The best free parental control app for Mac is a great option for people who want to save money. Nonetheless, take note that it often has basic features and can often be used on limited devices. Some versions are free only for a limited time, such as seven or 30 days. Parental controls can keep your kids safe from the dangers of the internet. Here are the best free software options out there that can help you manage them.
With easy access to computer and smart devices, children nowadays tend to spend lots of time online, which is beneficial of course. The internet can be their best tool to learn and know more about the world. However, at the same time, the overuse of computer and exposure to inappropriate websites or content can harm. This is one of the reasons why we need parental control software. In this article, you will find the best software for parental control on Mac. The featured parental control Mac software is excellent in terms of website filtering, app blocking as well as ease of use.
What Makes A Good Parental Control App?
Filter Website
Websites or pages contain gambling, adult and other inappropriate contents are within easy reach for all internet users. Kids should undoubtedly be kept away from them. Another type of websites are actually awesome rather than harmful, but they are so addictive that children are likely to spend loads of time on them. Some of the sites are Facebook, Reddit, etc. An excellent parental control app for Mac should do a good job of keeping children away from questionable content and limiting their access to websites they are addicted to.
Lock Apps
In addition to a browser, children may also spend a lot of time on Mac apps such as social media apps and game apps. Parental control Mac software should enable parents to block or limit app usage on Mac.
Ease of Use
A good Parental Control Mac app should be easy to install, set up and customize. Good software is supposed to make things easy.
Easy, instant access to inappropriate websites and overuse of computer can be harmful for children, both mentally and physically. Spending too much time viewing a screen can cause eye discomfort and poor eyesight. With Mac OS X parental control software, parents can help their children to use Mac properly and safely.
Best Parental Control Mac App
Cisdem AppCrypt can block websites and lock apps on Mac with high reliability and efficiency. Cisdem AppCrypt can block any website and lock any app on your Mac from unauthorized users and allows users to set block or lock session. Users can create one universal password to unblock websites and unlocked apps and set global shortcut keys to quickly hide or reveal main window. In addition, the app also keeps track of failed attempts with detailed reports. Let’s see how it works.
Download and install Cisdem AppCrypt which comes with a simple and very user-friendly interface. When you use this parental control Mac app for the first time, you will be asked to set a password which is used to access AppCrypt and to unblock blocked websites and Mac apps. Don’t forget the password since you have no way to retrieve it once you forget.
Lock Apps
Click the “+” button to add app(s) that you want to block. The blocked apps will be listed in the left column. Each time you try to open them, AppCrypt will ask you for the password.
If you don’t want to block an app anymore, just select the app and click the “-” button to remove it from the list.
To lock an app for a specific period of time, just find the gear icon at the top of the panel and click the inverted triangle icon to choose Preferences. Then you can set the schedule as you like.
Best Free Parental Control Software For Mac
Block Websites
To use the parental control Mac app to block specific websites on Mac, click the “WebBlock” tab. Select the “Blacklist - Block all websites above” option and click “+” to add website(s) that you don’t want your children to visit to the blacklist. If one tries to visit any of the blocked website, AppCrypt will redirect it to a safe page saying that the site is blocked.
To unblock websites, just select them and click the “-” to remove them from the blacklist.
Other Parental Control Mac Software
Best Free Parental Control Software For Mac Computer
ContentBarrier
ContentBarrier can block specific websites on Mac so that parents can control over what their children can read and watch online. It allows users to block websites by various categories such as gambling, drugs, racism, etc. However, the app doesn’t allow users to edit the keywords and websites of each category. Only the developer of the software can update the lists. Unlike Cisdem AppCrypt which allows users to make specific time schedule for different websites, this tool only limits the overall internet time. Using this Mac OS X parental control tool, you can control how long your children can spend online on certain days.
K9 Web Protection
This parental control Mac app can prevent users from visiting certain websites that contain unwanted content. Breaking down websites into more than 60 categories, the app commonly blocks websites falling into categories like adult, drugs, gambling, etc. Originally created to prevent employees from surfing the internet at work, this app can do a good job keeping children away from the bad stuff online.
Conclusion
The above mentioned parental control Mac software apps are excellent in content filtering or app managing or both. Cisdem AppCrypt is a great choice for website filtering and app locking on Mac. It’s easy to use and customize with great flexibility. Instead of limiting your children’s internet time in general, you can use this tool to prevent them from accessing certain websites and apps between specific time period. For example, you can limit their game time to one hour but allow them to visit educational websites for two hours. Welcome to share your thoughts and opinions on this article in the comment section below.