Original SafeWise safety & security research featured in:
FamilyTime App Review
We researched over a dozen parental control apps and FamilyTime is a top pick.
Info current as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
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4 min read
Reviewed ByRebecca EdwardsWith 20+ years in tech journalism, Alina blends safety expertise with her passion for simplifying technology. Alina is also trained as a first responder and worked as a volunteer firefighter.
Out of the many parental control apps we’ve researched and reviewed, FamilyTime is one of our favorites. It allows you full control over how your child uses their phone. From app blocking to tracking, it does almost everything. It also has some nifty features that can ease the mind of parents of both younger and older kids.
We picked FamilyTime as our family-favorite parental control app in our first-ever Kids Safety Awards.
Pros
Geofencing and location tracking
Panic button
Text and call monitoring 
Cons
No email monitoring
Limited social media monitoring
3-day trial period FamilyTime cost
The FamilyTime app offers a free trial for plans starting at $29 per year for one child. A 3-child device plan costs $49/year, and a 5-child device plan costs $69/year.
The FamilyTime app includes a robust list of features:
- Call and text monitoring (Android only)
- App installation and app usage tracking
- SOS panic button
- Web-based online parental dashboard
- Mobile parental dashboard
- Location tracking and geofence with check-in/checkout alerts
- Contacts viewing
- YouTube watched history
- TikTok monitoring
- WhatsApp monitoring
- Instagram monitoring
- Internet scheduling
- Internet filtering
- Bookmark and web history tracking
- Screen time limits by app
- App blocker with alerts for when your child tries to download a blocked app
- Bedtime mode
- Homework mode
- Dinnertime mode
- Phone locking modes
- Content filters
- TeenSafe Drive tool that lets you know when your teen is speeding
- PickMeUp reminders to pick up your child
- FunTime mode
- Watchlist contact alerts to know when your kid is contacting certain people
- TimeBank feature that lets your kids earn screen time
Compare FamilyTime monthly costs
The FamilyTime app is priced according to the number of devices monitored by the account. It’s important to note the annual cost since FamilyTime bills annually.
Even at its highest price point, FamilyTime is affordable when compared to other parental control apps like Qustodio.
Info current as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
FamilyTime free trial
If you’re not sure you’ll like FamilyTime, you can try it out for free for three days. Bark gives you a trial period of seven days, and MMGuardian gives you a whopping 14 days for free, so three days doesn’t seem like a lot of time comparatively. But at least you get to try the app out.
The big problem is that the trial doesn’t let you try out all the premium features. Text, call, and social media monitoring are not available during the trial.
Compare parental control app prices
Product | Best for | Monthly starting price | Maximum number of devices | Trial period |
| Best overall | $6.00/mo. | Unlimited | 7 days | |
| Best contact management | $4.99/mo. | 5 | 14 days | |
| Best free version | $4.58/mo.* | 15 | 3 days | |
| Best management tools | $2.41/mo. | 15 | 3 days | |
| Best for full device access | $5.83/mo.† | Surcharge for every extra device | None |
Info current as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. Read full disclaimer.
*Paid annually: $54.95/yr. for 1 device
†Paid annually: $69.95/yr. for 1 device
FamilyTime screentime modes and protections
Many FamilyTime app reviews agree that the thing that sets FamilyTime apart from its competitors is the amount of control you have over your child’s media consumption. You can regulate what your child has access to on their phone during meals, bedtime, playtime, and school. You can also limit or schedule screen time or block dangerous apps for kids and unwanted phone contacts altogether.
Need to talk to your tot, but they’re glued to their device? The pause mode lets you temporarily lock the phone so you can get a word in without getting interrupted by Peppa Pig.
Your kid can also roll over unused screen time to use later in a mode called FunTime. This can be a great way to encourage your kiddo to use their phones less on school days and rack up those screen time minutes for the weekends or that long drive to Nanna’s.
FamilyTime has extra features we loved
FamilyTime lets you track almost anything your kid does with their phone. Currently, you can track the following social media apps:
- TikTok watched history and messages
- Instagram messages
- WhatsApp messages
- YouTube watched history
- Twitch chats
- imo chats
- BiP chats
- Signal chats
This coverage is a big step up from Qustodio and SentryPC, which offer no social media tracking.
Beyond monitoring your child, the FamilyTime app has a few extra features that are super helpful to parents. Two of them are the PickMeUp and SOS buttons. When your kid needs you to come get them, all they need to do is open the app, tap the car icon, and then tap it again. A message is sent to your phone with the location of your child. They can also tap the SOS icon to let you know if they are in a dangerous situation.
We can think of a lot of times these buttons could be useful, particularly when your child is in danger and needs you ASAP. They can quickly tell you where they are without a lot of typing. We particularly like that if your child is lost they can tell you where they are without knowing the exact location too.
One of the most unique things about the FamilyTime app is the Teen Safe Drive feature. With this nifty tool, the app monitors your teen’s driving and will tell you when your teen drives too fast.
The family locator is also a nice touch. With a press of a button, the locator will present you with a map and the location of all your family members using your FamilyTime account.
Our FamilyTime testing experience
Like other FamilyTime app reviews, we had mixed feelings about our experience. While we really like FamilyTime features, using the app was a little disappointing. The first thing that threw us was the ads. Yup. As soon as the app opened, there was a full-screen ad with a little button you had to tap to leave the ad and get to the app.
Another problem was the family location tracker didn’t update as it should. It showed that the kid’s phone was still in the same location an hour after it moved to another location. That’s less than helpful if you want to keep tabs on your child.
Final word
If you want to control exactly how your child uses their device throughout the day in multiple ways, then the FamilyTime app is the best parental control option. Its location tracker isn’t great, but it makes up for it with a wide variety of helpful features.
FamilyTime FAQ
The Family Time app used to offer a free version, but now users must choose a plan to purchase after their 3-day free trial. FamilyTime starts at $29 per year for one child device, then increases to $49 for three children, and $69 for five children. These costs can be paid annually or through a monthly subscription fee of $2.41, $4.08, or $5.75, respectively.
The FamilyTime app helps you control how your child uses their phone to protect your child online and off. You can see who they are calling and texting, block apps, schedule screen time, limit screen time and more. You can also use it to track your child’s location. Your child can use FamilyTime Jr. to send you SOS alerts with their location if they are in trouble.
Yes, the app is available in the Apple Store and the Google Play Store.
Unfortunately, no. Apple has strict rules that apps cannot track calls and texts. You can use geofencing and block apps though. Some competitors, like Boomerang, don’t offer those features to iOS users.
After installing FamilyTime on your phone, you’ll need to install it on the device you want to monitor as well. Once your account is connected to your child’s device, you can access dozens of parental control options. The app connects to your child’s phone’s settings, social media login information, and other credentials.
The FamilyTime app includes a parental dashboard that allows you to set specific limits and controls for your child’s device. Simply add a child (or multiple children) by installing the app on their device as well. The app is not hidden, so ideally your child will be aware of the monitoring activity. FamilyTime recommends having an open conversation with your child about their safety being your number one priority.
Image: SafeWise
For our FamilyTime app review, we downloaded the FamilyTime parental control app and FamilyTime Jr. kid’s app and put them to work. We drove the child’s phone all around town, and tried it using various apps and more. We also compared it to over a dozen top parental control brands. For more on how we test products and services, see our methodology page.
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