Bark - Parental Controls

Bark detects cyberbullying, sexting, depression, etc. on social media/text/email

Bark - Parental Controls

App stats

Version: 5.3.5 (Last updated: 2024-04-04)
Creation date: 2016-11-23
Permissions
Wi-Fi connection information: view Wi-Fi connections
Other:
  • receive data from Internet
  • view network connections
  • full network access
  • run at startup
  • control vibration
  • prevent device from sleeping

Other platforms

Not available on Chrome
Not available on Firefox
Not available on Edge
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App summary

Bark provides families with the tools they need to raise kids in the digital age. Our comprehensive service lets you monitor content, manage screen time, and filter websites so you can get peace of mind while your child is online.

CONTENT MONITORING

Bark monitors your child’s text messages, email, YouTube, and 30+ apps and social media platforms for issues like cyberbullying, suicidal ideation, adult content, sexual predators, profanity, threats of violence, and more. Parents receive alerts only when something potentially problematic occurs online. You won’t have full access to everything on your child’s phone — just the things you might need to know about.

SCREEN TIME MANAGEMENT

Families can set healthy time limits and create schedules for when their children’s devices can connect to the internet (through both cell service and Wi-Fi).

WEB FILTERING

Our web filter lets you select which websites your child can access on their devices. You can allow or block specific sites — or even whole categories like streaming services, online gaming, sexual content, and more.

BARK HOME

When you purchase Bark Home, a small device sold separately that connects to your Wi-Fi router, you can use our app to manage screen time and filter websites and apps on all of the Wi-Fi-connected devices in your home, from smart TVs and video game consoles to laptops and tablets. Bark Home requires an active Bark subscription.

PRICING

Bark, our comprehensive online safety solution, includes content monitoring, screen time management, and web filtering. Bark is $14/month — or $99 annually.

Bark Jr provides screen time management and web filtering for $5/month or $49 annually.

SETTING UP BARK

After you download the Bark app for parents and guardians, you’ll need to download the Bark for Kids app to your child’s device to enable monitoring, screen time management, and more. Visit www.bark.us/android to install it.

User reviews

These summaries are automatically generated weekly using AI based on recent user reviews. Google Play Store does not verify user reviews, so some user reviews may be inaccurate, spammy, or outdated.
Pros
  • Provides text monitoring without needing to read every text
  • Alerts to concerning content on children's devices
  • Good idea for parental control
  • Responsive customer service when issues are reported
  • Accurate check-in feature
Cons
  • Difficult and frustrating setup process
  • App frequently loses connection with devices
  • Not user-friendly and overly sensitive notifications
  • Customer support is largely ineffective or automated
  • VPN feature often causes devices to malfunction
Most mentioned
  • Complex and confusing setup
  • Frequent disconnections and monitoring issues
  • Unreliable app performance
  • Sensitivity of alerts leading to notification overload
  • Customer service challenges
User reviews
This app is a scam. All they do is charge you for a useless app, and it's not cheap. It isn't user-friendly, and your child will figure out quickly how to remove it. It was never a success in our home after paying for it for 4 years. We even got the little box to go with it, and then it blocked all our home accounts. Unless you are techy and have all the time in the world to figure out how to keep the app on your childs phone without your child deleting it, this app is not worth the time/money.
by Angie Garza, 2024-11-14

My boys can bypass this app, it's not hard to do. It does well with alerting me of concerning texts or searches, but it uses all of their battery power. What good is a dead phone. The interface is not user friendly and I really would like an on/off for monitoring instead of having to reactivate the device if I disconnect it. I don't know if this app is something I'm going to continue with for much longer.
by Stacy Lyn, 2024-11-04

We have the Bark phone, and it is horrible! The service barely works, and settings change without your knowledge. Features that should be accessible aren't,and the customer service is the worst. My daughters phone charges sometimes and sometimes it won't. Now,it is going through the process of not being able to ring or hear people on the phone. If you call customer service, they won't help, and regardless if your service is working or not they will not pro rate your bill. I DO NOT RECOMMEND!
by J Daniels, 2024-11-01
View all user reviews

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