FamiSafe-Parental Control App

What is Famisafe app?

FamiSafe is a parental control app for keeping an eye on your kid's digital media usage. 

There are multiple facets to the way kids use their computers and mobile devices. Parents must supervise these to ensure their kids remain safe and use their devices appropriately.

Famisafe has control features that help parents supervise and limit kids' activity in different ways.

Activity

Even if we could guarantee that everything kids saw on their devices was safe, we would not want them to use their computers and mobile devices to the exclusion of all other activities or become overly obsessed with a specific site or activity.

Famisafe provides parents with tools to monitor and control their kids' screen time. These give a lot of flexibility for parents to set the controls. Parents can change the rules remotely so they do not need to access their kids' devices to make a one-off adjustment. They can view a report on how their kids have spent their screen time.

Famisafe lets parents restrict specific apps and set different controls for different times. For instance, you could have everything blocked at night and fewer restrictions at the weekend than during a school week.

Content

When kids use their devices, the content they view must be suitable. Famisafe has some general-purpose content control tools and some dedicated to specific apps which are popular with kids and teenagers.

If your child is old enough to use TikTok or view YouTube videos, you can use the dedicated tools for adding restrictions to these apps. This control could be reassuring for parents as their kids' use or overuse of these two apps may be a driving force behind wanting a parental control app like Famisafe.

The manufacturer-defined limitations of iPhones and iPad don't let you have as much fine control over these apps as you can utilise with Android and desktop devices.

Social and user-generated content can also be a source of concern for parents. Famisafe provides tools for monitoring each device's storage for inappropriate photographs and unacceptable social media messages. These tools will be a welcome extra layer of security for parents but do not replace the need for supervision, as we cannot expect any app to provide infallible protection. Neither can we thoroughly check these aspects during this review of Famisafe, as they are naturally dependent on the actions of others.

Famisafe also provides web browser controls. Parents can monitor children's browser histories and filter inappropriate searches and websites. Famisafe can help ensure kids are less likely to circumvent browser controls by switching to an alternative browser. However, you must follow the set-up guidance correctly to do this and be mindful of any particular device or app limitations.

Location

Famishare also provides safety features for the real world. If your kids have Famisafe on their devices, you can find out where they are and where they have been. Famisafe's location tracker also lets you set geofences so that you will receive an alert if your kids leave or enter an area you have defined. You can make this alert time-dependent to reflect where kids should be at any given time.

Famisafe works across many devices. Each has a different implementation based on the device's features, the apps it can access, and what functions are open to third-party apps. The app's supporting website has a great user guide to describe the differences in setting up and using Famisafe with each platform. Ensure you allow yourself plenty of time to use the app's free trial to assess it with each device you wish to secure with the parental control features.

What we love about Famisafe app.

Parents' concerns for their kids' safety in part reflect their opinions and partly their child's maturity and age. The safety features suitable for one parent's concerns might differ from those for another.

Famisafe has lots of options to tailor the protection and controls. These allow parents to adapt the app to a level that suits them. It also means that their use of the app can evolve as their kids grow in maturity. Parents could choose to change the limits and locks on the app as their kids demonstrate their responsibility.

What skills does it teach?

Famisafe is a parental control app. It does not directly teach skills or knowledge, but enhancing parental control over devices can allow kids greater freedom to use them without supervision. They can use apps and browse the internet for educational purposes with enhanced security.

What age is it appropriate for?

The Famisafe platform is for adults to choose and implement. It can be used to add parental control features to the devices of children of all ages. Parents should remember that no security app can guarantee perfect protection and that parents should still maintain supervision appropriate to their child's age and maturity. Kids should always know to talk to their parents or teachers if they encounter anything online that makes them uncomfortable.

Is Famisafe app easy to use?

Famisafe's publishers provide a comprehensive guide to setting up and using the app. You can view these instructions on the app's supporting website or download them as a convenient PDF file.

Before buying the app, you should look at this guide to ensure you understand what it can do. You should also consult it as you set up the Famisafe platform. It is as straightforward as you could hope, but there are points where you need to remember to set certain options or a certain control is impossible on a specific device.

If you follow the guide, you can get Famisafe working quickly and effectively.

Linking your kids' devices to your administration account is quickly done by scanning a QR code or entering a pairing code. An easy-to-follow wizard guides you through the process.

How will students benefit?

Kids might rail against having restrictions on their devices, but if these are what it takes for them to be allowed a phone or tablet, they'll accept it. They'll also appreciate your supervision of their use of the internet being more arm's length when you use this parental control app.

They'll know not to view anything inappropriate because you'll be able to see it, but you don't have to observe their screen as they browse the internet for homework or entertainment purposes.

How will parents benefit?

The multitude of controls built into Famisafe lets parents choose where to exert control. If they feel their kids are spending too much time using their devices, they can restrict it. Parents can set downtimes if it is not the amount of time but the inappropriate times kids are using their devices.

Alongside this, how kids use YouTube or the web might worry parents. Again, they can choose how to implement the controls.

Famisafe lets you monitor content for words you choose. This feature helps adapt the app to match kids' evolving slang and language. If you know that kids in your area use a previously innocent word or an invented one to stand in for something less harmless, you can add it to Famisafe's suspicious words library.

Factor in the geolocation features for providing general reassurance about kids' whereabouts, and parents will find Famisafe an excellent value parental control app.

How will teachers benefit?

Schools have a responsibility to ensure their devices are used suitably by kids while they are at school. If schools lend devices to kids to take home, there is even more need to ensure the devices are used appropriately.

Famisafe's features are available to schools, and their flexibility should allow administrators to balance keeping kids safe without making the devices restrictive.

How much does Famisafe app cost?

Famisafe requires a subscription to work, but you can use it for three days for free first. This free trial is fully functional, letting you use all the features available.

You can subscribe monthly, quarterly, or annually. The yearly plan provides the best value, and as family apps tend to be used for a long time, we recommend this option as the one to choose.

There is an optional, additional small charge per month for the inclusion of GeoConnection, which will grant you access to whole-family tracking.

Famisafe also has an option for school use to protect kids using its allocated devices. The cost depends on the length of your chosen subscription and the number of devices you wish to protect. There is a convenient price calculator on the Famisafe website where you can set either option and quickly discover the cost.

Is Famisafe app safe to use?

Famisafe's purpose is to keep kids safe and it provides parents and school with powerful tools to do this. These features require granting the Famisafe platform deep-level access to each of your child's devices. The app shares its comprehensive privacy policy with other apps within the developer's catalogue. It illustrates the protections and limitations on the use of the data that passes through the developer's platform, but for this type of app which accesses kids' devices, we'd prefer to see a dedicated policy with specific references to the features.

What can Famisafe app improve on?

Famisafe is open about how much each feature works on each device type, but we'd like to see this information in a single place. At the moment, you have to look at each feature on the website or the user guide to see its availability and the extent to which it works on each device. 

It would be much simpler for potential subscribers to this app if there were a table they could check.

Overall rating of the app.

Famisafe features a lot of parental control options, each with a genuine use. You might not need each one today, but their presence gives you the flexibility to make it work for you immediately and adapt as your needs change.

All parental control apps need some time commitment to setting them up, and Famisafe's installation is no different, but it provides plenty of support. Once you have it running with the controls you want, you'll appreciate its presence in helping to keep your kids safe and see why we have awarded it five stars in this app review.

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