What is Kids360? What parents need to know

Kids360 is one of the most popular parental control apps available, giving parents the ability to monitor their children’s online activity, as well as know their current location in the real world using the app’s GPS features.

Kids360 is available on iOS and Android devices. The app subscription is priced at £9.99/month or £79.99/year. A 7-day free trial is available, giving you a chance to try the app out yourself before committing to a paid subscription.

To set up Kids360, you must download the Kids360 app on your phone and then download the Alli360 app onto your child’s device. Once this is done, you can begin managing and monitoring their digital life.

From the Kids360 app on your phone, you can make instant adjustments to your child’s controls at any time, monitor their online activity and keep track of their live location.

Kids360 has a range of features to keep parents informed and in control of how their children use their devices. These include:

• Screen time management: Parents can decide how long their child can spend on their device each day. Once this time limit is exceeded, the device will automatically lock. Essential communication apps will still be accessible for safety reasons.
• App blocking: Specific apps can be blocked, or you can block entire categories of apps. Time limits can also be put on apps, and schedules can be set on when apps can be used. This gives parents the ability to block access to games or social media apps during studying or mealtimes. Controls can also be set so that new app downloads require parental permission, and so that any in-app purchases are blocked.
• Usage reporting:  Parents can see what their children have been searching for online, what they have watched on YouTube, their daily screen time and what apps they use the most.
• Location tracking: Your child’s precise location will be shown on a map in the Kids360 app, which gives live location updates and also shows your child’s device battery status.
• Developmental tasks: The app includes thousands of developmental tasks that children can complete and be rewarded with more screen time. These tasks range from reading a book to exercising, and parents can also create their own custom tasks.
• Loud signal: Parents can make their child’s device start emitting a loud signal noise, even if their device is set to silent. This is useful to stay in contact with the child and can also help them find their device if they lose it.

• Strong screen time and app management tools
• In-depth usage reporting
• Developmental tasks to encourage healthy behaviour in children
• Location tracking
• Loud signal to make staying in contact with your child easier

While Kids360 does have a lot of strong reporting features, it lacks any social media monitoring. You can limit or block social media apps, but if you do allow your child to use social media you should discuss their online lives with them so you can stay aware of how they use these platforms.

Kids360 is also strongly focused on mobile phones and tablets, so if your child has other devices such as a laptop or MacBook, you might want to use a different monitoring app that covers these devices.

Like with all parental control apps, children may not react well to being monitored. Explaining to them why you have chosen to use a monitoring app, focusing on the safety benefits rather than the ability to see what they’re doing, will make your child less likely to try and bypass these controls.