Parents today must subscribe to a parental control solution to help monitor their children’s online activities. From the myriad of options available on the market, FamiGuard stands out as a platform that provides reliable tools to assist carers and guardians in their digital parenting efforts.
In this article, we’ll review the platform and the different parental control and digital monitoring apps it offers to parents and families. We’ll look at how to set up these apps on the target devices, their features, and pricing plans. Read on to learn more about which solution fits your specific modern parenting needs.
What is FamiGuard?
FamiGuard is a technology company that specializes in developing digital parenting solutions to enhance parents’ vigilance over their children’s online activities. The company has pioneered parental control solutions, such as FamiGuard Pro, a mainstay among enlightened parents, which helps them track their children’s location, monitor their social media apps, manage screen time, and more.
FamiGuard’s team comprises digital security experts who prioritize the safety of children online. Because of this, the company is always at the forefront of innovation in digital monitoring tools, incorporating cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence to help parents detect risks early on and act quickly before any escalation.
Setup and Installation Experience
A common complaint among parents who use digital solutions to monitor their children’s activities is the complexity of setting up and installing them. Most tools on the market require advanced technical skills to run, and in other instances, rooting or jailbreaking the target device is necessary to install the apps.
We can confidently say that this was not the case with any of FamiGuard’s apps. They are designed to be simple to use, making them an ideal option for less tech-savvy parents.
Below is a sample walkthrough of the setup and installation process for FamiGuard Pro.
- Step One: I signed up for a free account on the official FamiGuard website.
- Step Two: I then clicked on the “Buy Now” button on the FamiGuard Pro product page.
- Step Three: After browsing through the subscription plans, I selected one and proceeded to make the payment.
- Step Four: I picked up the target device I wanted to monitor, downloaded the app onto it, and followed the setup guide to complete the installation in under five minutes.
- Step Five: I logged into my FamiGuard account from my primary mobile phone and started monitoring the other device after binding it to my dashboard.
Testing FamiGuard’s Parental Monitoring Features
Depending on which FamiGuard app you opt to use, you will access a varying mix of parental monitoring features. For example, whereas FamiGuard Pro is a more comprehensive app with numerous features, FamiGuard for WhatsApp is more streamlined, focusing on specific features for WhatsApp monitoring.
Nonetheless, here are FamiGuard’s core parental control features and what we found out when testing them.
1. Location Tracking and Geofencing
FamiGuard Pro offers a convenient map-view display in the user dashboard, allowing you to view the exact location of your child’s device. The app utilizes GPS tracking to pinpoint the device’s location, in addition to a Wi-Fi logger that tracks all networks to which the mobile phone connects. The geofencing feature lets you designate safe zones and get arrival and departure alerts when your child moves into or out of the area.
2. Content Monitoring
This core feature of FamiGuard’s apps enables users to harness the power of AI to monitor the content their children interact with while browsing the internet. The feature logs all this information, allowing parents to review it later and set restrictions on which type of content the children can view or engage with.
3. Screen Time Management
All FamiGuard apps play the critical role of tracking device and app usage. They log the amount of time spent on the device or app, with timestamps for accuracy. Parents are then free to export these usage analytics to determine if kids are spending too much time online and implement time limits and downtimes to foster healthier digital habits and prevent screen addiction.
4. Remote Control
We were impressed with the remote control tools available in FamiGuard Pro. These features can help parents ensure the safety of their kids from a distance, guaranteeing peace of mind wherever they are. They include ambient sound recording, screen capture, front camera access, and keyword tracking that alerts you to any potential issues, such as sexting, signs of bullying, and depression.
5. Social Media Monitoring
While most parental monitoring tools simply show how much time is spent on social media apps, FamiGuard’s solution provides granular usage information, helping parents protect their kids when using these platforms. FamiGuard Pro can help you see who your child is chatting with across various platforms, including Facebook, LINE, and Instagram, as well as any media they exchange during their conversations and calls. Platform-specific apps, such as FamiGuard for Snapchat, enable features like retrieving deleted messages, capturing the screen minute by minute, and accessing friend lists, shared snaps, and stories.
6. Website and App Blocking
With more adult, gambling, and illegal gaming websites coming up daily, we found this website and app blocking feature invaluable to parents who want to safeguard their young ones from such influences. It helps you maintain a blacklist that you can update continously, ensuring that the website or app is not accessible from your child’s device.
7. Call and SMS Monitoring
This feature helps you know which contacts your child calls or texts with most often. It helps you access complete call and SMS logs, including deleted ones, and also shows the timestamps and duration of each call for better monitoring purposes.
Pricing and Plans
Because of the vast catalogue of parental monitoring apps that FamiGuard offers to users, the company does not charge a flat rate for all of them. Instead, there are flexible plans that allow you to commit to one that suits your specific parental control needs. The table below shows a summarized overview of pricing and plans for different apps.
FamiGuard App | Starting Price (1-Month Plan) |
FamiGuard Pro | $39.99/mo |
FamiGuard Pro for iCloud | $39.99/mo (1 device) |
FamiGuard for WhatsApp | $24.99/mo |
FamiGuard for Snapchat | $19.99/mo |
FamiGuard for TikTok | $19.99/mo |
FamiGuard WhatsApp Last Seen | $19.99/mo ($9.99/week) |
FamiGuard Monisen | $49.99/mo |
FamiGuard for Facebook | $24.99/mo |
For a more detailed dive into the pricing information, visit the specific product’s page. Each plan auto-renews and comes with 24/7 customer support. FamiGuard also lets you cancel your subscription at any time.
Final Verdict
Our first-hand experience testing different FamiGuard parental monitoring solutions revealed just how advanced their features are. While other parental control apps are limited in their scope, often just tracking screen time, FamiGuard apps go beyond this superficial level of monitoring, allowing parents to know what their children are up to online.
Considering this, along with the ease of setup and affordable plans, FamiGuard is by far the leading parental control platform for best-in-class monitoring solutions designed for modern parenting. Give their apps a try today by visiting the official FamiGuard website to sign up for an account and view a free demo of all products.