Kristel van Hoof
Updated on: December 15, 2023
Short on time? Here’s the best parental control app for Snapchat in 2024:
- 🥇 Bark: This parental control app sends you an alert when it finds messages on Snapchat with suspicious or concerning content. It also lets you set a customized schedule for your child’s Snapchat use. You can test Bark risk-free via its 7-day free trial.
Snapchat has a built-in parental control system, but it’s not great. Your kid has to accept your supervision, and you can’t see the content or photos of their Snapchat messages.
The best way to monitor Snapchat is with a good parental control app. Parental control apps give you more control over your kid’s Snapchat activities, and they also allow you to block the app on your kid’s phone or limit how much time they spend on it — none of which you can do with Snapchat’s in-app parental controls.
To find the best parental app for Snapchat, I tested 30+ parental apps. My personal favorite is Bark — it uses AI to alert you about inappropriate and concerning content on your child’s Snapchat account, and it comes with all the extra features you need to be in full control of your kid’s Snapchat use.
Quick summary of the best parental controls for Snapchat:
- 🥇 1. Bark — Best overall parental control for Snapchat.
- 🥈 2. Mobicip — Easy-to-use app for monitoring Snapchat content.
- 🥉 3. mSpy — Good for accessing your child’s Snapchat messages on Android.
- 4. Eyezy — Great for tracking all of your kid’s Snapchat activities on iOS.
- 5. Qustodio — Best for setting time limits on Snapchat.
- Comparison of the Best Parental Controls for Snapchat in 2024.
🥇1. Bark — Best Overall Parental Control for Snapchat
Approved by our experts
Bark is the best parental control app for Snapchat in 2024, as it’s one of the only top parental control apps that monitors your child’s direct messages, searches, and AI chat. Bark also scans the content against 15+ categories, like violence and bullying, and alerts you whenever it detects content that falls in any of those categories.
What I really like is that Bark’s alerts include a snippet of the Snapchat content that triggered one of its filters. This is great since it lets you determine whether it’s worth interfering. I also think it’s great that Bark includes a tip on how to deal with the issue, depending on the type of content it detects. The only downside is that this feature is only available on Android.
I also like that It allows you to control the sensitivity levels for each category. You can turn off certain categories and choose to get fewer alerts for certain categories, which is great if you want to set more lenient rules for your older children.
On top of that, Bark allows you to set screen time limits for Snapchat to make sure that your kid isn’t spending too much time on the app. I found it very convenient that there’s an option to set different rules for different times of the day. For example, I could block Snapchat during the night but allow access during the day. And if you don’t want your child to use Snapchat at all, you can block the app completely.
Bark’s web filter feature allows you to block the browser-based Snapchat version. Simply enter the Snapchat for Web URL in the web filter settings to block the website. This way, your kids can’t bypass any restrictions regarding Snapchat.
I love how the apps are user-friendly, and it’s simple to set up rules for Snapchat on any device — it only takes a couple of clicks. I do think it’s a bit inconvenient that you have to use the browser extensions on Windows or macOS devices to block Snapchat’s web version, but I like that they’re beginner-friendly.
Bark’s Premium plan, which costs $5.00 / month, has all the features to monitor Snapchat. Although there’s no money-back guarantee, Bark offers a generous 7-day free trial, which is plenty to try out all of its features.
Bottom Line:
Bark is the best parental control app for Snapchat. It monitors your child’s Snapchat messages, searches, and AI chats, and it sends you snippets of inappropriate or concerning content. Bark even provides recommended actions when it detects suspicious content, and it allows you to set time limits and block the app completely. You can test the app using its 7-day free trial.
🥈2. Mobicip — Beginner-Friendly Monitoring Feature for Snapchat
Mobicip comes with a simple Snapchat monitoring feature that’s great for beginners — it takes just one tap to enable it. Like Bark, Mobicip also scans for inappropriate or concerning messages on your child’s Snapchat account and sends you a screenshot of the message that one of its filters detects.
Unlike Bark, you don’t get any granular control, which is great if you prefer a simpler option and fewer notifications. Mobicip lets you choose which content categories to alert you about and how often you receive notifications about them. However, Mobicip only scans Snapchat content against 5+ categories, which is a lot fewer than Bark’s 15+ content categories.
