AirDroid Parental Control

What is AirDroid Parental Control app?

AirDroid is a parental control platform that gives caregivers powerful control over children's internet-connected phones and tablets. Parents can use Android and iOS devices to administer the control, but kids' devices (those being monitored) must be Android.

You can download the parental apps from the iOS and Play stores, but the app on kids' devices does not use the Play Store. To get this, you must sideload the app by obtaining the app file, known as an APK and installing it.

The AirDroid platform has these key features parents want to keep their kids safe online:

Device Control:

Kids often want to spend more time looking at a screen than parents think is ideal, or they want to use them at inappropriate times. AirDroid lets parents set restrictions at a device and individual app level.

Content:

You may decide that some apps have no place on your child's device, and you can block them from being installed using AirDroid.

Location:

As kids become more independent, they and their parents can get reassurance from geo-location tools.

AirDroid has a real-time locator for you to check your kids are where they should be and location history to show where they have been. You can also set geofences so the app notifies you if they enter or leave a defined area.

Monitoring:

AirDroid also has monitoring tools beyond those many of its competitors offer:

You can see a live update of what is on your kids' screens, view through their device cameras, activate their microphones, and see their notifications.

What we love about AirDroid app.

Getting your use of a parent control app right might take some fine-tuning, and we found AirDroid's activity reports helped enormously. You can use your kids' usage patterns to inform your decisions and spot patterns to help you know when to intervene.

While we do not recommend using monitoring tools indiscriminately, the features in this app provide parents with powerful options when the circumstances warrant it. The argument that it is better to have a feature and not need it than need it and not have it rings true for child safety, and AirDroid is feature-packed.

What skills does it teach?

AirDroid is not a teaching or learning app. However, giving parents extra supervision over their kids' devices can allow them to give their kids more freedom to use the internet for learning.

What age is it appropriate for?

As a parental control app, parents will buy and use AirDroid to facilitate the monitoring and control of their kids' devices.

Is AirDroid app easy to use?

Parental control apps always require more setup than other apps due to the nature of their role. AIrDroid's features require the app you place on your kid's phone or tablet to be sideloaded. This process is not as complicated as you might think, and the app's support has a helpful video that leads you through the process.

A comprehensive and clear user guide explains the rest of the setup process and how to use AirDroid's features.

How will students benefit?

Kids will rarely admit to liking monitoring apps. However, many gain reassurance from location trackers and appreciate the freedom they might not otherwise be afforded without them.

Kids, however, don't have to like something to benefit from it. While their maturity is not fully developed, their impulsivity, trusting natures, and inexperience can lead to risky situations online and in real life. The full benefit of AirDroid comes from helping parents do their most important job: keeping their kids safe.

AirDroid is invisible to kids, so its presence on their devices, whether they know about it or not, should not negatively impact their experiences when they use their devices within the boundaries they have agreed with their parents.

How will parents benefit?

The monitoring tools in AirDroid are powerful, and you should use them cautiously. Always remember that these tools are for keeping your kids safe, not satisfying your curiosity about their lives and interests—a trusting and open relationship is the best way to do that.

However, you are the best judge for balancing your kids' privacy against the risks they face. You know their circumstances and level of maturity, and having the power of these tools at your disposal can give you reassurance and the ability to intervene when your concerns justify it.

How will teachers benefit?

AirDroid Parental Control is a dedicated home platform; however, the publisher has other packages which may offer features more suitable for schools.

What can AirDroid app improve on?

AirDroid's website makes its ability to track kids' device's without them knowing into a feature. While we understand that this could be beneficial in some situations, we'd prefer the website advice to encourage parents to consider a more open approach.

Discussing why you want to place the controls with kids can be part of a broader conversation about online safety. It might also form a compromise between the greater freedom kids want against the fear parents hold.

We're not suggesting that kids need to be able to disable tracking but having them aware of it makes it a protective feature rather than having it interpreted as a method of spying. Trust between parents and kids is also part of keeping them safe.

The app's website and store pages don't make it clear that the platform's iOS compatibility only applies to the controlling devices used by parents. Kids' devices must be Android.

How much does AirDroid app cost?

Downloading the apps is free, and you can enjoy a seven-day trial before deciding whether to continue with a subscription.

There are three subscription offers: monthly, quarterly, and annual. The value increases with longevity due to a lower monthly cost and the option to bind more devices for larger families.

As parental control apps tend to see long-term use, if you determine that AirDroid is right for you, we recommend the annual subscription to get the best value at 50% of the cost compared to 12 months on the monthly tier.

Is AirDroid app safe to use?

You will be sideloading an app to your kid's device rather than using the Play Store. Apps obtained this way have not gone through the Play Store vetting process.

AirDroid can contribute towards keeping kids safe online and in real life, but, like all such apps, its protection is not absolute. For example, your kids need to have their devices with them and connected for the location tracker to work. Ensuring your kids know how to stay safe online and on the internet will also help.

AirDroid's website indicates that the app is KidSafe certified.

Overall rating of the app.

Parental control apps all have to overcome the difficulty of integrating with devices that, as adults, we don't want to be monitored. Some require deep-level modifications, such as jailbreaking, for the software to work. Others offer fewer features to make installation easier.

AidDroid's approach is a good balance if your kids have an Android device. The features it allows are powerful and sure to be reassuring for parents. The installation process might not be typical, but it is well-explained and not tricky. AirDroid Parental Control is a five-star app, and if you are looking for the reassurance such an app can provide, its seven-day trial would be time well spent.