Android device parental control & monitoring

It's not easy for sure, and with the plethora of apps it's near impossible to lock them down completely.  For example they can download snapchat and sent/receive pictures even if you restrict all website browsing.  There are thousands of games/apps that allow chatting and communication.

K-9 web filtering does work very well for internet browsing, but the downside is it disables all browsers and you have to use the K-9 proprietary browser which kind of sucks. (no flash support, bad page rendering a lot of the time)
One thing I did that seemed to be a good compromise was to tell my kids to use wifi at home so they weren't burning up data on the mobile plan.  Then at home I set up OpenDNS with internet filter restrictions.  So then if they have ipads, ipods, xbox, kindle, droid, iphone, etc... they're all restricted to clean websites.  They could always disable the wifi to go to innapropriate sites, but I always tell them I get a report every month of every website they go to (which is a total lie, lol) to keep them in check.

Other than that, check their histories every once in a while and make sure they know you're doing it and have severe consequences for any deleted history.

Good luck

I have threatened to beat my children within an inch of their lives if they do something with their phones or lap-tops that we would not approve of (they don't have any doubt what those things are).....so far, no worries.....and no beatings.  

For us, spending ALOT of time with our kids is all the parental control we need.....they know us, and they get it.

How old are your kids?  Have you thought about canceling the data on the phones?  My kids had 'dumb' phones that only called and texted until they were 17 and 18. 

For me it would depend on the age. We don't do cell phones until high school and then it's just call and text. I don't see them needing anything else until they are older and can handle the responsibility.

My child is ten years old, he holds an android phone, so I put parental control software on his phone to track his location and phone calls.

I search help here, http://cellphoneforums.net/mobile-phone-spy-software/t288631-how-mo... You can have a look.

Hello All,

Thanks for the replies. 

1) Our kids are 11 & 13

2) No data plan, only wifi, phones are mostly for texting (seems kids don't talk these days!).  They didn't have picture texting until the new phones (seems to have been enabled by AT&T and now they are hooked).

3) They wanted music player/portable video and we thought the S3 was the best compromise.  We do have an Amazon membership.  Besides Christmas gift from mom & dad these are "achievement" awards for school grades over the past year and a half. 

4) They associate mostly with kids on the swim team and a few school friends, but my 13 YO son is in middle school and he has been maturing a lot lately!

5) Wifi password at home is controlled and it's accessibility depends on grades, behavior, etc.  They have felt the 'no wifi' pain once last year! If one loses it they both lose it. However when not home public wifi networks are still accessible.

6) They understand phones and other electronics are controlled by mom & dad, there is no privacy for these devices.  I looking at proactivity here not for something that has already occurred.

Santa got our 2 kids (11 & 13) Kindle Fire's for Christmas.

Both devices are set up with my Amazon account so I can control what is purchased. The Kindles also have Parental controls so I can fine tune what they can access (No web access, no purchasing) unless they have the password which I only have.

Other than reading books and a few Android games, they use Skype for chatting/texting  and email with friends. I have passwords to all the their accounts and they have been given 'the talk' about what is appropriate online and few points similar to this Mom's 18-point iPhone plan for her 13yr old.

-ak-

Forgot to mention that the Kindle Fire has a great parental control app "Free Time" that is primarily targeted for 3-8yr olds, but is an add-on/paid service.

I tried it briefly but it really is targeted for younger kids (apps/content for Dora the explorer, Elmo, Sesame street, Disney, etc).

-ak-

Bripod - 2012-12-31 4:22 PM

tuwood - 2012-12-31 2:28 PM

It's not easy for sure, and with the plethora of apps it's near impossible to lock them down completely.  For example they can download snapchat and sent/receive pictures even if you restrict all website browsing.  There are thousands of games/apps that allow chatting and communication.