Mobicip is a great option for scheduling your child’s Snapchat screen time, but these rules will also apply to other social sites, including Facebook and Instagram. That said, I think it’s great that you can create app filters with 5-minute increments for specific times of the day and week for your child’s social media use. For example, I was able to restrict access to Snapchat and other platforms during school hours.
Plus, its web filtering feature allows you to block Snapchat for Web or create custom filters based on keywords to block specific content. I was also impressed to find that Mobicip can prevent my child from downloading Snapchat from the app store altogether.
I like that Mobicip offers a Vacation Mode, which overrides your usual schedule. It allows you to set app filtering for a set period of time, like a couple of days or a week, during which you can set more lenient rules for your kid’s Snapchat use.
You get all monitoring features with Mobicip’s Premium plan, which costs $2.99 / month and is backed by a 7-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
Mobicip is great for beginners who want to monitor their kid’s Snapchat account. The feature is easy to use and scans Snapchat content against 5+ categories, which you can turn on and off. You can decide how often you want to receive notifications, block Snapchat’s web version, and decide when your kid can access Snapchat and other social media apps. Mobicip’s Premium plan comes with a 7-day money-back guarantee.
🥉3. mSpy — Good For Accessing Your Child’s Snapchat Messages on Android
mSpy provides a comprehensive view of your child’s Snapchat account on Android, which not a lot of parental control apps offer. It lets you read disappearing messages and snaps (so not just text like most apps) and displays date and timestamps, so you know exactly when you kid sent or received a message on the app.
I was impressed with its keylogger feature. It allows you to track everything your child types on their phone, including their Snapchat messages. You can even set up the app to alert you when they use a particular word or phrase.
mSpy includes a screen recorder feature that captures screenshots of Snapchat conversations. The app takes a screenshot every time it detects a change in the app. For example, when your kid sends or receives a snap, it allows you to closely follow your child’s conversations on Snapchat.
And if you want, you can block Snapchat’s web version via its web filtering feature. Unfortunately, mSpy doesn’t come with screen time limits and other features that you’ll find in Bark or Mobicip’s apps. Also, all of these features that give you a full view of your kid’s Snapchat activities are only available on Android.
What I really didn’t like about mSpy is that you have to root or jailbreak your kid’s phone if you want to be able to see their messages and use the screen recorder and keylogger feature. The process is not only technical, but it can also compromise the security of your kid’s device.
mSpy offers 4 plans that give you access to features that monitor your child’s Snapchat: Premium ($8.33 / month), Family Kit ($50.00 / month), iOS Ultimate Kit ($23.99 / month), and Android Extreme ($33.99 / month). mSpy doesn’t provide a free plan, a trial period, or a money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
mSpy is a great choice for full access to every bit of Snapchat content on your kid’s Android. It lets you see all messages and Snaps, including those that have disappeared and comes with a screen recorder and a keylogger feature that alerts you when your kid uses certain words. The downside is you’ll need to root/jailbreak your kid’s device to use all of these features. Also, you don’t get any free trial or a money-back guarantee.
4. Eyezy — Good For Reading Snapchat Messages on iOS
Eyezy lets you see all of your kid’s snaps on iOS. Its Social Spotlight feature allows you to read all of their text messages and see every image they’ve sent and received. This is impressive since there aren’t many good parental apps out there that allow you to monitor Snapchat on iOS.
Eyezy’s keylogger and screen recorder features are great. The keylogger sends alerts when your child types certain words on Snapchat and gives you an overview of every keystroke made on your child’s device. The screen recorder, on the other hand, takes screenshots of everything your child is doing on Snapchat. Again, Eyezy is one of the few parental apps that let you do this on iOS.
If you don’t want your kid to access Snapchat at all, you can block the app and web version. However, keep in mind that there may be a delay of up to 15 minutes before the block is applied on your child’s device — with Bark, these restrictions are applied instantly.
Setting up Eyezy requires you to root or jailbreak your child’s device, which isn’t ideal. It took me quite some time to do it, and I don’t recommend it unless you’re tech-savvy and are willing to compromise your child’s device security.
