If you've ever handed your child a phone and felt that knot in your stomach — wondering what they'll encounter online — Bark was built for exactly that moment. Founded in 2015 by CEO Brian Bason, a dad of two, Bark has grown into one of the most comprehensive parental control platforms available, now covering over 7.3 million children across the U.S., South Africa, and Australia.^1
Bark uses advanced AI to monitor your child's texts, emails, YouTube activity, and 30+ social media apps for concerning behavior — cyberbullying, adult content, online predators, suicidal ideation, and more — across 29 alert categories. Rather than showing parents every message, Bark only sends alerts when something potentially harmful is detected, preserving your child's sense of privacy while keeping you informed.^2 Beyond monitoring, Bark offers screen time management with custom schedules, web and app filtering, and GPS location tracking with check-ins.^3
What sets Bark apart is its full ecosystem of family safety products. The Bark Phone and Bark Phone Pro are Samsung devices with monitoring and tamper-proof controls built in from day one — trusted by Tim Tebow, who partnered with Bark in May 2026 to help families protect their kids, with 20% of every Bark Phone purchase supporting the Tim Tebow Foundation at no extra cost to families.^4 The Bark Watch gives younger kids GPS tracking and monitored messaging without a browser, games, or social media — and earned SafeWise's 2026 Best Overall Kids Smartwatch award.^5 Bark Home connects to your Wi-Fi router to manage screen time and filter content across every connected device in your house. And the Bark Assistant, an AI-powered tool built into the parent dashboard, lets you manage settings, get personalized insights, and take quick actions using plain language.^6 New in 2026, Bark Wireless offers cellular plans for the whole family, and the Moments feature delivers a weekly curated snapshot of your child's digital life to spark meaningful conversations.^6
Bark also gives back in a powerful way. After the tragic Parkland school shooting, the company offered its monitoring technology to all K–12 schools in the U.S. at no cost. Today, Bark for Schools is trusted by more than 3,400 districts to help protect students from digital dangers.^7 Bark's 2025 Annual Report — drawing on a record 11.1 billion data points — highlights a worrying migration of predatory behavior toward unmonitored "shadow" platforms, and partners with the CDC, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and other organizations dedicated to child safety.^7
When the U.S. Surgeon General issued an urgent 2026 warning recommending families limit kids' screen time to roughly two hours a day, Bark's Chief Parent Officer Titania Jordan was called on by CBS News, Parents magazine, and WSB-TV Atlanta to help families navigate what the guidance means in practice.^16
Why Parents Love It"Bark potentially saved my daughter's life… if you are contemplating this… don't! It alerted me to more than I ever would have known. I can't even repay you for what you have given me." — Lauren C.^1
"Bark is the best decision my husband and I made. We have a 15-year-old and although that may sound a bit old for monitoring, it alerts us on potentially dangerous situations and holds her accountable for how she conducts herself online." — Jena R.^1
"I have had this for about a month. It has absolutely produced excellent conversations and has built trust. My approach is not 'gotcha' but 'I love you and this helps me support you'." — Kimberly S.^1
Notable- Featured on CNN, Forbes, The New York Times, Good Morning America, BBC, TechCrunch, Vogue, and more^1
- Named among the best parental control apps for 2026 by Forbes Vetted, PCMag, CyberNews, SafetyDetectives, and CleanCutMedia^8
- To date, Bark has detected 5.6 million severe self-harm situations and 8.9 million severe bullying situations^1
- SafeWise 2026 Kids Safety Awards: Best Parental Control App, Best Kids Phone (Bark Phone), and Best Overall Kids Smartwatch with best location accuracy (Bark Watch)^14
- Wirecutter includes the Bark Phone among the best first phones for kids in 2026^10
- TIME named the Bark Phone one of Best Inventions of 2023^17
- Tim Tebow endorses the Bark Phone as a safer phone for families — 20% of proceeds support the Tim Tebow Foundation^4
- Can now monitor Google Gemini AI assistant activity (May 2026)^6
- NerdTechy's 2026 "10 Safest Phones for Kids and Teens" names Bark the best overall phone for child safety^18
- Available in English, Spanish, and Afrikaans^1
- Widely recommended by churches and Christian parenting resources as a tool for protecting kids online^11
Platforms: iOS, Android, Chromebook, Windows, Mac, Amazon Fire Pricing: Subscription (monthly and annual options) — 7-day free trial
