FamilyTime App Review
App Info
Price: Free
Overview
Parents who want to keep tabs on their children and teens have an ally in FamilyTime. This parental control app allows parents to track their child’s location and monitor cell phone activities. Unlike some other parental control apps, FamilyTime doesn’t do its tracking in secret. Children and teens know the app is downloaded on their phones and can even use the app to send pick up alerts and SOS messages to their parents. Parents use their own app or the online dashboard to monitor a child’s activity and make sure the child stays safe. It’s a simple app that allows parents to quickly check up on their children and teens and help make sure they’re safe.
Features include:
- Location Tracking
- Check In/Check Out Alerts
- Pick Up Alerts
- SOS Alerts
- Multiple Child Accounts
Quality
To download the app onto a child’s phone, parents must first set up a FamilyTime account. They are then given a link to download the app onto the child’s phone, along with an activation code that must be entered once the app is downloaded. Parents may have trouble getting the link on the child’s profile to work, but they can also find the child’s version of the app in the App Store and download it from there.
In the iOS version , parents can set places and opt to receive check in/check out alerts. They can also see reports of locations the child has visited. The Android version gives parents even more access, allowing them to block apps, review messaging, phone, and browsing history, and even target suspicious people or locations. When it comes to monitoring children and teens, the app has very accurate location sensors and gives parents valuable information about what their children are doing while on their phones.
Education
This app is not being rated for education.
Entertainment
The app is not designed to be entertaining for children and teens, it is designed to protect them. In the child-facing version of the app, children and teens will appreciate the ability to quickly send pick up alerts and SOS messages to parents. These can be sent more discreetly than a phone call or text message and also provide parents with the child’s exact location. While these features will not necessarily entertain teens, they will help provide them with peace of mind.
Value
To access the features of the app beyond the free 3-day trial, parents must sign up for an account. When paying monthly, the service can be a bit pricey, but developers offer significant discounts to those willing to pay quarterly or even purchase an entire year of tracking upfront.
Child Friendliness
The child-facing app is child-friendly, with four main icons: PickMeUp, SOS, Help, and Profile. The Help button does open up the FamilyTime support website, but children can only opt to initiate a live chat or navigate within the FamilyTime website.
- Protected parent area
- NO external links
- NO social media
- NO 3rd party ads
- NO in-app purchase
- YES location tracking
- YES tracks device usage