Eyezy’s desktop plan costs $7.99 / month. However, there’s no free plan, trial period, or money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
Eyezy allows you to see all of your kid’s Snapchat activity on iOS, which is great, considering that not a lot of apps give you this kind of control over an Apple product. You also get a keylogger and screen recorder feature, as well as the option to block both the Snapchat app and the web version. Unfortunately, setting up Eyezy requires rooting or jailbreaking, which comes with security risks. In addition, there’s no free plan or trial period.
5. Qustodio — Best for Setting Time Limits on Your Kid’s Snapchat
Qustodio is one of the best apps for setting daily time limits on Snapchat. Unlike most parental control apps that allow you to determine when your child can or can’t use the app, Qustodio lets you decide how long they can spend on Snapchat each day, which is great for teaching your kids boundaries. Once your child reaches this time limit, Qustodio will automatically block the app.
You can also block the app on your child’s device and restrict access to the web version, just like with Bark. I also really like that you can allow your kid unrestricted access to Snapchat but receive alerts whenever your child opens it or visits the web version. This gives you insight into their Snapchat screen time but also provides them with some freedom, which is great for older kids.
Qustodio’s activity timeline is very helpful for monitoring your child’s Snapchat usage. It shows the amount of time spent on the app each day and keeps a record of usage history for the past 30 days.
Qustodio’s Complete plan is priced at $54.95 / year, lets you set app time limits, and is backed by a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
Qustodio helps you control your child’s Snapchat screen time with daily time limits. I really like that its activity timeline tracks your child’s Snapchat usage and that there’s an option to allow your children unrestricted access to Snapchat but get notified when they use it. It’s also great that you can try Qustodio’s plan risk-free thanks to the 30-day money-back guarantee.
Comparison of the Best Parental Controls for Snapchat in 2024
How to Choose the Best Parental Control for Snapchat in 2024
- Choose a parental app that can monitor Snapchat. Not a lot of parental app controls can monitor Snapchat, but all my top picks can.
- Check the app performs well. It’s essential to make sure that your parental control app doesn’t decrease the speed of your device too much or deplete its battery. I’ve thoroughly evaluated all of the apps I suggest and can verify that they’re not resource-heavy and operate as promised.
- Check for essential parental control features. Every parental control app I recommend allows you to block the Snapchat app and web version and most also let you set time limits for the app.
- Test user-friendliness. Both the parents and kids apps should be easy to set up and navigate, even if you’ve never used a parental control app before.
- Get a parental control app that offers good value. Most of the top choices on my list provide features that let you see everything your child is doing on Snapchat and come with free plans or free trials, affordable pricing, and even money-back guarantees.
Top Brands That Didn’t Make the Cut
- Norton Family. Comes with excellent screen time and scheduling features. However, it lacks support for setting time limits on specific apps and doesn’t offer monitoring for Snapchat.
- Kaspersky Safe Kids. Although it allows social media monitoring, it only works with the Russian social media site, VK.
- Net Nanny. Offers a flexible screen time feature but doesn’t come with the option to set time limits specifically for Snapchat. It also doesn’t include any social media monitoring.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you use parental controls on Snapchat?
Yes. Snapchat has built-in parental controls that give you some options to limit what your child can and see on Snapchat. However, they can easily be bypassed, and you don’t get any granular control — for example, you don’t get to decide how much time your kid spends on Snapchat.
For more control, it’s best to get a parental control app like Bark, which scans your kid’s messages, searches, and AI chats and sends you a snippet when it detects content that’s suspicious, dangerous, or concerning.
What is the best parental control app for Snapchat?
The best parental control app for Snapchat is Bark. It uses AI to detect inappropriate or concerning content on your child’s Snapchat account. Whenever it detects such content, it sends you an alert with a snippet of the message. In addition, Bark also allows you to set time limits for Snapchat.
Can parental control apps completely block Snapchat usage?
Yes, top parental control apps allow you to completely block Snapchat — both the app and the web version. Mobicip even allows you to block Snapchat from the app store to prevent your kids from downloading it.
Is there a free app available for monitoring Snapchat?
Unfortunately, no. Most free parental control apps often have limited functionality and rarely have any features that can help you see or restrict their Snapchat activities. Plus, free parental control apps don’t have the necessary tools to ensure that your kid won’t bypass your rules.
That’s why I recommend investing in a good parental control app that actually works. My top recommendation is Bark, as it works with Snapchat and provides real-time alerts whenever it detects an inappropriate or concerning message.
