As your child inches closer to the age of their first phone, the question looms: where to stop between individual liberty and excessive freedom? Comes the Bark Phone, a device where the parental control feature takes center stage. Bark Phone reviews often praise the application of their strong-pointed monitoring functions, but is it all a smooth ride?
Let us discover if the Bark Phone meets the hype, giving you the control and the technology benefits you desire for your child.
What is the Bark Phone?
The Bark Phone is a mobile device that emphasizes children’s safety and parental control. It resembles a regular phone in look and feel but operates on a locked-down operating system by the company Bark. This OS contains a package of monitoring features that will provide you with detailed information about your child’s activity.
Unlike installing a parental control app on a regular smartphone, the Bark Phone’s controls are tamper-proof. That is, it is not possible for a teenager to disable or bypass the parental controls.
This means that your kid will not be able to uninstall the monitoring software or disable the limitations that you have set.
Although the Bark Phone is not advertised as having top-of-the-line specs, it carefully takes functionalities and robustness into account.
Its specs include a 5.5-inch 720p screen, an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage (expandable), and a 3,000mAh battery.
Besides, the Bark Phone has a rear-facing triple camera with a main 50MP sensor for depth of field and zooming features.
It comes in two plans: a Wi-Fi plan and data plans with different data allowances. Both plans have unlimited talk and text, a Bark Premium subscription, and a USB-C charging cable. When it comes to phone security, the phone utilizes fingerprint recognition technology for biometric security.
The Bark Phone is a product that aims to provide functionality that gives parents tranquility more than cutting-edge hardware. It provides a balance between basic features for kids and elaborate parental controls.
What can the Bark Phone do?
The most important feature of The Bark Phone is the set of sophisticated parental control tools. Various reviews praise the phone’s customizable features. They suit a child’s age or personality.
Here are its key functions:
- Parental controls: The Bark Phone allows the parents complete control over their child’s device usage. Parents can set daily limits for apps and screen time. They can also block inappropriate apps or websites. Additionally, they can monitor their child’s online behavior.
- Location tracking: The Bark Phone’s GPS chip lets parents track their child’s location in real-time.
- Web filtering: Bark’s web filters block inappropriate or dangerous content on the phone.
- Content analysis: The phone’s AI scans texts, emails, and social media for signs of bullying or other issues.
- Emergency SOS: The phone’s SOS button sends the child’s location to preloaded emergency contacts. This gives the child a safety net in case of emergencies.
- Rugged design: Its rubberized casing makes the Bark Phone resistant to drops and rough use.
Bark Phone vs. Bark App parental control
When it comes to parental control solutions, Bark Technologies offers two options: the Bark Phone and the Bark App.
Both offer features for parents to monitor and control their children’s online behaviors. However, some differences exist.
Parents’ reviews and expert comments show different sides of each approach. Here’s a table comparing the parental control features of the Bark Phone and the Bark App:
| Feature | Bark Phone | Bark App |
|---|---|---|
| Control Level | Deep | Moderate |
| Monitoring | Monitors texts, emails, social media, and browsing activities for a wide range of issues. | Monitors texts, emails, and some social media platforms for specific issues chosen by parents |
| App management | Approves / Blocks apps. Restricts app download. | It may require additional configuration for app management on existing phone |
| Screen time | Set daily/weekly screen time limits. | It may require a separate app to control screen time. |
| Location tracking | Real-time location sharing | could necessitate a separate location-tracking application. |
| Contact Management | Approves/Blockes contacts | Reduced power over contact on the existing phone. |
| Privacy | Do not monitor unless a potential issue is flagged. | Might be able to access the entire message history and browsing data, too. |
| Temper Proof | Controls cannot be disabled by a kid | Those controls can be easily bypassed by teenagers who are tech-savvy. |
| Cost | Price of phone and Monthly service plan | Subscription fee |
Bark Phone vs. other kids’ smartphones
When comparing the Bark Phone to other smartphones designed specifically for kids, several key differences emerge, as highlighted by various reviews:
- Parental controls: Bark Phone offers built-in controls for screen time and online activity monitoring.
