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Best for Bundled Security
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Blocks harmful content on mobile devices
Robust screen time management tools
Unlimited devices
Best Overall Parental Control App
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Robust parental controls to track, monitor, and limit device usage
Machine learning catches the latest slang and keywords
Screens content across 19 categories
Overall, Bark is a better parental control app than Aura, giving you more features to keep your children safe online — including conversation monitoring and location tracking.
That said, Aura Parental Controls is an interesting add-on to a quality standalone product in the identity theft and data removal space. If you're just looking for some robust screen time monitoring features, then it could be enough for you. But if your priority is parental controls, then Bark is the better option.
In this review, we'll dive into the findings of our in-house testing around pricing, monitoring and alert features, usability, and more. And if neither Aura nor Bark offers the coverage your family needs, we also recommend more of the best parental control apps.
At first glance, these two parental control services are similar. Both offer the ability to block and filter websites and apps, managing what your child can and can’t see on the internet. Additionally, they both offer screen time limits. On closer inspection, we found that these parental control software services have some notable differences, namely their monitoring capabilities.
While Aura offers alerts for cyberbullying and online predator threats through gaming platforms, it doesn’t offer any monitoring for social media, text messages, or emails. Conversely, Bark offers extensive monitoring for social media, text messages, and emails, as well as videos and images. Additionally, Aura doesn’t offer location tracking, while Bark services include location tracking and geo-fencing.
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 Our Pick | |
| Star rating | ||
| Price | $8.25-$32.00/mo | $4.00–$14.00/mo |
| Free trial | Yes — 14 days | Yes — 7 days |
| Number of protected devices | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Web filtering | ||
| Conversation monitoring | Yes — Social media, text, email | |
| Screen time management | ||
| Location tracking | ||
| Activity reports | ||
| Remote lock | ||
| Supported devices | iOS and Android | Android phone or tablet, iPhone, iPad, iPod, Amazon Fire, Chromebook, Computer, Gaming console |
| Learn more | Get Aura Parental Controls | Get Bark |
We put every parental control app through vigorous hands-on testing by downloading the software to our own devices. We test how the product works from both the parent's and child's perspectives, evaluating how well we're able to monitor device usage and deliberately attempting to sneak around the limitations.
By taking a fine-tooth comb through all available features and settings, we carefully compare each product using our proprietary grading rubric. The star ratings take into account price, screen time management, content filters, location tracking, monitoring, alerts, and ease of use.
To learn more about how we test, check out our full testing methodology here.
During our testing of Aura Parental Controls, we found that the service is a strong option when it comes to impressive content filtering and screen time management features. It proved itself to be up for the job when it came to creating healthy online boundaries and wasn't just a half-baked add-on to a good product.
There were two main areas where Aura falls short, and that's in the fact that it doesn't monitor conversations on the device or location tracking. The first one we can understand, since it can feel overly intrusive for some parents, but location tracking is almost a staple in parental control products. We thought that was a big miss.
Though overall we liked the app and thought it worked well, our major disappointment was that we were able to easily delete the app from the phone without the parent dashboard giving us a notification. This makes it hard to trust for older kids who know their way around apps.
Bark is a juggernaut in the parental control category, covering almost every feature you can even imagine wanting. That said, our biggest disappointment overall was that the alerts came in quite delayed in our testing and the app drained our phone's battery.
But when it comes to the features, Bark delivers on its promises. You can control screen time, filter content, and even get alerts for inappropriate or dangerous content on social media, text messages, and emails. The big thing to keep in mind is that you can't see all the conversations happening on the phone, only the messages that trigger an alert. That helps keep some privacy for your child.
Aura offers the better value overall, thanks to being able to bundle with its larger identity theft protection and data removal service. It also offers a better free trial and a money-back guarantee.
Our Pick |
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| Price range | $8.25-$32.00/mo | $4.00–$14.00/mo |
| Best value plan | Aura Ultimate Family for $32.00/mo (billed annually) | Bark Premium for $14.00/mo |
| Free trial | Yes — 14 days | Yes — 7 days |
| Money-back guarantee | Yes — 60 days | |
| Get Aura Parental Controls | Get Bark |
Aura has two plans: Aura Parental Controls and Aura Ultimate Family. Aura Parental Controls covers one adult and unlimited children. Its best for those who are solely seeking parental controls.
Aura Ultimate Family plan covers five adults and unlimited children. It's best for families who want comprehensive coverage, including identity theft protection, credit monitoring, and parental controls.
Aura offers a free 14-day trial that requires payment information upfront, as well as a 60-day money-back guarantee on annual plans.
Bark offers four plans for families to choose from. Bark plans are all designed to help parents work cooperatively with their children to monitor content, set screen time limits, and overall, protect kids online. Bark Jr. is their most basic plan, perfect for younger kids. The Bark phone is a product designed to keep your child safe online.
Bark offers a free seven-day trial but requires payment information upfront.
Bark has the better monitoring and alerts overall, providing important extras like location tracking and conversation monitoring.
| Feature | |
Our Pick |
| Website filtering | ||
| App filtering | ||
| Social media monitoring | ||
| Text message monitoring | ||
| Email monitoring | ||
| Internet search monitoring | ||
| Screen time limits | ||
| Remote lock | ||
| Cyberbullying and online predator alerts | ||
| Location tracking | ||
| Geo-fencing | ||
| Activity reports | ||
| Learn more | Get Aura Parental Controls | Get Bark |
When you break it down, Aura’s parental control offering is really identity theft protection, with some parental control features built in. The most glaring discrepancy is Aura’s lack of conversation monitoring. While Aura does offer website and app blocking, as well as cyberbullying alerts from online gaming, there really is no way for parents to monitor what’s being sent via email or text message.
