Before the digital revolution, parents only had to protect their children from the risks and threats in the physical world. But after the internet became second nature to all of us, keeping our children safe online has become a new concern. Like we used to have nannies keeping us safe from the dangers around us, parental control apps have emerged to help us monitor our children’s online activities and ensure their safety. One such digital nanny is Net Nanny, which has garnered much attention for its comprehensive features. However, several other apps on the market offer similar, if not better, services. In this guide, we’ll explore five top alternatives to the Net Nanny parental control app. In the end, we’ll give you our final verdict on the very best alternative to Net Nanny. So, keep reading.
1. Safes: The Best Alternative to Net Nanny
Safes is a top-notch parental control software that strikes a balance between monitoring and privacy, ensuring the digital safety of your child without invading their personal space.
Why Choose Safes?
What makes Safes stand out from other parental control apps is its smart profile generator. It handpicks the most suitable rules for your child based on factors like their age and the norms in your country, blocking inappropriate websites, games, and applications. If you’re not satisfied with these rules, Safes allows you to customize them or even create a new profile from scratch.
Features of Safes
Safes provides a wide range of features to help you keep an eye on your child’s online activities:
- Screen Time and Activity Reports: Safes allows you to monitor your child’s screen time and provides detailed activity reports.
- App Monitoring: You can keep track of the apps your child is using.
- Location Tracking: Safes lets you track your child’s location in real time.
- Web Filter and Safe Search: These features help you make sure your child can only access age-appropriate content online.
- Customizable Rules: You can tweak the app’s rules to suit your child’s needs and preferences.
Safes is trusted by thousands of families worldwide, making it the best alternative to Net Nanny for parental control apps.
2. Qustodio: A User-Friendly Parental Control App
Qustodio is another strong contender in the realm of parental control apps. It offers a user-friendly interface and robust features, albeit at a higher price point (Qustodio’s “Complete” version costs almost $100 a year).
Why Choose Qustodio?
Qustodio’s strength lies in its easy-to-use interface and comprehensive features. But one of its standout features is setting time restrictions on individual mobile and desktop apps. This feature is particularly useful if your child has a habit of playing games or using social media apps when they should be doing other activities, such as homework.
Features of Qustodio
Qustodio offers several features, including:
- Time Restrictions: You can limit your child’s time on different apps.
- Content Filtering: Block access to inappropriate websites and content.
- Social Media Monitoring: Keep an eye on your child’s activities on social platforms.
- Location Tracking: Track your child’s location in real time.
Despite its higher price point, Qustodio’s comprehensive features make it a worthy alternative to Net Nanny.
3. Mobicip: Basic Yet Effective Parental Control
Mobicip is a simple yet effective parental control app that offers basic tools for monitoring your children’s web and app activity.
Why Choose Mobicip?
Mobicip might not offer advanced features like geofencing or social media monitoring, but its simplicity and effectiveness make it a good choice for parents who want straightforward parental control software.
Features of Mobicip
Mobicip provides basic yet crucial features:
- Content Filtering: Block access to inappropriate websites and content.
- App Monitoring: Keep track of the apps your child is using.
- Screen Time Management: Manage the amount of time your child spends on their devices.
- Multi-Device Support: Mobicip supports multiple devices, making it a good choice for large families.
Despite its lack of advanced features, Mobicip’s straightforward approach makes it a good Net Nanny alternative.
4. Norton Family: Comprehensive Parental Control
Norton Family is a comprehensive parental control app that makes it easy for parents to track their children’s activity across multiple devices.
Why Choose Norton Family?
Norton Family stands out for its ability to track activity across many devices. However, it doesn’t work on Macs, and its iOS app relies on Apple’s free Screen Time feature for blocking and tracking.
Features of Norton Family
Norton Family offers a wide range of features:
- Web Monitoring: Monitor your child’s web activities.
- Location Tracking: Keep track of your child’s location.
- Time Supervision: Manage your child’s screen time.
- Social Network Supervision: Monitor your child’s social media usage.
Despite its limitations with Mac and iOS devices, Norton Family’s comprehensive features make it a strong Net Nanny alternative.
5. Circle Home Plus: Whole-Network Parental Control
Circle Home Plus is a parental control device that delivers good tools for monitoring your home network and protecting your child’s phones and tablets.
Why Choose Circle Home Plus?
Circle Home Plus is unique in that it provides whole-network parental control. This means your settings affect every device on the network, making it a broader solution for parental control.
Features of Circle Home Plus
Circle Home Plus offers several features:
- Content Filtering: Block access to inappropriate websites and content.
- Usage Tracking: Track your child’s usage of their devices.
- Time Limits: Set limits on how long your child can use their devices.
- Bedtime: Set a bedtime for your child’s devices to ensure they get a good night’s sleep.
While it doesn’t offer the same level of detailed control as other apps, Circle Home Plus’s whole-network approach makes it a unique and powerful alternative to Net Nanny.
Final Verdict: What’s the Best Alternative to Net Nanny?
While Net Nanny is a popular choice for parental control, these five alternatives each offer unique features and benefits that make them strong contenders. Among these alternatives, the best of the best, according to our testing and analysis, is the Safes parental control app. Safes offers a complete range of features in a user-friendly way that should cover all your needs in protecting your child from online dangers. Unlike some apps that claim to have similar features but with an unstable quality, Safes is true to its claims. Besides, Safes offers its services at a reasonable price (at less than $3 a month), which is lower than most contenders.
Consider comparing different contenders’ features and pricing plans before settling on one. By choosing the best parental control app for your family, you can make sure your child’s online experience is without compromising on their safety, health, and privacy. If your child has an Android phone or tablet, you may want to check out the Android family link parental controls guide for more information on keeping your child safe on their Android devices.
