My 13-year-old just got her first iPhone and I want to keep tabs on her online activity without being too invasive. I’ve tried a few free options but they were clunky. Any suggestions for something reliable and easy to set up?
Apple’s built-in Screen Time is honestly your best starting point — it’s free, already on the phone, and lets you see app usage, set limits, and approve downloads without needing any third-party app. If you want something more robust, Bark is popular here and works well for iPhone because it monitors content and flags issues rather than logging everything, which keeps things less “Big Brother” and more practical. For a 13-year-old that’s probably the sweet spot anyway — you want guardrails, not a surveillance state. 