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A Full Guide On Mac Parental Controls

tsafely phone tracker 2023-04-13

As a responsible parent, you need to make sure that your family members won't get exposed to any inappropriate content at an early age. With Mac parental controls, you can certainly make it happen and create a nurturing environment for your kids. In this comprehensive post, we will help you learn how to manage parental controls on Mac with its inbuilt features and by using various third-party apps as well.

Mac Parental Controls

Part 1. How to Setup and Manage A Parental Control User Account?

Apple provides a comprehensive way to create parental control user accounts on Mac and manage privacy settings easily. Start by creating a new user account for parental controls Mac before setting up various features. You need to log in to the administrator account and create a separate account for your kids to manage their activity. Follow these steps to create a new user account.

1. Go to the Apple icon, which is located at the left corner of the screen. From the dropdown menu, select the “System Preferences” option.

System Preferences

2. This will open a new window, giving various options to you. Select the feature of Parental Control. Now, select the option of “Create a new account with parental control” and click on Continue.

Parental Control Settings in Mac
Parental Control Settings on Mac
Create New Parental Control Account
Create New Parental Control Account

3. A new window will pop up. Here, you need to enter your administrator username and password. Click on "Unlock" once you are done.

4. Now, you can create a new user account for your child. Start by selecting the age, preference, name, password, etc.

5. Once you are done verifying the password (and the optional password hint), click on the “Create User” button.

Enter Details of the Account
Enter Details of the Account

Great! Now when you have created a new user account with Mac parental controls, you can just set various restrictions on it related to its app usage, website restrictions, and more. Follow these easy steps to manage the newly created user account.

1. Start by visiting the “System Preferences” option. Click on the Parental Control icon and select the “Lock” button to unlock various options.

2. After giving the administrator username and password, click on the “Unlock” button.

3. Great! Now just select the account you want to manage from the list displayed in the left corner. As soon as you would click it, you would get a new window with different tabs like Apps, Web, Time, Privacy, etc.

4. Go to the “Apps” window to restrict the usage of popular gaming apps and cameras. Just check the apps you want the user account to use.

5. Furthermore, under the option of “Limit Applications on the Mac” you can just select the apps you want your kid to access.

6. Now, to restrict their usage of the internet, go to the “Webs” tab.

7. Here, you can restrict access to any indecent content. You can also click on the “Customize” button to manually add/remove certain websites.

8. To restrict their usage of iTunes content, go to the “Stores” tab.

9. In this tab, you can just select the kind of content they can get from iTunes. Filter the kind of TV shows, movies, books, etc. that they can get from the store.

10. Lastly, you can go to the Privacy tab to take control of their privacy setting as well. Just click on it and set different parameters related to their location services, social media apps, contacts, etc.

We are sure that after setting all these restrictions on the newly created user accounts, you would be able to use parental controls on Mac to its best.

Part 2. How to Turn Off Parental Controls on Mac

If you know your kid has grown up or doesn’t need to be restricted under parental controls Mac anymore, then you can also turn it off. Simply perform these easy steps to disable it.

Turn Off Parental Controls on Mac
Turn Off Parental Controls on Mac

1. Go to the "System Preferences" feature and click on the Parental Control icon. This will open a new window.

2. Here, just select the account you want to edit from the left panel and click on the Settings icon below. It will provide a list of options. Just select the “Turn off parental controls…” option and save your preferences. You would be asked to provide your username and password as well to save your choices for future reference.

Part 3. How to Setup Parental Controls Time Limit

One of the best things about Mac parental controls is that you can set time limit restrictions on a user account as well. After creating a new user account for your kid, just follow these steps to restrict the time usage of the computer for a user.

Setup Parental Control Limit
Setup Parental Control Limit

1. Under the System Preferences window, select Parental Controls and "unlock" it after providing your username and password.

2. Now, select the account you want to restrict and go to the "Time" tab to get more options.

3. Under the "Limit Weekday Use" section, you can set a daily limit of anything between 30 minutes to 8 hours.

4. Additionally, you can do the same for weekends under the "Limit Weekend Use" section.

5. There is also a provision to restrict the usage of computers for a certain period under the "School Nights" and "Weekend" options as well.

That's it, after setting the above-stated time restrictions using parental controls Mac, "lock" your options before exiting the window.