K-9 web filtering does work very well for internet browsing, but the downside is it disables all browsers and you have to use the K-9 proprietary browser which kind of sucks. (no flash support, bad page rendering a lot of the time)
One thing I did that seemed to be a good compromise was to tell my kids to use wifi at home so they weren't burning up data on the mobile plan.  Then at home I set up OpenDNS with internet filter restrictions.  So then if they have ipads, ipods, xbox, kindle, droid, iphone, etc... they're all restricted to clean websites.  They could always disable the wifi to go to innapropriate sites, but I always tell them I get a report every month of every website they go to (which is a total lie, lol) to keep them in check.

Other than that, check their histories every once in a while and make sure they know you're doing it and have severe consequences for any deleted history.

Good luck

We use OpenDNS too! At some point you just have to come to grips with the fact that you can't control them 100% so you have to do the best you can to instill good values and be willing to trust them when they're not around you. Kinda like what Left Brain was alluding to

Same here after I found some "entertaining" links on both of my sons computers. It was interesting to learn that they both appreciate a nice set of bewbs, and boys will be boys, but we locked them down anyway. In the end the best use for OpenDNS was to limit their online game access.

One of the nice feature of OpenDNS is the ability to create custom messages when they hit a site that is blacklisted. I had some fun with this, and I know my oldest almost cr*pped his pants the first time he got a personalized warning message with his name in it!

I'm not sure how well it would work with the phone, but I have an app on my tablet that I use for my daughter. There's a huge age difference, (she's 3) so take it for what it's worth.

(No, my 3yr old does not have a tablet. She borrows mine when necessary - plane rides, dr. offices, etc.)

The app is "KidsPlace". It's in the android market. It allows you to set a pin number and denote which apps you approve of. When you hand over the tablet, only those apps are allowed. And inside those apps, it shuts out the app store, so that there isn't any "accidental" downloads or costs.

The app cannot be closed without the pin either.

Honestly, in this day and age, it's going to take instilling some strong moral boundaries within your family, trusting them, and letting them know how disappointed they make you when they do act out of line. (and a strong home router policy that completely wipes them off the grid)

BrianRunsPhilly - 2013-01-02 11:33 AM

Bripod - 2012-12-31 4:22 PM

tuwood - 2012-12-31 2:28 PM

It's not easy for sure, and with the plethora of apps it's near impossible to lock them down completely.  For example they can download snapchat and sent/receive pictures even if you restrict all website browsing.  There are thousands of games/apps that allow chatting and communication.

K-9 web filtering does work very well for internet browsing, but the downside is it disables all browsers and you have to use the K-9 proprietary browser which kind of sucks. (no flash support, bad page rendering a lot of the time)
One thing I did that seemed to be a good compromise was to tell my kids to use wifi at home so they weren't burning up data on the mobile plan.  Then at home I set up OpenDNS with internet filter restrictions.  So then if they have ipads, ipods, xbox, kindle, droid, iphone, etc... they're all restricted to clean websites.  They could always disable the wifi to go to innapropriate sites, but I always tell them I get a report every month of every website they go to (which is a total lie, lol) to keep them in check.

Other than that, check their histories every once in a while and make sure they know you're doing it and have severe consequences for any deleted history.

Good luck

We use OpenDNS too! At some point you just have to come to grips with the fact that you can't control them 100% so you have to do the best you can to instill good values and be willing to trust them when they're not around you. Kinda like what Left Brain was alluding to

Same here after I found some "entertaining" links on both of my sons computers. It was interesting to learn that they both appreciate a nice set of bewbs, and boys will be boys, but we locked them down anyway. In the end the best use for OpenDNS was to limit their online game access.

One of the nice feature of OpenDNS is the ability to create custom messages when they hit a site that is blacklisted. I had some fun with this, and I know my oldest almost cr*pped his pants the first time he got a personalized warning message with his name in it!

lol, I remember the first time I caught my oldest going to the wrong kind of sites. (He was 12).  My first thought was, woohoo he's looking at the ladies.

First, how old are your kids?  I just finished reading "Talking Back To Facebook" about kids and social media.  It's a fast read and I would recommend it.

Secondly, an Android phone without a Google account is virtually worthless.  I'm not a fan of Apple, but there's a reason both my kids have iPhones and not Android devices.  Create their Google accounts and monitor the heck out of them.  There's no shame in being overprotective.