In an increasingly digital world, many parents are turning to parental control apps to monitor their kids’ activities online and restrict access to inappropriate content. Two of the most popular options are Eyezy and Bark – but how do you decide which one is right for your family?
This in-depth comparison of Eyezy and Bark looks at the key factors like content filtering, screen time management, monitoring capabilities, pricing, and ease of use. We’ll explain the pros and cons of each platform to help you determine which parental control app is the best fit for your needs in 2024.
An Introduction to Eyezy and Bark
Eyezy and Bark take different approaches to helping parents oversee their children’s digital lives. Here’s a quick overview of each app:
Eyezy was founded in 2019 as a simple yet powerful way for parents to filter inappropriate websites, set screen time schedules, and monitor social media on kids’ devices. It offers robust customization of filters to align with your family’s values. Eyezy also stands out for its video monitoring feature that uses AI to detect nudity or violence.
Bark launched in 2015 with a focus on alerting parents about signs of cyberbullying, depression, online predators, and other potential threats in texts, emails, YouTube, and over 30 social platforms. It uses machine learning and natural language processing to analyze conversations and notify parents of any concerning interactions.
Both apps aim to give parents visibility into their children’s digital activity to protect them from harm. But Eyezy focuses more on restriction and scheduling while Bark specializes in monitoring and detection.
Content Filtering and Blocking Capabilities
A core function of any parental control app is restricting access to inappropriate or harmful content. Eyezy and Bark take slightly different approaches when it comes to filtering and blocking capabilities.
Eyezy offers very robust and customizable content filtering. Parents can block individual websites or whole categories like alcohol, gambling, or adult content. The categories are further customizable – for example you can disable just pornography but keep the rest of the adult content category enabled.
Eyezy’s filters can be configured separately for each child. Time of day restrictions are also available to block sites during school or bedtime. The filters accurately identify inappropriate content and the company frequently updates its database.
Bark focuses more on monitoring than blocking. However, it does allow blocking of certain adult-only websites. Parents can add specific sites to block and configure a Safe Search setting.
Overall, Eyezy provides greater control over filters and blocking of inappropriate content. But Bark offers enough restriction capabilities for basic filtering needs.
Screen Time Limits and Scheduling
Both Eyezy and Bark make it easy to set time limits for apps, sites, and overall device usage.
Eyezy enables parents to schedule specific apps and websites that are available during set times. For example, you can limit access to social media and games to just an hour on school nights. The schedule automatically changes on weekends or holidays that you designate.
Usage limits can also be applied to restrict how long your child can use their entire device per day or during certain periods. The real-time monitoring dashboard clearly shows how much time is left before usage is restricted.
Bark similarly allows setting daily time limits across all devices or per app/site. Parents can customize the schedule for school days, weekends, holidays, or certain times of day.
The Bark dashboard displays daily usage and notifications are sent when a child exceeds the limits. However, Eyezy provides a more intuitive interface for scheduling and limiting screen time.
Monitoring Features
One of the key differences between Eyezy and Bark is their approach to monitoring kids’ digital activity.
Bark puts a strong emphasis on using AI and natural language processing to detect signs of cyberbullying, depression, suicidal ideation, online predators, and other threats. It analyzes texts, chat platforms, emails, YouTube, and over 30 social media networks.
When risky activities are detected, Bark sends alerts to parents by email or push notification with details about the content. This helps parents spot warning signs and have conversations with their child.
Eyezy’s monitoring focuses on providing a live view of which sites and apps your child is accessing in real-time. The dashboard shows their browsing on all devices with screenshot captures. Eyezy also uniquely offers AI-based video monitoring that can detect nudity or violence if your child tries to access those types of content.
Overall, Bark offers more advanced linguistic monitoring while Eyezy provides transparency into your child’s live browsing activity. Bark aims to detect risks and threats while Eyezy shows you what your child is up to in real-time.
Pricing and Plans Compared
When comparing Eyezy and Bark, pricing is also an important factor, especially for families on a budget. Here is how the costs stack up:
Eyezy:
- 1 Month Plan – $47.86 per month
- 3 Month Plan – $27.99 per month when billed $83.97 every 3 months
- 12 Month Plan – $10.00 per month when billed $120 annually
Bark
- Bark Home: $9.99/monthly
- Bark App: $14/monthly
- Back Phone: $49/monthly
Both platforms offer discounts for annual subscriptions. Overall, Eyezy tends to offer lower pricing, especially for families. However, Bark’s higher pricing may make sense for parents who really value its advanced monitoring capabilities.
