Parental Control Software for Mac (Macintosh OS X)

The parents always stay worried about the kids whether they are at home or outside. But with the advancement of technology, their fear has taken a new form which is the internet. The potential risks on the internet have grown to a great extent. It is like everyone and everything is exposed to a larger audience without any consent. In such a situation, the parents need parental control software for the devices that kids used to surf the internet to ensure their kids are safe from any harmful information online. Mac has been one of the preferred devices by today's youth so let's learn about the top 10 parental control software for Mac.

Why We Need Parental Control Software?

The need for parental control software can be explained with the following points completely. The reasons are listed in simple points as below:

• Cyber Safety. Kids are too young to tell bad from the good and may expose their personal information to criminals online unintentionally.
• Time management. With parental control apps, parents can set up a screen time limit or different schedules to help kids manage their time.
• Monitor the kid's activities. Get track of what they are visiting or doing online.
• Avoid access to age-inappropriate content. Getting exposed to content like pornography, drug, and violence at an early age will affect the kid's mental and physical health.
• Prevent internet addiction. Internet addiction has been an increasing concern among today's parents. The parental control software can help restrict kid's access to the internet.

Best 10 Parental Control Software for Mac

1. FamiSafe - the most reliable parental control software for Mac

FamiSafe is one of the best parental control software on the market. It is known for its compatibility with different operating systems and flexible subscription types. When it comes to applying parental control on Mac, FamiSafe has topped this list for its comprehensive features.

Features:

• Web content filtering: Filtering websites content on a mac is never easier with FamiSafe. Parents can enable different websites categories to be blocked or add specific websites.
• Screen time Monitoring and Control: The parents can control the time period up to which the kids are allowed to use their Macs.
• App blocking: Parents can block apps that kids used most to help kids focus on their tasks.
• Activity Monitor: This feature completely monitors all the activities of the Mac from web browsing to social media apps.
• Smart Schedules: Smart Schedule allows parents to set up different plans to block different apps at different times or occasions. If you would like your kids to focus on their study tasks when using the Mac, you can set a smart schedule to block games and social media apps.

2. K9 Web Protection for Mac

The K9 Web Protection is an easy-to-use Mac parental control software that offers effective web filtering to protect the kids from harmful content. It is a charge-free software and can be configured as a porn blocker, spyware stopper, etc.

Features:

• It has an amazing app filtering support.
• Users can add additional configuration options.
• It can disable HTTPS block notifications and Google SSL redirection.
• It has compatibility with other Antivirus and Firewall Vendors.

Pros: 

• It has effective and customizable filters.
• Apply limits to many sites simultaneously.
• Set notification for unauthorized website access.

Cons:

• The notification panel sometimes causes issues.
• Don't work with the AOL browser.
• No reports or keyboard logging features.

Supported OS:  It supports Mac OS X 10.4, 10.5, 10.6, 10.7, and 10.8.

Cost: It is free of cost.

3. Free Website Blocker for Mac

This parental control software for Mac is primarily designed to block access to specific websites. For the users who only need to block specific content can use this software adequately.

Features:

• It has a simple and easy user interface.
• It can block the complete website or you can choose specific content according to your requirements by defining words or phrases which block.

Pros:

• Works well for blocking websites.
• It is easy to operate, all you need to do is type in the URL or word you would like to block.

Cons:

• It lacks a password protection feature.
• Does not cover the other aspects of parental control.

Supported OS: It supports Mac OS X 10.5, 10.10, and 10.11.

Cost: Free.

4. Qustodio Parental Control for Mac

Qustodio parental control software for Mac will ensure that your kid is safe online. The parents can easily restrict the time and data usage of their kids on the target Mac or block apps or games and keep track of their kid's online activity.

Features:

• Added compatibility with OS X EI Capitan.
• It can set healthy access limits to content.
• All the content which is accessed is supervised accurately.

Pros:

• Improved website filtering and classifications.
• It is tamper-proof.
• It will protect your kids from dangerous websites, id theft, bullying, and other risks.
• It runs in the background without having a negative impact on mac's performance.

Cons:

• Some features are only accessible in the premium version.

Supported OS: It is compatible with Mac OS X 10.6, 10.7, 10.8, 10.9, and 10.10.

Cost: This software is free but the premium version costs $49.95.

