Bark is a subscription parental-control platform for parents who want warning signs from their child's online life without reading every message.^1 It monitors texts, email, YouTube, and 30+ apps and social media platforms, and alerts parents only when something potentially problematic occurs.^2
The alerts cover issues like cyberbullying, adult content, sexual predators, profanity, suicidal ideation, and threats of violence.^2 Families can also set screen-time schedules, filter which websites a child can access, and track location.^2 A Bark Assistant lets parents type plain-language questions or requests about settings and alerts instead of navigating menus.^5 The same company sells the Bark Phone and Bark Phone Pro with monitoring built in, the Bark Watch for younger kids, Bark Home for Wi-Fi devices, and Bark Sync, a charger that scans an iPhone or iPad when it plugs in.^4 In September 2026 Bark rebuilt the Watch entirely on Samsung's Galaxy Watch8 platform, with no social media, browser, or games.^7
Brian Bason, a father of two, founded Bark in 2015.^1 In a published interview he said he was working at Twitter when his kids reached phone age: "I decided to leave Twitter to start Bark to solve the pain point that all modern parents face."^6 After the Parkland tragedy, Bark offered free monitoring to U.S. K-12 schools; its schools page now counts more than 3,500 schools served and more than 7 million children covered.^1
One parent quoted on Bark's site says of the Watch: "My son can play in the neighborhood without me having to hover."^5 Another, quoted in the App Store listing, calls Bark "just another set of protections we as parents give our kids for the digital environment."^2
Bark is subscription-based, with pricing for the app and each device on its pricing page.^4 Twenty percent of proceeds from each Bark Phone sale goes to the Tim Tebow Foundation.^9 The app is available in the United States, South Africa, and Australia.^5
