Bark - Parental Controls

• Bark Jr Monthly — $5.99/month
• Bark Jr Monthly — $49.99/year ($4.16/mo)
• Bark Monthly — $14.99/month
• Bark Monthly — $99.99/year ($8.33/mo)

Last verified 30 Aug 2026

• Free to download
• In-app purchases: $5.99 - $99.99 per item

Last verified 31 Aug 2026

4.2 35374 ratings · App Store

1. 4/5Good app with great tech support

   I’m still fairly new to the app, and setting up an iPhone is a little tricky, but the tech support is amazing and one zoom meeting got me squared away. I know my 14 year old son would prefer not to have this app, but I’ve explained the reasons to him and also that as he gets older, more freedom will be given to him. I think it’s unreasonable to assume that a young teenager with his first phone wouldn’t be tempted to all the things full access to the internet and social media would bring. This app, along with the iPhone screen time settings, helps me sleep a little easier at night. He and I have laughed a few times at how sensitive the Bark is, like when it flagged his grandmother for ‘bullying’ when she was griping about her cat 😂, but it’s also brought up some good conversations about words he was using with his friends that he didn’t fully know the meaning of. I believe most parents are just doing their best in this digital world, and kids are always going to be frustrated with rules and restrictions. Children, even teenagers, just have no comprehension of how many things online can warp their innocence, change their brains and cause long-lasting problems. Why wouldn’t parents do anything they could to protect them until they’re old enough to combat these issues themselves? I wouldn’t have been ready for the full weight of the internet and social media when I was 14. I wouldn’t have been at 20. So as long as I’m paying for my son’s phone, he’ll just have to realize that I’ll be doing my best to keep him safe. #SorryNotSorry

   WeihermuellerS&J · 30 Aug 2026

2. 3/5Love this, but a few critical pieces need work

   I love, love, love this app, but I do have some suggestions. I know the iPhone part is tricky, but we’ve been experiencing something new with Bark the last couple of months that hasn’t happened in the year we’ve had the app. I would’ve given five stars if not for this, because it’s causing some issues in our home. In order for Bark to run a scan, my daughter’s phone prompts her to put in her passcode saying she trusts the computer. This is a big fail, because how often will kids “allow” their phone to be scanned. Plus, that just opens a door of resentment towards their parents as they are constantly reminded they are monitored (even though we don’t hide that from her, we also don’t rub it in her face). Or if they get that alert, then they have time to go and delete things before Bark can detect them since Bark cannot see deleted things. Which not being able to see deleted things is a bummer. Another thing to work on would be somehow make it to where the phone/devices can be scanned even if not on the same WiFi. Again, unable to scan gives kids time to delete/hide things. Sometimes our kids go on trips or to friends’ houses for a few days, we need to be able to keep an eye on them. We have a very good daughter, but she is still a teen that needs guidance and will make mistakes. I used to have peace of mind with Bark, but now that we can’t consistently monitor with that whole “passcode computer trust thing” (and combined with off WiFi not monitoring), I’m losing satisfaction 🙁

   Mrsjoey1 · 30 Aug 2026

3. 5/5Best Monitoring App for Kids and Parents!!!

   After two months of trying other recommended monitoring apps, I found Bark. I was struggling to get the phone to sync and Bark has a team if people who are thorough in making sure your questions and concerns are answered. They messaged me and emailed me I make sure I got the app installed and working. Any other app I tried wants to take over her phone, wasn’t user friendly and leaves you hours into just decide if the app works and what’s it format. Bark is easy! Clean. Concise. There is a strong team presence at Bark to make sure the app is downloaded and able to be utilize just through the trial. Imagine how amazing this experience will continue to be one you see what And how bark monitors our child’s activities. I’d spent several hour trying to set it up alone. Received help multiple times where I successuly linked Everything was finally downloaded and uploaded to where the app is working. The customer service and follow up that I’ve experienced since attempting to try this app, where now I am successfully using it- has been one of a kind customer service. Impeccable. Friendly. Personable. All virtual to. I’ve had multiple people reach out ensuring my last concern was resolved. Thank you to you and the team at Bark in assisting me in getting this app working. I already know this is what I will use to monitor my daughter and coach her in handling the difficulties children face with technology these days. Just only a day in, I love that the app alerts you about the alarming trends like bullying,depression, profanity etc. Then they provide insight how to talk to your child about the alerts so there is open dialogue. Thank you for the peace of mind!