- Web filtering: Unlike other kids’ phones, Bark Phone filters inappropriate content at the device level.
- AI Content analysis: The platform monitors texts, emails, and social media for issues like cyberbullying.
- Emergency SOS: Bark Phone’s SOS button shares the child’s location and makes emergency calls.
- Rugged design: Bark Phone’s rubberized, shock-resistant design suits rough child handling.
- Ecosystem integration: Bark Phone provides a streamlined solution based on the Bark Technologies ecosystem.
Bark Phone reviews: shortcomings
While the Bark Phone offers a range of features designed for child safety and parental control, it also has some potential downsides that have been highlighted in reviews and discussions:
- Limited functionality: Being a targeted device for children, the Bark Phone’s hardware specifications are not as powerful as those of mainstream smartphones.
- Restricted app ecosystem: To enforce strict content and security governance, the Bark Phone likely has a limited app library that blocks downloads of popular games and apps available in the mainstream app stores.
- Privacy concerns: The Bark Phone’s monitoring and analysis features focused on children’s safety have some advantages, but some privacy issues are emerging from the extent of data collected and analyzed by the AI systems of the Bark Phone.
- Cost: A Bark Phone may be costlier than a traditional smartphone, given that the subscription may affect the price.
- Resistance from children: Over time, the kids might probably refuse to use the Bark phone because of its comprehensive parental controls and monitoring features that could lead to arguments or a desire to get a normal smartphone.
- Obsolescence: Just like other highly specialized devices, some questions have to do with the life span and the long-term commitment towards the Bark Phone as the technologies and consumer needs change.
Even though the Bark Phone is intended to meet the demands of children and parents concerned about child safety, these implications should be examined, and the benefits of the device should be weighed against them.
FlashGet Kids, a better alternative
Another fantastic choice other than the Bark Phone is FlashGet Kids, a service that most parents commonly refer to as the number one option for parents looking to get child-friendly with wonderful control options for parents.
FlashGet Kids offers several advantages over the Bark Phone:
Mainstream hardware: Unlike custom Bark Phone hardware that is designed with kid-oriented specifications, the FlashGet Kids runs on the latest models of smartphones like Samsung and Google. It allows the child to benefit from the strength of the built-up hardware, which covers a wider range of applications that can be used as the child develops.
Customizable parental controls: While all Bark phones have parental controls, FlashGate Kids allows parents to have personalized and customized control settings that perfectly fit the requirements of parents.
Comprehensive content filtering: Similarly to Bark Phone, FlashGet Kids possesses the same capacity to block out inappropriate websites, apps, and media. FlashGet has a sophisticated filtering system that is constantly updated and offers complete protection against current and emerging cyber threats.
AI-powered monitoring: Like the Bark Phone, FlashGet Kids applies Artificial Intelligence to determine whether a text message or online behavior is at risk of cyberbullying. Parents get the notifications in real-time and can take efficient actions.
Flexible ecosystem: FlashGet Kids is designed in a way that can run on different devices and platforms. With this, parents can manage and monitor their children’s online activities from a single dashboard, no matter what device the children use.
Scalability and longevity: As an app driven by conventional hardware, the FlashGet Kids platform can more easily accept the shifting tide of the technology trend and the upgrading process than the dedicated, proprietary device like the Bark Phone.
Final words
So, is the Bark Phone the ultimate answer for keeping your child safe in the digital world? Bark Phone reviews reveal a powerful tool with unparalleled parental control.
If prioritizing safety and setting clear boundaries trumps a fully loaded feature set, the Bark Phone might be your champion.
Ultimately, Bark Phones offer a valuable window into this unique device, helping you navigate the ever-evolving world of keeping your child safe online.
FAQs
How much is the Bark Phone?
The Bark Phone costs as much as the device; you can additionally pay $49 a year for a subscription service that enables premium parental control features and content analysis.
Can I monitor the Bark Phone from an iPhone?
Yes, the Bark Phone can be managed as well as controlled through the app called Bark App, which is available for both mobile devices operating in iOS or Android systems.
Can children disable parental controls on Bark Phone?
App Hider is the best app to hide apps on Android, as you can choose how to mask the hidden apps with a calculator function.
