BUFFALO, N.Y. — If you're a parent considering a smartphone for your kid this Christmas, it's likely you've already thought of how you plan to monitor your child's use of said smartphone.
Whatever you decide to go with, experts with Common Sense Media warn: no phone monitoring app or service is 100% reliable.
That being said, phone monitoring services offered through wireless service providers have come a long way.
Verizon: Smart Family
Smart Family is an app that controls the child's phone from the parent's phone, setting content filters and a host of restrictions, such as screen time and when they can use the device. You can also view your child's call and text activity from your own phone. The app even allows you to pause internet access at any time.
If you already have Verizon's FamilyBase, this new app is very similar.
The most noticeable difference is Smart Family's ability to locate and track family members.
Smart Family is $4.99 per month, but that's without location tracking. If you want that perk, it'll cost $9.99/month.
While Smart Family works with most mobile devices, there are some exceptions. The website says the app doesn't work with tablets, simple internet protocol (IP) devices, and devices that use static internet protocol addresses.
T-Mobile: FamilyMode
FamilyMode launched about six months ago, and it has a lot of the same features as Verizon's app. It manages devices across both iOS and Android platforms as well as on both cellular and Wi-Fi networks
The app costs $10 a month, but in order to get the full spectrum of features you also need to buy some hardware.
The Home Base costs and additional $20, but that price is a limited time offer, according to the company website.
Adding Home Base to the FamilyMode app allows it to work not just on phones but for all connected devices, meaning the app can control the time spent on gaming consoles, too.
2 On Your Side did reach out to Sprint, as well, which is currently moving forward in a merger with T-Mobile. We did not get a response.
AT&T: ScreenReady
Just three weeks ago AT&T kicked off ScreenReady. While this is a free service, it's still a pilot program in New York City. They're hoping to expand it to other areas in the coming months.
With this program, parents can bring their phones and tablets to select AT&T stores, no matter the wireless carrier, to get hands-on guidance with the parental controls and filter settings already built into operating systems.
ScreenReady will also provides access to customized tips, in store and via AT&T's ScreenReady mobile website.