Should You Use Tracking Software on a Child’s Phone?

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As we move into an increasingly digital world, it is only natural for parents to want to know exactly what their children are getting up to online. Not only to monitor their own personal behavior but to also make sure that anyone they interact with online is who they say they are.

After all, many people use the internet for rather nefarious reasons. This isn’t solely a problem directed at youngsters but at everyone who uses the internet and engages with others online.

Internet safety is a huge market, and for good reasons. Being able to track movements and interactions along with sites visited etc., means you keep an eye on your child, or even anyone you feel may be particularly vulnerable online to identify and block any risks.

What do Monitoring and Tracking Apps Have to Offer?

Technology companies are making significant progress to enable and equip parents to play a critical role in guiding children to digital wellness. Whether it’s gaming consoles with automated parental controls based on PEGI ratings, routers with applications that show you exactly who’s doing what online, or smartphone add-ons that track where your child is, there’s never been more aid for parents.

But that’s all there is to it. There are so many of these services and options to choose from that it isn’t easy to know where to begin. Still, parents can benefit from an all-inclusive service that not only monitors how their children use the phones but what messages they send out and who they are talking to both on and offline. You can click here to read the full article on how to monitor text messages on your child’s phone.

How Can You Monitor Someone’s Phone?

The first thing you’ll need is physical access to their phone. You can now download your preferred software or app, including those briefly described above, once you have it in your hands. Make sure you have enough battery power to finish installing and configuring the app. You’ll also need to set up an account for easier monitoring. Following the completion of the preceding procedures, connect the phone being monitored and the phone that will be used for monitoring, i.e., the parent phone. Take notice that the procedure may differ based on the software you use.

When you choose the best software for you to install, you can then access the settings to set parameters, notifications, and alerts that can help you keep up to date with how your child uses their phone in real-time. Many children will object to this. However, you will need to explain why this is a requirement and how their behavior online can be interpreted and used against them. This is the perfect teaching opportunity to drill home how important it is that they understand the risks posed by their online activities and how the words they choose and actions they use can affect others around them, especially if they are engaging in less than stellar behavior or even online bullying.

Is There Any Drawback to Using Tracking Software?

As with anything, there will likely be some pushback from your child, especially as they headed towards their teenage years, with the level of invasiveness these types of software include.

The main issue is the huge strain this can put on your relationship, and the consequences of this must be considered carefully against the reasons you are installing the software. Maybe you can come to a compromise and only access certain features; however, children will absolutely see this as a huge invasion of their privacy.

Another issue to consider is, how much of a tech geek is the child in question? Because chances are if they are proficient in this area, they can uninstall or override the software, meaning it is useless or unreliable.

Knowing what type of software you are installing and using is vital to ensure that the dangers posed by this aren’t worse than the perceived danger you are trying to protect your child from. We all know people often do not use the internet for wholesome reasons, and there is always the chance that any app you install can have other hidden functions that expose your details or parts of your life to people with dubious intentions.

Think carefully about the level of privacy your child needs when tracking their movements and communications online to help you assess whether you need to install tracking and security software. In some cases, the risks can far outweigh the benefits, and doing so against your child’s wishes can lead to a rift in your relationship or even make the issue worse than it was originally.

Y'berion Pyrokar
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