   Mama 8J · 30 Aug 2026

4. 3/5Customer Service is not very responsive!

   After installing the bark app on my daughter’s new iPhone 14 she lost all data capability, both cellular and wifi. Therefore, all location tracking stopped working, along with apps that require internet, safari, iMessages, etc. I thought it was an issue with her phone so I contacted our carrier’s tech support. Spent at least 2 hours on the phone with them trying to troubleshoot the issue only for them to finally just send us a new phone since we were within warranty. Once we received the new phone it worked until we reinstalled the Bark app. It immediately did the same thing. I then contacted Bark via email since that is the ONLY way to contact them. At this point it has been five and half days since my daughter had a fully functioning phone. Email correspondence is much too slow and inefficient for dealing with many issues. Their first email came quickly but it was useless. I am currently waiting on them to respond again and it has been over 2 hours. In the meantime I thought I would just uninstall the app from her phone. Guess what?! You can’t without Bark support!!! I can’t even get the app off her phone! I NEVER leave bad reviews but I have never been so frustrated with a company in my life! Think twice before using this company! UPDATE: A representative did finally get back with me and we were able to resolve the problem. I am giving 3 stars because I like a company that is easy to contact when a problem arises. I also prefer speaking to a person by phone instead of through email or chat and there is no option for that. I do appreciate the help I did get and hopefully I won’t run into any more issues.

   Krbradford · 30 Aug 2026

5. 2/5Mac and iOS people beware

   Apple has tried very hard to make security a top priority unfortunately, because of that, using this app on an iOS device or even a Mac desktop to computer has become an absolute nightmare. They are constantly bugs to fix. Forget trying to add a new device when your kid gets a new iphone or iPad. I I have deleted old devices only to have them repeatedly pop up again while the new devices won’t show it. I sit there trying to look at all the unknown devices trying to match up the number to identified advice. Sometimes there’s 10 or more but the one I need never shows. One time the reason the device wouldn’t connect was because I was using a different charger for my daughter‘s iPhone because hers was broken. Apparently only the original Apple cord would work so I had to go get a new one. Ridiculous. I have spent hours, literally hours, trying to fix these things over the years. And no, despite all the ads they send, I do not want to buy a Bark phone. I will say customer support tries to send really helpful emails, but I’ve often followed all the directions and still had to go back-and-forth with customer support for days and you absolutely will not get a person on the phone. I will say customer support via email is very friendly but the amount of effort I’ve had to put in to keep my monitoring going just isn’t worth the time anymore for me.

   GKnoth · 30 Aug 2026

3.9 11508 ratings · Google Play

1. 1/5

   You can only try it for seven days for free but make sure you show us how to make you pay for it immediately. my child's safety is VERY important but 7 days really shows nothing and then its Uber expensive after that. enjoy... im deleting

   Evalena Hoover · 1 Aug 2026

2. 2/5

   The reports I'm getting alerts for are times when my child has not been on a device. Very confusing!! I can't question my child about what sites they have been on if the information isn't accurate.

   Connie Parks · 1 Aug 2026

3. 1/5

   Update: I spoke with cusromer support. One agent flat out lied to me. The promised replacements have not been issued. There is no answer as to how long it will take to send replacements for the faulty watches I was sent. I have yet to receive an explanation as to how this happened. The app is glitchy and slow. It is not easy to navigate. Its pages are cluttered and unorganized. I would not feel comfortable trusting my kids safety with this service after my experience.

   Bianca Graham · 1 Aug 2026

4. 1/5

   was not easy to setup 😕

   Erick · 1 Aug 2026

5. 3/5

   It works but only ok. but it takes a ton of time constantly doing manually updates on every device. I would set aside an hour a week to deal with bark issues, if your child has more than one device or you have more than one child.

   Herb Ballou · 1 Aug 2026

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