We all know that kids love using mobile phones. However, many parents contact us asking how to set parental controls on smartphones so that their kid would use it, but they don’t have nightmares about him/her wandering off on apps that they don’t want them to be witnessing at a tender age. This problem gets even more complicated when you have a teenager, because of obvious reasons. And let’s face it, your teenager is more often than not, knows a lot more about ways to use that smartphone than you. So how to prevent set up parental controls on smartphones so they cannot circumvent it? Top 3 Parental Control Apps While there are many options available, free and paid, online for setting up parental controls on the device, we are here only to tell you about the best ones and give an overview of what controls you get on said applications and not make the article too lengthy, so we have narrowed it down to top 3 options, depending on the type of usage you have. Disclaimer A couple of disclaimers before you continue how to set up parental controls on smartphones: 1) there will be a setup needed and you will have to spend some time and have the patience for a one-time setup for some of these. 2) many of the parental control apps work far better on Android than on iOS so you might want to keep that in mind before you get a phone for your kid. Net Nanny Parental Controls Among the many options available on the internet, Net Nanny rates the best when it comes to usability and control. This app works on as good on iOS as on Android and provides you a plethora of features you can use to monitor and control your kids’ activities on their phone. ● Set schedules for your kids when they can access their phone ● Set restrictions on apps and websites you don’t want them to browse ● Location tracking allows you to see where they have been ● Content screening that filters out sensitive content on social media like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube ● Works on both Android and iOS Applock by IvyMobile Most parents allow their kids to use their own phones to watch kids videos on YouTube or play certain kid’s games they have installed. Applock allows you to put a password on all the apps that you do not want your kids to accidentally access, like dial-pad, banking apps, social media apps, etc. If your kid accidentally goes to the home screen and clicks on any one of the locked apps, it will ask for a password to be entered and block the login attempt right there. This is a great way to keep your kid from accidentally dialing your boss while you are relaxing and watching a game on TV. ● Set passwords on apps you don’t want kids or anyone else to access ● No option to control websites if you allow the browser to be unlocked ● Works best on Android Google Family Link You cannot complete a list without bringing Google somewhere in the picture when you talk about technology. Google family link is our Top Recommendation for a parental control app and it is built right into Android OS 10 onwards. Although, you will need to install the app from the app store to set it up. This allows you a wide range of controls on your kid’s mobile phones while giving them the freedom to use it for things they should be able to do. For parents though, this one is a bit tricky to set up, hence here is a complete tutorial for your reference from a relevant blog. ● Supervise child’s Google account ● Guide them to good content ● Manage apps ● Location tracking ● Set up a schedule and lock a kid’s phone from your own device when needed. ● Works only on Android