Part 4. Top 5 Mac Parental Controls Software

If Mac's inbuilt features are not enough, then you can also take the assistance of other third-party apps that can act as a perfect substitute for Mac parental controls. We have handpicked some of the best applications for you.

4.1 k9 Web Protection

K9 Web Protection is one of the oldest and most extensive parental control software available for Windows and Mac. You can download it for free from its official website right here.

It provides a lot of advanced features like time restrictions, blocking of inappropriate content and websites, overriding of content with password, real-time segregation of content, safe search, and a lot more. It also generates visual reports, giving you a timely breakdown of your kid's activity on the internet. The best thing about the application is that it is available for free. Though it has been around for a while and with time, a lot of users have found loopholes to overpass the protection.

k9 Web Protection

4.2 Norton

Norton Family is undoubtedly one of the best parental control applications out there. It is compatible with Mac and can further strengthen the native features of parental controls on Mac. You can either get its 30-day free trial or get its premium version for as less as $15 from its official website right here.

Norton

It can help you keep a strict eye on their online activity with its social media integration. Additionally, you can just filter the kind of content you want your kids to access so that you can create a nurturing environment for them online. It supports cross-device integration and provides a lot of advanced features like location supervision, identity protection, mobile app supervision, and a lot more.

4.3 Safe Eyes

Safe Eyes is the official parental control app that is created by McAfee. It is compatible with both Windows and Mac and can be downloaded from its official website right here.

With Safe Eyes, you can monitor every move of a family member without any trouble. From video monitoring to web restrictions and restrictions on time limits to the monitoring of social media and instant messaging apps-it is a comprehensive tool that can do it all.

4.4 Minormonitor

If you like to monitor how your kids spend their time on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, then Minormonitor is certainly one of the best tools for you. It can help you prevent your kids from cyberbullying as well. You can get it for free from its official website here.

Minormonitor

One of the best things about Minormonitor is the generation of visual reports that can provide an in-depth breakdown of everything in an aesthetically pleasing way. The tool can certainly save you time and resources a lot. This freely available tool is quite effective for social media surveillance, but can't provide complete parental control over their offline activity.

4.5 Qustodio

Qustodio is another popular parental control tool that will make it easier for you to create a productive space for your kids online. Its major features include blocking websites, social media activity surveillance, web search monitoring, etc. It is known as one of the best free Mac parental controls out there. You can also get its premium plan for as less as $50 a year from its website here.

Qustodio

Additionally, you can control their smartphones as well and have overall monitoring of your kid’s activities. Just install it on their device and start using it without any trouble.

We are sure these thoughtful suggestions will help you create a safe environment for your kid. Use parental controls on Mac or any of these third-party apps to give a healthy upbringing to your child.

Part 5. Msafely-Best Parental Control for iPhone and Android

If you want to track your children’s iPhone/iPad or Android devices, never miss out Msafely. It is compatible with both iPhone and Android. You can also log in to your Msafely account on Mac or Windows to start tracking target iPhone/Android.

You must be curious about the working principle of Msafely. It doesn’t need app installation. How does it work? Msafely is based on cloud service. If you can get iCloud credentials or Google account of the target device, you can start remote monitoring without them knowing. What’s more, you don’t need to jailbreak or root the target device.

The amazing feature of Tafely is tracking more than 40 types of data, such as text messages, call logs, contacts, emails, GPS locations, social apps, browser history, bookmarks, etc.

Advantages of Msafely

1. Simplify the process. Jailbreak or root is not required.

2. Don't waste time installing an app on the target device.

3. Track live GPS locations as well as the movement history of children.

4. Access conversation and contact list of social media apps, such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Tinder, Kik, ect.

5. Work in stealth mode without being caught.

6.100% reliable and safe. Only you can access the data on the target device. Data leakage will never happen.

7. Feel relaxed to start remote monitoring anywhere anytime.

How to Use Msafely for Parental Control?

Msafely is user-friendly with only 3 steps. You just follow the operation steps to set up parental control on your child’s phone with Msafely.

Step 1. Register A Free Account

Type in your email address(a valid one) to make a new Msafely account. It is entirely free.

Step 2. Add iCloud Details

Choose a suitable subscription plan. Next, share the iCloud account details used on the target device. Once you enter it, click “Continue”.

Step 3. Start Tracking Child’s Phone

Go to the online control panel using your Msafely account. From the interface, click the menu button, and choose the item you want to track. Every possible detail on the child’s phone will be available here!