Qustodio is one of the most well-known parental control apps. The app offers a safe browsing experience with real-time protection and content filtering that blocks inappropriate web sites, ads, and dangerous links. Qustodio also tracks your child’s location and monitors their activity on all devices including smartphones, tablets, desktop computers, and gaming consoles.
Customer support
8.5
Value for money
9
Ease of use
9
Features
9
Pros
Supports desktops and mobiles
Free trial
30 days location history
The child's app's optional SMS and phone monitoring SOS button raises the alert if there's a problem
Location alarms were raised incorrectly
Cons
Only Facebook is covered by the social surveillance function
Parental control software for kids are now available to help parents monitor their kids’ online activity. These softwares can filter and block websites, restrict chat and messaging, and keep an eye on what they’re sharing with friends.
There are also tools like parental control apps that give you the ability to track your kids’ mobile phone usage, including calls, texts, emails and more.
Securing the internet is really important and to prevent your children from browsing offensive sites, we will now introduce you to our Qustodio review, one of the best Parental Control solutions.
Click on “open” if you want to see exactly what we will talk about in the rest of this article.
Qustodio app is a powerful parental control app that works on Android, iphone, Windows, Mac, and Kindle devices.
App blocking, online content screening, location tracking, screen time limits, social media monitoring, and a variety of methods to restrict access from your child’s device to the internet and device use time are all included in the feature set.
With its monitoring features, Qustodio goes a step further, at least on certain platforms. On Android smartphones, for example, you may record phone messages and examine call history, as well as see and block certain contacts.
However, this isn’t possible with Qustodio’s Play Store app, so if you require these capabilities, you’ll have to sideload the complete version from Qustodio’s website. You get only the free version of it in the google play store.
Most parental control applications, for example, use their location capabilities exclusively as a means for parents to keep an eye on their children.
In the event that a kid need assistance, Qustodio’s SOS button sends a location-based text or SMS alert to something like a list of approved contacts.
If your kid is displeased with the fact that you have installed any parental controls software at all, this may persuade them that they, too, might benefit from the app.
The Qustodio pricing has 3 different packages named small medium and large. You can use the variation of package depending on how many device you want to control over.
The Qustodio pricing has 3 different packages depending on how many devices you wanna protect:
Qustodio’ small plan costs $55 per year, or $4.58 per month, a small package includes up to 5 devices.
For $97 per year ($8.08 a month), the Medium plan includes support service, initial setup help, and coverage for up to 10 devices.
The Large plan from Qustodio increases modules to a total of 20, but it also raises the cost to a whopping $138 per year, or $11.50 per month.
To put it in context, Kaspersky Safe Kids costs $15 per year and protects unlimited devices. If you’re looking for a security software, Kaspersky Total Security contains antivirus, a firewall, a password manager, and more, as well as Safe Kids, for $50 in the first year and $100 on renewal. However, the price isn’t as essential as how effectively a parental controls software works, which Qustodio makes clear. Just by signing up for an account, you may get a 3-day free trial. After that, a free edition allows you to use certain functions, allowing you as much time as you will need to acquire a basic understanding of the system’s capabilities.
Qustodio protects devices against unsuitable material straight immediately, so we put it to the test by visiting a few pornographic websites.
You can block access to let your child’s device play safe search and apply a web filter.
Both were banned, a warning notice was shown, and a notification was sent to our parents’ smartphone verifying Qustodio was fully operational.
However, you will get limited features on the free version with only one device app management. Therefore, you should get the qustodio premium deals for up to five devices support and a better web dashboard with broad platform support.
You can use qustodio web portal or phone app to monitor a child’s device, time limits, know the child’s current location, block apps, call monitoring, and other features. This parental control app is best known for its web filter and time limit. Especially you can block the youtube app or limit screen time.
Time spent in front of a screen
Other settings and configuration tools are buried away under Qustodio’s Parent interface, which is mainly centered around a chronology of your kid’s recent activities. However, by going to Settings > Rules, you can access Qustodio’s numerous security features.
This parental control app can provide time limits to use youtube app or any other apps. Qustodio features time limit to let your kid use the device for a specific amount of time.
A scheduler is included in the screen time restrictions, allowing you to set periods when device use is prohibited. By default, this is only overnight – for our 9-year-old, that’s 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. – but you can alter the bedtime to whatever you want, and restrict access at other hours if you want.
You may also establish a screen time limit that must be adhered to. The time limit is established in 15-minute increments, with a different number for each day of the week.
Qustodio’s Daily Time Constraint interface is inadequate, even if it covers the essentials. Because the app only displays one time indicator and seven symbols for every day of the week, you can only view one of your regular limitations at a time.
Most applications show the time restrictions each day for a week beside each other, which is a much better method since you can check them all at once and double-check that they’re accurate.
Filtering of content
The Online Filtering feature of Qustodio allows you to limit internet access by category. You may configure each one to always be permitted, always restricted, or to trigger an alert (the kid will be able to view the material, but it will show as a warning on the Parent app).
Qustodio offers clean web interface for your child and it has web filtering capabilities. And that prevents your child to enter gambling sites, pornographic sites, and other web portal that can be harmful.
The filter properly banned our test sites, but there was no in-app method for a kid to seek an overrule if they felt the block was incorrect. You may see the site information in your child’s newsfeed if they request you directly. If it seems to be appropriate, add that to Qustodio’s whitelist, and your kid will have instant access in the future.
