New Smartphone Offers Parents Unprecedented Snapchat Monitoring Capabilities
LANSING, MI – A new smartphone, The Bark Phone, is offering parents a unique level of oversight into their childrenS digital lives, including the ability to monitor snapchat – a feature unavailable on iPhones or through Snapchat itself. Developed by the company Bark, known for its parental monitoring software, the phone aims to balance children’s desire for connection with parents’ need for safety.
According to Jordan, Bark’s Chief Parenting Officer, the approach to child safety is shifting. “You don’t have to work backwards to try to limit your kids from all the things. You actually have to work to allow your child to have access to things so they can use it safely.”
The Bark Phone allows parents to monitor all activity from their own devices. rachel, a parent using the phone with her son Franklin, receives alerts for app download requests, messages from unknown numbers, and concerning content – including potentially harmful language, acronyms, and emojis.”If he wants to download an app, I have to approve it,” Rachel stated. “So,for any social media or the internet,I have not approved those requests.”
Franklin confirms the system’s openness. “It’ll pop up and say, ‘This person is using foul language,’ and they’ll check it and have to approve it so I can see it,” he explained.
Bark emphasizes the phone’s tamper-proof controls, which even include the ability for parents to remotely disable the camera – a feature useful in situations like sleepovers.
the bark Phone is available for approximately $240 and includes cell service, eliminating the need to add a line to an existing plan.A $30 monthly service charge applies. For Rachel, the phone provides a crucial balance. “It was exactly what we needed,” she said. “It lets him feel like he has a real phone while we still get to protect him.”
