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Comparing Family Safety Apps: MamaBear and Net Nanny

Choosing the right family safety app isn’t easy. That’s why we’re taking the time to compare the features of MamaBear with a few other family safety services now on the market.

Let’s take a look at Net Nanny and review it’s similarities and differences compared to MamaBear.

Net Nanny created internet filtering software that allows parents to be in control of web browsing – preventing selected sites to be viewed while allowing others. Initially the software was created for computers and now has extended to mobile web browsing. They clearly state their benefit as families being able to “use the Internet as a resource for homework and fun without fear of accidental exposure to undesirable material, or encounters with dangerous individuals.” Net Nanny has added social media monitoring and mobile device monitoring.

The Net Nanny service allows parents to:

  • Set filtering for nearly twenty categories of online content to either block the site, send a warning or allow the child to view;
  • Send a warning message or completely block access to adult content like pornography;
  • Limit the total number of hours spent on the internet in a 24-hour period OR set specific times of the day when a child is allowed to be online;
  • View a web page without being bombarded by vulgar language;
  • Monitor social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Linkedin, Tumblr, Google+)  in order to protect kids from online threats and monitor activities related to your child’s “friends,” cyberbullying, sexual predators, privacy concerns and reputation-damaging pictures or videos;
  • Send parents reports and mail alerts about a child’s online activity;
  • Check usage reports, change a child’s profile settings and much more remotely from any computer with an Internet connection;
  • Use preset user profiles or customize settings for each family member; each computer can have unlimited user profiles.

Mobile device monitoring on iOS and Android replaces the mobile browser being used with Net Nanny’s browser for secured browsing.   Net Nanny can also set time controls and monitor apps used on Android devices.

See Also: Protecting Kids from Internet Stranger Danger

MamaBear’s main similarity to Net Nanny is social media monitoring.  Both allow parents to monitor a child’s social media accounts to protect them from cyberbullying, predators and other threats. Both apps send parents alerts based on a child’s online activity.

There are some key differences between the services as well. Net Nanny is primarily a web browsing monitoring service for desktops and mobile devices with added service for social. MamaBear is taking a mobile first strategy focusing on the child’s location, social media activity and driving speed delivering all communication through the parent’s mobile device reducing the amount of emailed reports to thumb through and figure out.

Location monitoring and driving speed awareness are services offered through MamaBear.  These features are not a part of Net Nanny’s service. With MamaBear parents receive an alert when their child drives or rides over a preset speed limit that tells them how fast they were going and where they were when they exceeded the preset limit. You can also view the child’s location history and pattern for the day.

See Also: Monitor Teen Driving with the MamaBear Driving Monitor App

There are many wonderful apps and protection services that offer a variety of useful features to fill different needs for families. Some apps, like Net Nanny, are designed to focus on web browsing behavior on both desktop computers and mobile devices; others, like MamaBear, track children’s behavior both on social media and in real life situations. It’s helpful to know what the options are so parents can choose a service to help them keep their families safe while allowing freedom without worry.

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Monitor Teen Driving with the MamaBear Driving Monitor App

Teen Speeding

According to the California DMV, “the greatest risk of traffic crashes is among teenage drivers. Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers across the United States.” The tragic death of Fast and Furious star Paul Walker, who lost his life November 30th in a fiery car crash believed to be caused by high-speed driving, has put driving safety in the spotlight. While speeding-related car crashes can happen to any person at any age, teens are perhaps the most at-risk group for car crashes and car deaths.

Just as you give children a world of freedom when you hand them their first smartphone, their world expands even more when you give them the keys to a car. Providing this kind of independence is a proud parenting moment – but is also likely the scariest.

See Also: The Ages at Which Children Receive a Mobile Phone

We like to think – wishfully, perhaps — that our kids are as fearful of the awesome power of “two tons of rolling steel” as we are and therefore drive safely and conscientiously. Realistically, though, teen drivers are beginners, and their lack of experience behind the wheel combined with their undeveloped risk-taking sense can add up to disaster.

The Need to Speed

Whether teens speed to keep up with traffic, because of peer pressure or for the sheer thrill of going fast, recklessly-fast driving can have deadly consequences. According data compiled at TeenDriverSource.org, teen drivers are “more likely than older drivers to speed and to allow shorter headways.” When a teen driver was behind the wheel, speeding was to blame in more than half of the crashes involving fatalities.

