Qustodio

The idea behind Qustodio is to give parents the ability to monitor what their kids are doing online and with their computers and mobile devices, and to put limits in place. This includes introducing time limits, restricting the websites and types of online content that can be accessed and much more. 

What's particularly impressive about Qustodio is the fine-grained level of control if give you. As well as block individual apps, for example, it is also possible to place daily or weekly time limits on them – great if you want to ensure there's not too much time spent gaming or watching Netflix, but you don't want to be too dictatorial.

Qustodio is available for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and even Kindle devices, meaning that it has just about all eventualities covered. The free version of the service only lets you control and monitor a single device – if you want to work with your child's computer, laptop and mobile, you'll need to upgrade to a paid version. It will monitor not only websites that are visited – and for how long – but also which applications are used.

Activity can be monitored in real-time, and details are saved for a week. Anything thought to be 'questionable' is highlighted for your attention. Daily email reports are sent out, as well as email alerts whenever unwanted activity is detected.

User experience

You can manage your account via one of the mobile apps or the Qustodio website,  both of which provide a great experience. Everything is intuitively set out, although it could be argued that there are a few too many sections to look through to find everything you might need, and the web-based portal does feel a little dated.

Regardless of which route you take, you can easily put in place your desired limitations such as blocking certain types of website, or restricting access to just a list of acceptable sites; you can choose to receive notifications when a site is block if you like.

It might take you a little while to get Qustodio completely configured to your liking, but once this is done it can be regarded as an extra pair of eyes looking after your kids for you.

The competition

• OpenDNS Family Shield
• Kidlogger
• Spyrix Free Keylogger

• The best free parental control software