FamiSafe
Pros
- No root or jailbreaking required
- It gives you a free trial
- Location tracking and geofencing is very accurate on FamiSafe
- You can block inappropriate apps and websites remotely on your kid's phone
- It has no impact on the battery and overall performance of the target phone
- You can track the speed of your kid's vehicle
- Limit screen time of your kids
- Easy to use and install
Cons
- Cannot track calls and messages of your kids
- It does not work in hidden mode
- No email alerts
I got my first smartphone when I passed the 12th grade but things have changed a lot in the last decade as kids today have their own smartphone or tablet even before they enter school! And therefore it becomes necessary for parents to monitor their kid’s online activities because the online world is filled with bullies, scammers, and hackers which you don’t want your kids to come in contact with.
Now you must be wondering that how is it possible to track each and every activity of your child when they don’t even allow you to touch their phone. Well, the parental control app that I am reviewing today allows you to monitor each and every activity of your kids remotely. This means you can keep track of all your kid’s activities from your computer (parent’s device) 24/7.
The app I am going to review today is FamiSafe which is considered one of the best spy apps for parents. The review can be lengthy so you can skip to specific parts of the article by clicking on the links below.
Quick links:
- Compatibility
- How To Setup And Install FamiSafe On Parent And Target Device?
- FamiSafe Dashboard
- FamiSafe Features
- FamiSafe Notices
- Impact Of FamiSafe App On The Target Phone
- How’s The Customer Support?
- FamiSafe Pricing
- Does FamiSafe Really Ensure The Saftey Of Your Kids Online? Final Thoughts
- FAQs
Compatibility
First thing first, let’s discuss the compatibility of FamiSafe because no matter how good the software is if it is not compatible with the target device it’s of no use to you. Luckily there won’t be any issue regarding compatibility with FamiSafe because it works with all the devices out there be it a cell phone (Android/iOS) or computer (Windows/Mac).
It means no matter if your kids use an iPhone or Android smartphone you can monitor them using FamiSafe. Also, if you want to track your kid’s activities on their Windows PC or Mac, you can also do that. But the features are limited on the PC version of FamiSafe hence we are only reviewing it for the smartphone.
How To Setup And Install FamiSafe On Parent And Target Device?
Are you ready to monitor your kid’s smartphone? But wait you have to first set up your FamiSafe account and then install the FamiSafe app on your kid’s device. Installing and setting up a monitoring/spy app is a little different from other apps because it requires a lot of permissions. But don’t worry I will guide you through a step-by-step process that will help you create your FamiSafe account and also install the app on your ward’s phone to start monitoring it.
Create Your FamiSafe Account
Now in order to track your kid’s activities, you need to create an account on FamiSafe. The good thing is that you get a free three-day trial with FamiSafe so you don’t have to pay anything upfront. Once you are sure that this monitoring app actually works then you can pay for it. Here’s a quick guide on how you can create your account on FamiSafe.
1. On your computer (parent’s device) go to the official website of FamiSafe. Here you can click on Try It Free to create your free account on FamiSafe.
2. Now it will ask you to enter your Email and Password. Fill in the correct details and then click on the SIGN UP button to create your account.
3. Next, it will show you the plans and pricing of FamiSafe if you want to buy FamiSafe without testing it, you can click on any of the given plans and buy it. However, if you want to use the free trial click on Skip.
4. After that, you need to click on Connect A New Device button if you want to monitor your kid’s smartphone.
5. Next, you will see a pairing code on your screen which you need to enter on the FamiSafe app on the target device. Keep the screen open and now move on to the installation part.
Install FamiSafe App On The Target Device (Android)
Now you have the paring code which will be relevant for only an hour. So make sure you install and set up the app on the target device within the 60 minutes timeframe. Once you have the access to the target phone, you can follow these steps to install this monitoring app on it.
1. On the target device’s browser go to i.famisafe.com.
2. Next, tap on PROTECT THIS ANDROID button. With this, you will be taken to the Play Store, here you need to tap on the Install button to download and install the app on the target device.
3. Once the app is downloaded tap on the Open button and select the option Pair With Code.
4. Now enter the 6 digit code that you see on your computer screen in the app.
5. After entering the correct code the target phone will be synced to your FamiSafe account. Now, you need to set up the app by providing some permissions. But first, you need to enter the name and age of your kid and then tap on Next.
6. The first permission you need to give is the Accessibility, tap on Enable Now button. Now simply Toggle On the accessibility settings and then tap on Enable.
7. Now to get a detailed app activity report you have to activate App Supervision. Tap on Enable Now and then Toggle On the FamiSafe Jr usage data access.
8. Next, to get notification access to your kid’s smartphone tap on the Enable Now button > Toggle On FamiSafe Jr notification settings and then tap on OK.