Be Aware of Your Kid’s Driving Habits with the MamaBear Driving Monitor App

The MamaBear Family Safety App sends parents notifications about how fast their kids are driving or riding and where.  This unique feature puts  information in the hands of parents and provides kids with freedom to ride with friends or drive themselves but with a little accountability to ensure  safety.

Giving parents the power of knowledge helps prompt discussion for consequence and safety. These necessary conversations can plant a seed of awareness in your teen’s mind that might curb dangerous future behavior, as well as how to stand up for what’s right in the face of peer pressure.

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Comparing Family Safety Apps: MamaBear and Find My Friends

Choosing the right family safety app isn’t easy. We’d like to help you by comparing the features of the MamaBear app with a few other apps out there for Android and iPhone.

In our last comparison, we looked at Life 360. Now let’s check out the similarities and differences of MamaBear to Apple’s iPhone app Find My Friends.

Related: Comparing Family Safety Apps: MamaBear and Life360

Find My Friends is primarily a tracking app. With Find My Friends, users request connection to people they want to view location. Once a friend accepts the request and installs the app, a user can see their friend’s location and vice versa with the option to turn off location sharing.

MamaBear and Find My Friends share a few similarities.  

Users can:  

  • View current location of people
  • Proactively send location. Find My Friends calls it “Notify Friend” and MamaBear calls it “check in.”
  • Set arrival/departure alerts

There are also a few key differences.

Here’s a the breakdown:

  • Who it’s targeting. MamaBear’s emphasis is on family safety, whereas Find My Friends is marketed in part as a social app for use by adults and their friends and companions.
  • Location history.  MamaBear offers a view of historical location points up to 7 days.
  • Message feed.  MamaBear presents all alerts and messages received for up to 7 days.
  • Social media monitoring. MamaBear notifies parents when their child makes a new friend on Facebook, follows someone new on Instagram or uploads a photo, gets tagged or @mentioned, receives a message that includes inappropriate words, bullying language or any other restricted words the parent sets.
  • Driving speed monitoring. MamaBear offers alerts when kids drive or ride over a preset speed limit including how fast and where.
  • Optional location sharing. Find My Friends allows all user to turn off location sharing. Families using MamaBear can’t turn of child logged in location sharing from the app, though the parent’s location sharing is optional.
  • Temporary sharing.  Find my friends offers a group of invited friends to share location for a pre-set timeframe.

There are many great apps that offer a variety of fun and useful features! MamaBear strives to offer parents concerned about their children’s safety peace of mind and comfort.

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Parental Control iPhone – Using iPhone’s Parental Restrictions

iphone restrictions

One of the hottest mobile devices on the market – especially with tweens and teens — is the iPhone. Kids everywhere are clamoring for it. If your child has an iPhone or you plan to give them one soon, you’ll be reassured to know the popular mobile device offers a number of parental control features limiting access to potential dangers when the world is at their fingertips.

The release of  iOS 7 comes with improved parental control features that will be of interest to responsible parents taking action to appropriately monitor their child’s iPhone. Let’s explore some of the new parental control options and how to complement suggested restrictions with a family safety app like MamaBear.

Related: Using MamaBear with Apple’s new iOS 7

What Parental Controls are Available on iPhone?

Apple’s support page shows details on how to access the parental control features enabling parents to set restrictions to:

  •  Prevent access to selected device standard apps such as Safari, FaceTime, the iTunes Store and Siri.
  • Prevent access to content including music, podcasts, movies, TV shows, books, apps and more that aren’t age appropriate.
  •  Adjust the time before a password is required to purchase content or always ask for a password.
  •  Prevent changes to privacy settings, including location services, contacts, calendars, reminders, photos, and outside app access to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, etc.
  •  Prevent changes to settings and accounts including Find My Friends, cellular data use, background app refresh and volume limit.
  •  Restrict features within Game Center, including use of multiplayer games, adding new friends and more.

Using iPhone Parental Restrictions to Complement Family Safety Apps

Parental restrictions on Apple devices are extremely helpful to responsible  parents providing their children with arguably today’s most powerful and accessible device to content and people. But don’t rely just on these restrictions.  Monitoring is still very important.

An added worry-free layer is a family safety app like MamaBear to proactively receive news about your child’s daily activities. Mamabear uses alerts to notify you about location, social media activity and driving speed. Parents use their MamaBear news to start relevant, daily conversations with their family about safety.

Apple’s mobile devices come with some very useful parental control features that should be used to their greatest potential. When put in use they offer the perfect complement to the safety features offered by family safety apps like MamaBear.

 Image Credit: Apple