the internet. A whole-home solution will route all internet traffic through it and apply blocks as configured. This can be bypassed by using a mobile hotspot because it is not in effect if a device is not connected to the home network.

Pairing strategy: Use a network‑wide blocker (Circle, Firewalla, eero, or OpenDNS) for every device—including smart TVs and guest phones—then layer a phone app (Bark/Qustodio) for texts, socials, and GPS.

4. Parental‑control suites that come from your internet (or mobile) provider

Turning on the controls your broadband or wireless carrier already bundles can be the fastest, cheapest step after you plug in the router. They’re designed to manage every device that touches your network, and the mobile carriers extend those rules to your child’s phone even when they leave the house.

There are ways around this option as well. Kids can bypass VPNs, hop onto cellular data or a friend’s Wi‑Fi to evade these controls. At the risk of repeating ourselves: build trust with your children and keep the communication lines wide open. Additionally, most carrier apps (and even some cable‑gateway filters) are defeated if the child installs a third‑party VPN. Build that caveat into your “Transparency & Trust” conversation.

Putting Tech & Talk Together

1. Talk Early, Talk Often – Ask what your child likes online before laying down rules.
   
2. Toolkit, Not Trap – Choose the least invasive tool that meets today’s risk; loosen controls as trust grows and the child becomes more mature.
   
3. Transparency – Let kids view their usage reports so monitoring feels like co‑piloting, not secret surveillance.

Remember, no tool is foolproof. A determined teen can always find workarounds, so the goal is credible deterrence plus open lines of communication.

Final Thoughts

The safest path is layered:

1. Built‑in controls (free, ecosystem‑native)
2. Router‑level filtering (covers everything at home)
3. Third‑party monitoring app (alerts on texts, socials, photos)
4. Parental control suites offered by your ISP (Mix of home coverage and device monitoring)

Revisit settings every few months, and revisit the conversation even more often. Kids grow, risks change, and your monitoring should evolve right alongside them.

(Prices and features current as of May 5, 2025; vendors change offerings frequently—double‑check before you buy.)