Ease of Use For Parents and Children
In order for parental control apps to be effective, they need to be easy to set up and manage for parents, while minimizing disruptions to the child’s experience.
Eyezy is designed to be simple for parents to start using quickly. The app walks you through adding devices and configuring filters and limits during onboarding. The dashboard provides intuitive controls and real-time visibility into your child’s browsing. Setting schedules and time limits is also straightforward.
From the child’s perspective, Eyezy runs quietly in the background without constant notifications or disruptions. The limits and filters are applied seamlessly. If content is blocked, they see a simple message explaining access was restricted by their parent.
Bark also aims to provide an easy setup process for parents. The platform can be harder to master than Eyezy, but Bark provides helpful resources like webinars and video tutorials. Since limits are less rigid, there is minimal impact on the child’s experience beyond what parents choose to restrict.
Overall, Eyezy is the easier platform for parents to use confidently. Bark does more behind the scenes, leading to minimal disruptions for kids. Both take parent and child usability into account in their design.
Our Recommendation: Eyezy or Bark?
So which parental control app comes out on top in this comparison of Eyezy and Bark? Here are some key takeaways:
- Eyezy is ideal if you prioritize customizable content filtering, screen time scheduling, and real-time visibility into your child’s browsing. The lower pricing also appeals to cost-conscious parents.
- Bark is the better choice if you want advanced monitoring that detects potential risks like cyberbullying or depression. The linguistic analysis capabilities make Bark stand out.
- Eyezy is simpler to use while Bark has a steeper learning curve but additional capabilities to master. Both are designed for minimal disruptions to the child’s experience.
Overall, our top recommendation is Eyezy for most parents. Its combination of robust filtering controls, intuitive interface, real-time monitoring, and lower pricing edge out Bark for families concerned about inappropriate content and screen time management.
Bark certainly leads when it comes to risk detection and analysis. But many parents may not need that level of sophisticated monitoring, making the more affordable and easy-to-use Eyezy our first choice for the average family.
For other comparisons, see our reviews of Eyezy vs uMobix and Eyezy vs mSpy. You can also compare mSpy vs Bark.
Start Protecting Your Child’s Digital Life
As children spend increasing time online, parental control apps provide much-needed visibility and control for parents. If you’re ready to take charge of your child’s digital safety and screen time, we recommend giving Eyezy a try.
The free version will let you evaluate the intuitive controls and seamless restrictions that Eyezy enables. You can always upgrade later to premium features as your family’s needs grow. Visit Eyezy’s website to sign up and start customizing Eyezy’s parental controls for your household.
Frequently Asked Questions
What devices do Eyezy and Bark support?
Both Eyezy and Bark work across iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. Eyezy also supports Windows and Mac computers. Bark offers more limited desktop support.
What about iOS Screen Time limits?
Eyezy and Bark provide additional controls and monitoring beyond Apple’s built-in Screen Time features for iOS. They give parents more robust filtering, scheduling, and visibility across devices.
Can the apps be hidden from kids?
Yes, both Eyezy and Bark can run in the background without any visible sign to kids that monitoring or controls are enabled.
Do they slow down devices?
In most cases, there is minimal impact on device performance. The apps are designed to operate efficiently. Extensive monitoring features can use more battery life.
What about child privacy?
Eyezy and Bark prioritize child privacy and only share concerning content or violations with parents. Data is encrypted and not sold or used for marketing.
Key Takeaways
- Eyezy stands out for its customizable content filters, intuitive screen time limits, real-time monitoring, and budget-friendly pricing.
- Bark focuses more on advanced linguistic monitoring to detect cyberbullying, depression, predatory behavior, and other concerning activities.
- Eyezy is our top recommendation for most families needing robust parental controls. Bark excels at risk analysis for parents concerned about online dangers.
- Both apps are designed to minimize disruptions to a child’s experience while giving parents oversight and control.
- Try Eyezy’s free version to experience its seamless restrictions first-hand before upgrading to premium.