9. Now you need to activate device administration permission so that you can remotely set the screen time on the target device. By giving this permission you are also making sure your kid cannot uninstall this app from their phone. To provide the administration permission tap on Enable Now and then select the ACTIVATE option.
10. The next permission you need to give is the location tracking. For this, you have to first tap on the Enable Now button and then tap on Grant.
11. The last permission it requires is to run in the background even when the phone display is turned off, just tap on Ok to give that permission.
12. Finally, it will show you the uninstallation guide, just tap on I Understand and you are ready to monitor the kid’s device.
13. With this, you have successfully installed the FamiSafe app on the kid’s device.
Now you can start monitoring your kid’s online activities on their Android smartphone.
Install And Setup FamiSafe On Kid’s iPhone
The steps to install FamiSafe on iPhone is similar to that of Android. Once you have the pairing code you need to download the app on the iPhone from i.famisafe.com. Once the app is downloaded you need to sync it with your FamiSafe account by entering the 6 digit pairing code you get while creating your account.
Unlike Android, you do not have to give so many permissions in order to set up the target device. In the case of the iPhone, it is much easier to set up the FamiSafe app.
FamiSafe Dashboard
FamiSafe has the most user-friendly and minimalist dashboard out of all spy and monitoring apps I have reviewed so far. It’s very easy to understand and even a beginner can monitor their kids using FamiSafe without any prior experience of using such apps.
When you first log into your FamiSafe account you will land on the dashboard where you can see quick information like the current location of your child, their screen time, and alerts. It is quite helpful as you get most of the important stats at a quick glance.
On the left side panel, you only get three options which are Dashboard, Features, and Notices. Under Features, you get all the tools that help you track and control the target cell phone. And under Notices, you receive alerts whenever your kid has inappropriate photos on their phone, accesses banned websites, Overspeedin their car, and much more.
Overall, FamiSafe has a clean and good-looking dashboard which makes it much easier to use.
FamiSafe Features
There are lots of features you get on FamiSafe that help you monitor your kid’s phone very effectively. Here I am going to discuss all these features in detail.
1. Activity Report
The first feature you find on FamiSafe is Activity Report. Here, you get all the activity stats of your kids like which app they have used along with the timestamp. It also shows the apps that are currently running on the target phone. Besides that, it also provides details like the browsed web pages and how many times a particular page was visited on the target device.
2. TikTok History
TikTok is a very popular social media platform where one can become an overnight star. However, the app is always in legal trouble due to the type of content it promotes which is not good for a certain age group. If your kids are using this short-form video app then you must spy on their TikTok account like what type of video they are viewing and how much time are they spending on it.
Unfortunately, I was not able to test FamiSafe on TikTok because it is banned in my country. But if it is active in your country then you will surely be able to track it using FamiSafe.
3. YouTube App Control
If there is one app that kids love using is YouTube, it has millions of kid’s related videos like cartoons, toy reviews, and much more. However, there is a basic parental control option on the native YouTube app that is also very easy to turn off. Hence you cannot control what type of video your kid’s view on YouTube as it is filled with adults, drugs, and other inappropriate content.
But that is where FamiSafe comes to the rescue as it allows you to track your kid’s YouTube activity and see how your child spends his/her time on the biggest video platform out there. Apart from seeing the list of videos that are viewed by your kid, you can even go to that video on your computer by clicking on the globe icon to see what the video is all about. Moreover, if the video is not appropriate for your kids you can block it from the same screen by clicking on the lock icon. You can block the video or entire channel if you want.
If your kids try to view the blocked video they will get a message like this on their device.
Apart from the History, there is an Alert feature as well which has a list of inappropriate videos like gambling, accidents, adult videos and more, that your kids should not watch. You can view the video and block it from the history section if you want.
I really like the way FamiSafe tracks YouTube history, it reflects the video within seconds on the parent’s device. Also, the video/ channel blocking feature works really well.
4. Browser History
The Browser History is a very basic feature that you get on almost every monitoring or spy software. However, it is also the most useful feature to have because with the help of it you can know what your kids are surfing online. It shows you the list of all URLs visited in chronological order. Apart from viewing the list, you can also block an inappropriate site from the Browser History itself.
While testing I found that the Browser History was updated almost instantly, which is why I like FamiSafe even more.
5. Screen Time
Too much screen time can lead to a variety of health issues in kids including, weak eyesight, headache, obesity, depression, anxiety, and much more. But with FamiSafe you can track the screen time of your kids and even limit it. You get an overview of the screen time and how much screen time is left if you have set a limit.