A tempting Social Monitoring function turns out to be little more than ‘Facebook Monitoring,’ which is simply a rudimentary peek at your child’s postings and the identities of anybody they’re contacting.
There are a few YouTube limitations as well, but they differ by platform (Android can monitor both the app and the website, while iOS can just monitor the app) and are a bit tricky to set up. Our ‘YouTube Monitoring’ page, for example, simply let us restrict browser access to YouTube.com.
It also included an option to ‘allow, restrict, or ban access to youtube videos and hours invested on the app,’ but that simply sent us to a YouTube search and watching history page, which was blank the whole time we were reviewing it.
Fundamentally, Qustodio covers the fundamentals and attempts to go above and beyond, although it doesn’t always function as anticipated.
App administration
The Games & Apps section of Qustodio allows you to limit your child’s app use across all of their devices. It’s useful, but it’s lacking in functionality, and it takes a lot longer to get up and running than you would anticipate.
When you initially open Games & Applications, you’ll see just the apps your kid is using since you downloaded Qustodio (or none at all if you’re currently customizing the app).
There is no way to establish broad app control rules, such as automated app banning based on age or kind. And, unlike virtually all other parental control software, there is no catalog of installed applications that you may block right now.
Whether you are on a android device or ios device, you get the similar child monitoring with the app. And the app interface is same.
That means you can only add restrictions to applications after they’ve been used by your kid. This isn’t a catastrophe, but it isn’t ideal, and it means you’ll have to keep a careful watch on app use, particularly in the early days.
When it comes to app restrictions, Qustodio is more versatile than others, allowing you to choose whether to constantly ban applications, always allow apps, or impose time limits.
You might limit one application to 30 minutes per day, for example, and another to weekends exclusively, or set no restrictions at all for an instructional or reading app.
There’s no way to restrict app usage based on the time of day (for example, ESET Parental Control might allow an app exclusively in the evenings or ban it during family meals), but Qustodio goes above and beyond the essentials and performed a decent job for us.
Monitoring of the location
Although most parental control applications conceal their location-tracking information behind a tab, Qustodio keeps you informed about your child’s whereabouts. A new event shows on the child’s account timeline every time it identifies a major change, along with the period and your child’s estimated address.
Having the most up-to-date location information available at all times seems fantastic. However, we discovered a flaw. Despite the fact that we stayed inside the review location, Qustodio sent out four alerts claiming that we had relocated to a neighboring address.
We have no idea why this occurred; it may be a device or a local problem. However, we tested Qustodio alongside ten other parental applications on the same device, and none of them provided the same range of locations as Qustodio.
Also, it has a panic button that can help you to know the current condition of your kid and monitor better. You will instantly get a notification on your mobile device to go for quick help.
You may see all of your child’s phone movements for the past 30 days by going to the relatives location page. Even if you find any of the same little mistakes we found, it’s a lot of information that you won’t find anywhere else. (Kidslox does an excellent job of monitoring locations, displaying trips, and storing location data, but you only see the past seven days.)
This isn’t simply a list of addresses or coordinates on a map. You’ll receive each person’s time and the option to see their position on a Map. If you wish to pick up your kid, you can even obtain instructions to their present location.
Geofencing technology allows you to create custom zones around key places (like home and school) and get alerts when your kid enters and exits.
Qustodio lets you input a location, then pinpoints this on a map and draws a 100-meter-wide circle around it. Give the area a name, save it, and you’ll be notified when your children depart or come.
This works well for the most part, although there are some possible problems. There’s no way to manually alter the zone since it’s focused on Google’s default location for that address. The maximum size of 200 meters is also a bit tiny.
This requires ensuring your zone in a broad region where your kid has some freedom but you want to know if they wander too far (for example, playing on or near a sports field or visiting friends’ homes on your neighborhood).
Nonetheless, Qustodio’s location capabilities are quite user-friendly, and its location data is a huge bonus. Our address issues are a worry, but don’t let that deter you – sign up for the three-day sample and you’ll be able to immediately check whether you have the same issue (or not), as well as test out Qustodio’s geofencing.
A pre-configured ‘Sample Kid’ profile, packed with test data, is an instant and unique bonus. You may look at sample reports, charts, menus, modify web filtering rules, and test out several of the other activities you’ll be performing later by tapping an icon. It’s a fast and simple method to see what Qustodio can accomplish without having to download the app anyplace else, which is a huge plus.
This app is available for both android devices and ios devices, so install qustodio according to the operating systems. Also, it supports multiple devices to provide an excellent parental control tool that can help a lot. However, you will not get all options in the free version. It is better to shift to the qustodio premium subscription options for enhanced parental control features.
You can download free version from google play store or purchase this app from website to experience premium features.
When you’re done using Sample Kid, you may quickly and easily create a profile for your own children. Enter each person’s name and age, then choose a device.
The software then asks you to activate it on the smartphones of your children. Log in with your Qustodio account, attach the device to one of the profiles you made earlier, and (on Android) follow the steps to provide Qustodio the different rights it requires.
There’s a lot to appreciate about Qustodio, but there are some flaws, such as YouTube monitoring that didn’t capture anything and location notifications that showed even when we hadn’t moved.
It is a superb app for kids devices to ensure better control on your kids devices. Unlike other parental control apps, this has ios app and android app. So, you can do location tracking, monitor text messages, web filter, time limit, and enjoy all the premium features with this qustodio app.You can find the app in relevant app store whether it is ios or android.
Perhaps it will function better with your device, but if you’re interested, take advantage of the 3 days Free trial to thoroughly test the software before purchasing.
