Boomerang Parent Control App Review and its Better Alternatives

Boomerang Parent Control Application

Boomerang is a Parent Control Application that helps you monitor the content that your kids are surfing on the internet using their mobile phones and tablets. It is a product of Greater Vancouver based tech firm, National Education Technologies Inc., in Canada. This company has previously developed apps that were designed to upgrade security systems and control content exposure that helps you to prevent getting exposed to harmful content online.

Speaking of Boomerang, its basic features include app management, text and search history monitoring, time limits, etc. It is available for both IOS and Android devices and comes with a monthly subscription price of $15.99 per device per year. It also has a family package of $30.99/yr that gives access to 10 devices. However sadly it is not available for PCs and Macs. So you will have to look for something else to get Parental Control option on your Macs and PCs.

Boomerang Features

• Web Filtering

Web Filtering is one of the most basic features that are a must and should every Parental Control Application today. Boomerang uses the SPIN Browser, a sister application developed by its parent company. This browser enables safe browsing and prevents opening of pages containing explicit content. Boomerang comes with a default block list where content is categorized into 21 divisions. It also provides the parents to add on 23 categories more in addition to the 21 on the list. Apart from that it also blocks the HTTPS pages and websites with bad content quality.

One drawback here is that one needs to use only SPIN Browser as the default browser on their devices. However you don’t have to worry about the quality because this browser is based on Mozilla.

• Application Control Feature

The next one on the must and should list is the Application Control Feature. When it comes to Boomerang, users have an option to choose and setting up a time schedule for blocking or limiting usage of an application for a specific range time period. However one drawback is that there is a lack of options for users to set up the complete schedule for one whole day.

• Screen Time

Using Boomerang’s Screen time feature you can limit the time period for usage of devices for a whole week. However rescheduling it might turn out to be a little complicated.

• Geofencing and Position

Now this is one of the important features that Boomerang provides in terms of Modern Day Parental Control. Using this feature, the parent scan digitally draw boundaries i.e., create a digital fence that sends a notification to the parent when their kids cross a specific geofence. This feature also helps the parents to keep tab on their children’s whereabouts.

• Monitoring texts and calls

When it comes to Boomerang, monitoring texts and calls means, not just to giving access to the text and call records. Boomerang also informs you when your children use any forbidden words. On the other hand it helps you to control your child’s contact network and also helps you to trace your kid’s call at any given point of time.

• Events, Emergency Mode, and Extras

The Events tab on the Boomerang App helps keep record of the events when the children have neglected any boundations set up by the parents using this app. Moreover the Boomerang Child app comes with an emergency mode that enables the children to send in an emergency beacon to the parents that sends a notification to their parents devices immediately.

Moreover the Boomerang comes with some extra set of features such as the Family Messenger and Live Chat Support features that keeps the communication between the family and also between the family and Boomerang going on.

Are there any alternatives for Boomerang?

Well the answer is yes. There are many alternative Parental Control Applications in the market today. But if you are looking for a better alternative than Boomerang in terms of Parental Control, then we might have a name for you. The name of this Parental Control Application is ‘FamiSafe’.

What is Famisafe?

FamiSafe is the Parental Control app by Wondershare. This application is a commendable option for monitoring targeted devices. It provides information about the applications and web content that your kids are being exposed to. Using FamiSafe, parents can easily know what their kids are onto. In addition to that, like Boomerang it also helps in maintaining a geofence of targeted device. Yet again this application is also limited to only Android and IOS devices and cannot be accessed for PCs and Macs.

FamiSafe Features

Famisafe also has features that are similar to most of the features found in Boomerang. So let’s see what makes it different from Boomerang:

• Family locator

The geofencing and location tracking feature helps you keep tabs on your child’s location and also keep them in safe vicinity without letting them wander away. Unlike Boomerang, using this app, you can also check the locations that your children have accessed even earlier.

• Explicit Content Detection

Using FamiSafe, parents can create their own alert words list which lets them know what type of surroundings and environment their kids are being exposed to. Unlike Boomerang, here you are not controlling the people to whom your kids are speaking. Here you are helping your kids to respond in a well behaved manner without allowing them to use bad language.

• Suspicious Photos

This is a new feature that makes FamiSafe different from Boomerang. Using this application parents can check photos on their kid’s phone without even touching them. This helps the parents to access their kids activities and also whether their children are being exposed to any explicit content even offline.

• Browser history & Web filter

Like all the other Parental Control Applications, this app also has the basic Browse history and web filter options, that helps you keep tab on the content that your kids are being exposed to and to filter the content that you don’t want your children to be exposed to. When compared to Boomerang, this application uses Safari browser which is more efficient and widely used in most of the smart devices.

• Smart schedule

It is important that your kids are not over exposed to or in other words do not get addicted to their devices. This might turn into a psychological disorder. So FamiSafe helps you to lock your children’s devices when you don’t want them to use it i.e., while they are studying or during the night when they need to have a sound sleep. On the other hand, scheduling the screen time is very simple using FamiSafe when compared to Boomerang which might turn out to be a little complex.

What makes Famisafe a better Alternative?

The first and for most thing that any user observes while using any application is how user friendly is that application. It turns out that FamiSafe is far more simple and user friendly than Boomerang. Secondly Parental Control Application are necessary for keeping tabs on your children and prevent them from being exposed to explicit content. FamiSafe fits just right in the description. While on the other hand Boomerang looks like an application which creates more of a foundation than helping the parent keeping tabs. This might in some cases effect the Parent Child Relation.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, looks like Boomerang provides more at a less price. However FamiSafe provides you a better quality although at a higher price. Also its features are quite adequate for an Ideal Modern Parent Control Application. It is up to you whether, you want to keep tabs on your children or bound them. You have options for both.