Under this feature, you get lots of options that help you further customize the way you monitor your kid’s screen time.
a) Instant block
Using this function, you can block all the apps at once if you want your kid to not use their phone at the moment. By toggling on Instant Block all the apps will be instantly blocked and your kid won’t be able to use any of those apps.
They will get this message every time they try to open a blocked app.
b) App Limit
If you don’t want to block all the apps at once you can make use of App Limit feature which allows you to select specific apps that you want to set a screen limit on.
c) Smart Schedule
Using FamiSafe you can also apply a smart schedule that helps you block the kid’s phone at a specific time or place. Like you can set to block the kid’s phone when they are at school so that their focus is on studies and not on their phone.
d) Screen Time Limit
With this feature, you can set the overall screen time for the target device. As soon as the set screen time is elapsed your kids won’t be able to use the apps. You can also set different times for different days like you can keep less time on weekdays and increase it on weekends.
e) Allowed Apps
The allowed apps section helps you to select some of the apps that you don’t want to restrict. Such apps will work no matter how long the screen time limit is set. You can allow apps like calendar, phone, camera, and other useful apps as your kid may want to use them in an emergency.
The screen limit feature is the best part of FamiSafe and it helps you keep your kids away from their phones for long times. I personally liked this feature very much and it also works as described, there was no issue or anything of that sort.
6. Web Filter
The Web Filter feature is very helpful because you cannot block each and every website on the internet but you can definitely block certain categories like Gambling, Adult, Violence, etc. Once you filter out some specific categories, all the websites under that category will be blocked and cannot be accessed from the target device.
I myself tested a lot of websites that I have blocked and they were not accessed from the target phone. However, there is a 1% chance that it may not detect each and every website, but you can manually block such sites.
To manually block or allow a site you can go to Exceptions under the Web Filter option. Here you need to enter the URL of the website and then select whether you want to block or allow it. After that, click on SAVE and you are done.
In my test, I found that this feature works as expected and you can easily filter out inappropriate websites from your kid’s life.
7. Safe Search
The Safe Search is an extension to the Web Filter function which ensures the safety of your kid online. The Safe Search is based on keywords searched on any browser, it detects inappropriate keywords and blocks them. You can see a list of keywords searched by your kid and you can block any inappropriate keyword by clicking on the lock button.
You can also manually enter a keyword under Exceptions that you want to block or allow your kids to search online.
Here’s a message the target person gets on their phone when they try to search keywords that are blocked by you.
Overall, the Web filter and Safe search feature of FamiSafe do well to protect your kids from the dark side of the internet.
8. Real-Time Location
The Real-Time Location feature helps you know the current location of your kid by providing their location details on a map. You can also zoom into the map to see the locality even better.
While testing this feature I found that FamiSafe has one of the most accurate location tracking features and it shows the exact location of your kids. However, for real-time location tracking, the GPS must be enabled on the target phone and it must be connected to the internet.
9. Location History
Just like Real-Time Location shows you the current location of the target device, the location history shows you all the locations your kid has been the whole day. It shows you all the locations on the map using the location balloon icons as well as it shows you the list of all locations in the written format.
For testing this feature, I went to different locations within my city and it was able to track all the locations exactly which is again a commendable job done by FamiSafe.
10. GeoFence
The GeoFence is the most important feature to have on a kid’s device. It alerts you every time your child leaves or enters the safety zone created by you. It is very easy to create a geoFence on FamiSafe, just enter the name, location, and radius of your geofence and you are good to go.
Once the geofence is set up, you will get an alert whenever your kids enter or leave the boundaries along with the timestamp.
The geofence feature works like a charm however on FamiSafe you don’t get the Email notification as we have seen in the review of KidsGuard Pro and mSpy. Nonetheless, the geofence data is quite accurate on FamiSafe and that’s what matters the most.
11. Explicit Content Detection
This feature allows you to detect inappropriate content on various social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube, etc. You need to first connect the desired app to your FamiSafe account by clicking on the Connect button next to the app you want to track.
You get notified about the explicit content based on the suspicious words typed on the apps you have connected to your FamiSafe account. There are several words that are already in the database of FamiSafe. You can select the words for which you want to be alerted or not.
If you want to add more words to the database you can do so under Add Suspicious Word option. You can add any word that is inappropriate for your little ones.
After you have successfully entered the keywords you will get the alert on the Alert tab. Each connected app has its own alert section which shows all the bad words used by your kid on that particular app.
12. Inappropriate Picture
This feature detects the inappropriate pictures stored on the target device and shows them on your FamiSafe account. By this, you can know whether or not your ward is storing unethical photos on their phone.
After viewing the photo you can also delete it from your account by selecting the picture and then pressing the delete button. But remember this won’t delete the photo from the target device.
