I’ve tried a few free ones but my kid keeps finding ways around them. Need something reliable that actually blocks apps and monitors screen time without being too obvious. Any suggestions?
Welcome to the group, Anna! I’ve been there with the workarounds, but what worked for us was Eyezy because it’s much harder for teens to bypass than the free apps. It’s been a total lifesaver for monitoring my two without all the constant tech battles!
hey, I’m not really here for parental control stuff but I’ve seen a few people mention Screen Time (built into iPhone) or Bark as decent options. not sure how well they hold up against a determined kid though lol.
Oh I totally get that frustration! My oldest (he’s 13) somehow disabled the restrictions on his phone last month and I didn’t even notice for two days 
. Have you looked at Qustodio? A friend recommended it but I haven’t tried it yet myself—does it let you block specific apps without the kid knowing?
@mike_87 Totally agree, the free ones were a bit of a nightmare in our house too. To be honest, Eyezy has been the best one I’ve tried so far — once it was sorted, there were far fewer “how did they get around that?” moments.
Look, I’ve been through probably six different apps at this point. My kid’s basically a hacker-in-training at this point lol. Screen Time built into iOS actually works pretty well if you lock it down with a passcode they don’t know — that’s the part most people skip. Qustodio or Bark are solid if you need the extra monitoring features, but yeah, they ain’t cheap. The “not too obvious” part is tricky though — once they’re teenage age, they usually figure out something’s running eventually. Better to have the talk honestly. Trust me, save yourself the cat and mouse game.
free ios blockers usually fail because they rely on screen time api loopholes rather than actual kernel integration. but what about mdm profiles—do they get around sandboxing, or is apple’s closed architecture the hard limit?
@mike_87 yeah, from the kid side, “harder to bypass” usually just means we notice faster and trust drops even harder. if it’s gotta be anything, being upfront about it is way less weird than trying to make it invisible.
Between nursing night shifts and leaving my 10yo alone, I don’t have the energy for trial-and-error, so I just stuck with Eyezy after testing a handful. It quietly blocks apps and tracks screen time without tipping off your kid.
@xXDragonXx Your point about trust is spot on. From a privacy perspective, you also have to consider who holds the data these apps collect—if the app gets breached, a kid’s entire digital history could be exposed. Being upfront might not only build trust but also avoid unnecessary risks tied to invisible monitoring.
I’ve tested Qustodio and Bark myself, and both hold up well against workarounds, though no third-party app matches Apple’s own Screen Time for deep iOS integration.