5. Safe Eyes for Mac

The Safe Eyes is a fast, effective, and reliable parental control software for Mac. It is an ideal solution for the online protection of the whole family. It will block all the objected content and will put a limit on the time kids spend online.

Features:

• It has a customizable program blocking.
• Enhanced security with HTTPS/SSL filtering.
• Provides robust usage reporting that can be limited to Admin access.
• It controls all the internet based programs also.

Pros:

• Amazing security features for advanced protection.
• All the data is saved on the Safe EyesTM server which is helpful if there are multiple devices in the home.

Cons:

• One license is limited to three devices only.
• Will provide false alerts.

Supported OS:  Mac OS X 10.4 Intel/PPC, Mac OS X 10.5 Intel/PPC/.6 Intel, Mac OS X 10.6/Intel

Cost: The product cost is $49.95.

6. Familoop Safeguard for Mac

Familoop Safeguard is a Mac parental control software that provides an improved and enhanced background operation. This software will surely give a proper insight into the kid's online activities.

Features:

• It is a complete solution for kid's online protection.
• Secured, safe, and smart digital parenting.
• It offers safe search, web filtering, Geofencing, time limits, etc.

Pros:

• You will get a set of smart tools for parental control.
• It will also provide social networking protection.

Cons:

• Does not time schedule service for the devices and the manual block feature does not work correctly.

Supported OS: This software is compatible with Mac OS X 10.10/ 10.11.

Cost: The software only costs $4.99 after a 10-day trial.

7. KidsServer PE for Mac

It is termed as the most powerful Mac parental control software ever designed. It is a proxy type software that can filter even the most harmful websites. It also offers the time restriction feature to put a limit on computer usage of the kids.

Features:

• It supports compressed sites and forced safe search.
• It is made as Universal Binary software.
• It offers movies and word restriction.

Pros:

• Simple and unique interface for easy operation.
• It has advanced proxy throughput.

Cons:

• The software slows down the computer sometimes.

Supported OS: It supports the Mac OS X 10.3/10.3.9/10.4 Intel/10.4 PPC.

Cost: The price for this software is $40.

8. Intego ContentBarrier X9 for Mac

This software understands that the internet is a sword that is cutting the young mind gradually. The Intego ContentBarrier is a software for Mac that acts as a guardian on the online platforms.

Features:

• You can set up customized profiles.
• It monitors the internet habit of the user.
• It can effectively restrict adult content and provide the kids with the content which is appropriate for their age group.

Pros:

• No lurking of strangers through unfamiliar websites.
• Eliminate the risk of id theft to a great extent.

Cons:

• Sometimes the software shows performance issues.

Supported OS: This Software is compatible with Mac OS X 10.10/10.11/10.8/10.9, and macOS 10.12/Sierra.

Cost: You can try the software for free up to 30 days. After that, you have to pay $39.99 for the software.

9. Internet Safe for Kids Web Browser for Mac

The Internet Safe for Kids Web Browser has been effective parental control software. It is suitable for all the kids above age 3. The application already come with 12 parent-approved websites which are also fun and creative.

Features:

• Safe and secure browsing.
• It offers a password protection feature to deny access to unapproved websites.

Pros:

• It is completely free of cost.
• There is a help menu along with the browser.
• The password protection is good.

Cons:

• It requires more control over the time spent.

Supported OS: It supports Mac OS X 10.4 Intel/PPC, Mac OS X 10.5 Intel/PPC, and Mac OS X 10.6/10.7/10.8.

Cost:

The software will run without any registration code for 30 days. After that, it will only require a registration code that the users can have for free.

10. KidsGoGoGo for Mac

This software helps the parents to keep the kids away from malicious content and external threats. There are several ways to customize the user experience to get the proper advantage of the software.

Features:

• It is an effective and convenient software.
• Prevents kids from accessing adult content like porn, gambling, etc
• Offers a set of network peripheral features.

Pros:

• The software has a clean and nice interface that will allow the user to navigate quickly through various sections.
• The best thing about the software is that it doesn't degrade the performance of the computer.

Cons:

• The interface is outdated and non-intuitive.
• Need to set up the proxy manually for Firefox.

Supported OS: It supports Mac/OS Classic.

Cost: The price of this software is $30.