Plus, Aura doesn’t offer typical parental control location services, like location tracking or geo-fencing. This isn’t a total deal breaker, as these features are important components of keeping kids safe offline, while Aura really specializes in online cybersecurity. So if you’re more interested in bundled online protection, the Aura Ultimate Family plan will comprehensively cover you.
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But as far as standalone parental control apps go, we were impressed by Bark’s robust filtering and monitoring features. In addition to text and email, Bark offers social media, photo, and video monitoring. Bark’s content screens span over 18 categories, and the app library reaches over 30 popular apps, like Discord and TikTok, to help keep kids safe on social media apps. We also appreciate Bark’s location services. Bark not only offers location tracking but also a location alert feature. This feature automatically alerts parents when your child arrives at a location you’ve added to their account.
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Bark has the better compatibility overall, thanks in part to being available on virtually any device that connects to the internet through Bark Home.
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Our Pick | |
| Windows | ||
| macOS | ||
| Android | ||
| iOS | ||
| Other devices | Android tablet, iPad, iPod, Amazon Fire, Chromebook, Gaming console | |
| 24/7 customer support | ||
| Customer support options | Chat, phone, email, guides | Email, guides |
| Learn more | Get Aura Parental Controls | Get Bark |
While Aura Parental Controls is focused on iPhone and Android devices, Bark is available as an app on Windows and Macbooks too. You can take this compatibility even further by getting Bark Home, which is a router that forces content filtering on the Wi-Fi level. That means any device, even the iPads and gaming consoles, will be subject to content filtering rules as long as they're connected to your home's internet.
When it comes to customer support, Aura does have the better experience, since you can get 24/7 help through a wider variety of methods, including the ever-helpful live chat.
When it comes to determining if Aura is better than Bark, you need to take into account what you’re looking for. Aura is a rock-solid solution for families looking for online identity protection since it also offers online security features, like a password manager, VPN, dark web monitoring, and SSN monitoring.
But if you’re looking for dedicated parental control software that offers monitoring services, Bark is a better choice.
There are many factors to consider when choosing a parental control app for your family. Price, features, the age of your kids, and what they’re interested in online are all things to consider before choosing which service is best for you. Bark may not be the best fit for your family. If you’re still uncertain, look at our guide to the best parental control apps. We compare Bark, Norton Family, Net Nanny, Kaspersky Safe Kids, and Aura Parental Controls to help you find the best fit for your family.
According to our survey on social media and kids, 23% of parents check their children’s internet history at least once per day. A parental control app like Bark helps make that more manageable. Bark screens content across 18+ categories and monitors over 30 apps for potentially inappropriate content, so we believe Bark is worth it.
If you’re wondering if Aura Parental Controls is worth your money, it really comes down to whether you want Aura’s bundled protection or a more robust, standalone parental control app. Aura doesn’t offer social media, text message, or email monitoring, nor does it include geo-tracking. Even still, Aura’s parental controls are powered by Circle, so it does alert you to cyberbullying, offer safe gaming, and monitor your child’s identity online in case of identity theft.
Aura’s parental control plans are more expensive than other parental control apps because they include an antivirus, a VPN, a password manager, and other features. If you’re considering the Aura identity theft protection plans in addition to parental controls, then the Aura Family plan is a great option. But if you’re specifically looking for just parental control software, Aura is on the pricier side, with fewer options than some competitors.
Bark is a better parental control app than Aura, thanks mostly to its large array of features like location tracking and conversation alerts.
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Our Pick | |
| Value | ||
| Features | ||
| Compatibility & customer support | ||
| Learn more | Get Aura Parental Controls | Get Bark |
Bark offers an extensive monitoring suite and a more robust parental control setup. Bark’s software monitors text messages, emails, photos, and videos for over 18 content categories and alerts parents of potentially dangerous conversations or images. Bark also offers location services and geo-fencing so you can rest easy that your child is where they should be.
Conversely, Aura offers features to protect your child’s identity, like Social Security number monitoring, and safe gaming to offer parents peace of mind while their kids game online. Cyberbullying and online predator threat alerts offer an additional layer of security. However, Aura’s lack of monitoring and location services is a big miss in our book. But if you’re looking for an identity theft protection service for your child that has a few parental control bonuses built in, Aura could be a good option for you.
There are many factors to consider when choosing a parental control app for your family, including features and price. If you aren’t sure if Aura or Bark is right for your family, there are more of the best parental control apps that might suit your family’s needs:
| Service | 
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| Star rating | |||
| Price | Starts at $4.16/mo (billed annually) | Starts at $4.58/mo (billed annually) | Starts at $3.33/mo (billed annually) |
| # of people covered | Up to 15 kids | 1 - unlimited | 1 - 20 devices |
| Screen time management | |||
| Content filtering | |||
| Conversation monitoring | Yes, on social media, texts, and email | Yes, on social media | |
| Location tracking | |||
| Details | Get Norton Family | Get Qustodio | Get Net Nanny |
Robust parental controls to track, monitor, and limit device usage
Machine learning catches the latest slang and keywords
Screens content across 19 categories
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