Bark vs mSpy (2024)

Bark vs mSpy: Which is the better parental control app?

Bark's content monitoring, website blocking, and screen time features offer more comprehensive protection. Plus, mSpy requires you to jailbreak your child's phone, while Bark does not.

Between Bark vs mSpy, which is the better value?

Bark is just $14/month or $99/year to protect your entire family, and you can try it out with a free 7-day-trial.

You cannot try mSpy — only purchase in full and then request a refund within 14 days if not satisfied. Also, mSpy is $69.99/month for 1 device only.

Does spyware destroy trust?

If your parents ever looked through your pen-and-paper journal growing up or secretly listened to one of your phone calls, you know how spying can breed resentment. And while parents are responsible for their child’s safety —and phones can be extremely dangerous —there’s a happy medium between outright spying and making sure everything’s okay. Spyware programs simply encourage kids to find alternate ways to talk to their friends, which can cause problems in another way.

Bark helps you build trust by allowing your child to learn how to safely use their phone while also giving them a digital safety net that centers you as the go-to person for help.

How is Bark different from spyware?

Bark strikes the perfect balance between monitoring your child’s phone and giving them privacy to learn about growing up with a digital device. You don’t get unfettered access to everything on their phone, but you will get alerts about potential dangers like online predators, sexting, depression, and more. This way, you can see the concerning message, but you won’t have to wade through hundreds of Fortnite memes or texts about baseball practice.

Comparing Bark vs mSpy, which offers better alerts about issues?

Bark monitors 30+ social media apps, texts, images, emails, and more and sends alerts when kids encounter issues like sexual content, online predators, suicidal ideation, and cyberbullying.

mSpy requires you to jailbreak your child's phone if they have an iPhone, and only sends keyword alerts.

Bark vs mSpy (2024)

FAQs

What is better, mSpy or Bark? ›

Bark offers a better budget option, especially if you don't care to read your child's text messages. Alternatively, mSpy has higher pricing but gives you a more granular view with text message and email monitoring.

What is better than mSpy? ›

iKeyMonitor. iKeyMonitor is the best parental control app for Android phones and iPhone/iPad. It helps you monitor phone activities and protect your kids from online dangers, cyber-bullying.

Is anything better than Bark? ›

If you're looking for apps like Bark, Qustodio might be a great solution. While both apps offer similar features, there are key differences in how they work. Unlike Bark, Qustodio lets you view all call logs and set a list of blocked contacts on Android devices.

What is the downside of Bark app? ›

That said, Bark definitely has a few drawbacks when compared to the competition — it only lets you view activity that triggers an alert, it doesn't track how long children are using certain apps (so you can't set time limits for particular apps), it's pretty easy to disable or work around some of its features, and the ...

Will my child know Bark is on their phone? ›

Your kids will be aware of Bark's presence, and we encourage you to have a conversation with them about it beforehand. By discussing Bark proactively, you set up an environment where Bark alerts serve as an opportunity for meaningful conversations about important topics, rather than a surprise discovery.

Will my child know if I monitor their phone with mSpy? ›

No. mSpy works in hidden mode, so while you can see what's on their phone, they can't see that you're monitoring them.

Can someone see if you use mSpy? ›

mSpy is an undetectable monitoring solution, meaning it collects the data from the Android device in the background.

Does mSpy actually work? ›

mSpy is an excellent spy app that stands out for its comprehensive suite of features. In our testing, all of its features work as advertised — something you rarely see with spyware, which also justifies its price. You can keep tabs on calls, messages on various apps, and locations of the target device.

Can mSpy be hacked? ›

How was Mspy hacked? In the 2015 mSpy data breach, the company initially denied the incident, even as customers confirmed it. The sensitive data of hundreds of thousands of mSpy users was posted on the deep web, exposing extensive personal information.

What are the disadvantages of bark? ›

When you buy bagged bark for mulching big spaces it will create a lot of plastic waste. So it's a good idea to find a company that will deliver. Pine bark's more acidic. It also takes longer for breaking down than hardwood mulch such as fir, redwood, or cedar.

Is bark or Life360 better? ›

What Is Better, Bark or Life360? Bark is a better parental control app than Life360 because it allows parents to monitor kids' online activities, text messages and locations, while Life360 specializes only in location tracking and vehicle crash detection.

Is using bark a good idea? ›

Bye-bye weeds!

Wood chips and tree bark are forms of ground cover that do a great job of preventing weeds from growing. First of all, they ensure that little sunlight can penetrate down to the soil. An additional advantage of wood chips is that they weaken the roots of the weeds, which makes it easier to remove them.

Can Bark read text messages? ›

On all platforms, Bark can scan and alert you to issues in your child's posts, including text in captions, images, and videos. On Android and Amazon Fire tablets, Bark can also scan and alert you to issues found in direct messages and searches.

What is the Bark app controversy? ›

Yet, despite its noble intentions, Bark has found itself embroiled in controversy. Many people have raised concerns about the overly invasive nature of Bark giving parents access to their children's emails, texts, notes, and social media messages.

Can the Bark app see deleted messages? ›

Because Android is a more flexible operating system for app developers, our ability to analyze deleted texts is much higher if your kid uses an Android device rather than an iPhone.

Which app is best for parental control? ›

The quick list
  • Net Nanny. Net Nanny Family. $59.99. ...
  • Kaspersky Safe Kids. Kaspersky Safe Kids is available for iOS and Android as well as PC and Mac. ...
  • Qustodio. Qustodio Premium - 30 Day Free Trial. ...
  • Norton Family. Norton Family. ...
  • OurPact. OurPact is available for iOS and Android but has more features on iPhone. ...
  • Google Family Link.
6 days ago

Is Bark the best parental control app? ›

Bark: Best overall parental control app

No other parental control app screens so many messaging platforms at once—and we researched over 30 competitors just to make sure. Plus, we were really impressed with the sensitivity of Bark's content filters and the immediacy of their alerts during testing.

Can you hear conversations on mSpy? ›

Can I listen to conversations without being there? Yes. Ambient recording works remotely, so you don't have to be in the same room to listen in. In fact, the mSpy Android remote microphone spy app can be activated from anywhere in the world.

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