Overall, it’s a good feature of FamiSafe but it does not work all the time. For testing, I have stored lots of inappropriate photos on the target device like pics of guns and drugs but it was not able to detect all those photos.
13. Content Manage
By using the Content Manage feature you can remotely turn off some features of the target device. You mainly get 3 options Do not allow installation of the new app, Do not allow the camera, and Do not allow SMS.
You can enable all the options at once or any one of your choice. Once you enable the option, your kid won’t be able to install games, dating apps, and other inappropriate apps on their phone. Also, they will not be able to use their camera and send SMS as per your preferred settings.
For testing, I first disabled the camera of the target phone, and whenever I tried to capture the photo using the target phone and the camera app didn’t respond. The same was the case with installing apps and sending SMS after you have disabled it from the Parent’s device.
14. Drive Safety
If you are a parent to a teenager who drives motorbikes and cars then this feature is for you because with this you can know if they are indulging in rash driving or not. You can easily enable the drive safety mode on FamiSafe and set a speed limit so that you get notified whenever your child drives faster than the limit set by you.
Once the kid goes out on his bike or car you get notifications on your FamiSafe account regarding their top speed, average speed, speeding, hard breaking, route taken, driving time, etc.
For testing, I have set the speed limit to 80 km/h and I drove the car to 100 km/h and it was able to detect overspeeding, which is just amazing.
FamiSafe Notices
The Notices tab of FamiSafe makes it different from other monitoring apps as it provides all the alert data in one place which keeps you informed about the activities of your kids. It alerts you every time your kid tries to breach the limits like trying to open a banned app, overspeeding their vehicle, using explicit words, entering or leaving geofencing, and much more.
You can also see the detailed report of alerts on a weekly basis under Notices which shows data like most-used apps, most visited sites, etc.
Impact Of FamiSafe App On The Target Phone
It would be a bad experience for your kids if their phone starts to get laggy, heats for no reason, or the battery gets discharged quickly. It can all happen due to the monitoring app but don’t worry FamiSafe is a lightweight app that causes no such issues.
I personally tried it on 2 old phones, one was Samsung J2 and the other was an Infocus turbo 5. Both the devices have no significant specifications when compared to the relatively newer devices. But still, after having low specs FamiSafe runs smoothly in the background without causing any inconvenience in daily usage of the phone.
How’s The Customer Support?
The FamiSafe customer support team is dedicated to solving your problems and they try to resolve all your issues within a 24-hour time span. You can raise a ticket or can call them for support. There is also a chat support option available on your FamiSafe account using which you can get answers to your questions regarding downloading and installation, product inquiry, refund, and exchange, etc.
I tried their online chat support, although you get prerecorded answers they are helpful in resolving some minor issues that you may face while downloading or installing the software.
FamiSafe Pricing
FamiSafe offers reasonable plans that won’t be too heavy on your pocket. The plans are divided into three parts based on the duration of subscription i.e. monthly, quarterly, and annually. These plans cost $10.99 /month, $20.99 /quarter, and $60.99 /year respectively.
Out of these plans, the annual plan is the best value for money because you are only paying $60.99 a year for which you have to pay $131.88 and $83.96 if you choose the monthly and quarterly plan respectively. Also, you get to protect up to 10 devices if you pick the annual and quarterly plan, but only 5 devices if you opt for the monthly plan.
Does FamiSafe Really Ensure The Saftey Of Your Kids Online? Final Thoughts
After testing FamiSafe for days I have come to a conclusion that it’s one of the best kid’s monitoring app out there. It has fewer functions than most other spyware like KidsGuard Pro and mSpy but all its features work as described and are enough to keep an eye on your kid’s online activity and keep them protected.
Also, I am really impressed with the speed and accuracy it works with. All the activities that are happening on the target device are almost instantly reflected on the parent’s account. Also, the location tracking is pinpoint accurate on FamiSafe which I have not seen on any other spy app yet.
Also, the best part about it is that you can remotely block apps and websites on your kid’s phone and can even restrict their screen time. So overall, FamiSafe is really worth it and I recommend it to you without any second thoughts in my mind.
FAQs
1. What Does The FamiSafe App Do?
It allows parents to monitor their kid’s online activities and protect them from the dark side of the web.
2. Can FamiSafe Be Detected?
Yes unlike spy apps FamiSafe can be detected as does not work in a stealth mode.
3. Can My Child Uninstall FamiSafe?
No, the child cannot uninstall the FamiSafe app from their phone without their parent’s consent.
4. Is There A Free Version Of FamiSafe?
Yes, you can use FamiSafe for free but only for 3 days. After that, you have to buy one of their plans based on your requirement.
5. Does FamiSafe Monitor Snapchat?
Yes, it can track all social media apps including Snapchat.
