What is Kids360? What parents need to know

Kids360 is one of the most popular parental control apps available. It gives parents the ability to monitor their children’s online activity. They can also track their child’s current location in the real world using the app’s GPS features.

Kids360 is available on iOS and Android devices. The app charges £9.99 per month or £79.99 per year for a subscription. A 7-day free trial is available, giving you a chance to try the app out yourself before subscribing.

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 you complete this step, you can start managing and monitoring your child’s 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 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: You can block specific apps or entire categories of apps. You can put time limits on apps and set schedules for when children can access them. This gives parents the ability to block access to games or social media apps during studying or mealtimes. Parents can set controls to require their permission for new app downloads and to block any in-app purchases.
• 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: The Kids360 app shows your child’s precise location on a map, provides live location updates, and displays their device’s battery status.
• Developmental tasks: The app gives children thousands of developmental tasks to complete and rewards them 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 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 focuses strongly on mobile phones and tablets. 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.