# Bark Kids — The companion app to Bark > Child companion app for parental control, screen time, web filtering, and location tracking. (iPhone/iPad app by Bark Technologies, Inc..) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bark-kids/id1500629600 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Bark Technologies, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1164495252) - Category: Social Networking, Utilities - Price: Free - Rating: 1.30/5 from 9,335 App Store ratings · 744 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 16.0 · 68 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2020-03-15 - Data updated: 2026-08-29 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bark-kids/id1500629600/reviews.md ## What is Bark Kids? Bark Kids is the free child companion app for both Bark and Bark Jr. To use it, you’ll need to have an established Bark account and install Bark Kids on your child’s device. Here are the features this app enables: SCREEN TIME MANAGEMENT Families can set healthy time limits and create schedules for when their children’s devices can connect to the internet (through both cell service and Wi-Fi). WEB FILTERING Our web filter lets you select which websites your child can access on their devices. You can allow or block specific sites — or even whole categories like streaming services, online gaming, sexual content, and more. GPS-POWERED LOCATION TRACKING Bark’s robust location tracking enables you to track your child in real time on a map. You can even find out if they’re stationary, walking, biking, or moving in a car. CHECK-INS Check-Ins are an easy way for families to get peace of mind when their kids are out and about. Rather than sending a "Did you get there?" or "Where are you?" text, you can rely on a GPS-based location confirmation from your children to verify that they've safely arrived at their destinations. It can even give you step-by-step directions via Google Maps so you can meet them where they are if necessary. PERSONAL ACCOUNT CONNECTIONS The Bark Kids app allows kids to connect their own accounts to Bark’s monitoring service (not available with Bark Jr). By allowing them to connect directly to our monitoring service, they get more privacy without having to share their usernames or passwords. HOW BARK KIDS WORKS WITH THE BARK PARENT APP Download the Bark Parent companion app to manage your child’s entire digital world - Monitor texts, apps & social media - Create custom screen time schedules - Block websites & apps - Get insights into online activities - Track location WHAT PARENTS ARE SAYING - "My wife and I LOVE Bark. We've had some tough but productive conversations with our 13-year-old son. It's proving to be extremely valuable." — Josh L. - “It’s just another set of protections we as parents give our kids for the digital environment (or as my 10-year-old calls it, a “cell phone seat belt”). My oldest is a 9th grader, and while I trust her, I’ve come to realize through the alerts that some of her friends aren’t truly her friends. It’s led to some amazing conversations about choosing friends wisely and recognizing toxic people. While she wasn’t for Bark at first, she’s since said she’s grateful that I saw those messages because it reaffirmed what she was feeling but didn’t know how to verbalize without sounding sensitive.” — Bark Parent - "Bark notified me that my young daughter had unknowingly revealed her phone number to strangers on Twitter. The fact that Bark notified me was impressive and led to an informative discussion with her the same day." — Jon B. - “Since Bark alerted us to the suicidal language used in the Google doc that was being used in a chat document with a friend, we have seen both a pediatrician and a licensed counselor. We are hopeful for a positive outcome. Thanks to Bark for letting us peek into our child’s mind!” — Bark Parent - “This app is a lifesaver! It has allowed us to catch so many “red flags” in the content my kids have accessed on their devices and in their interactions with friends and other people online that I wouldn’t have ever known about otherwise. The big difference between Bark and other “Parental Control” software is that Bark allows your kids to have so much more privacy. It doesn’t show you everything they do, but sends an instant alert regarding any activity that might be concerning. Highly recommended!” — Bark Parent With Bark, you can help keep your kids safe both online and in real life. Try it out for seven days absolutely free! Our Family Online Safety Specialists are standing by to help answer any questions you might have. Email help@bark.us or visit help.bark.us to get answers and advice from the Bark Team. ## Key features - Screen time management - Web filtering - GPS location tracking - Check-ins for arrival confirmation - Personal account connections - Device usage monitoring ## What do users think of Bark Kids? Overall sentiment: negative **Pros** - 👍 Helps keep kids safe - 🚀 Effective at monitoring online activity - 🔒 Provides parental control and oversight **Cons** - 🔍 Excessive invasion of privacy - 🤖 Overly sensitive alerts and false positives - 🔌 Negatively impacts device performance and connectivity - 💔 Damages trust and relationship with parents - 😞 Restricts teen freedom and independence **Commonly reported bugs** - Persistent VPN issues causing internet connectivity problems - Incompatibility with certain apps and device functionality **Most requested features** - More customizable alert settings - Improved filtering and classification of content - Better integration with family devices and accounts - Gradual relaxation of restrictions as child matures ## Recent user reviews (10 of 744) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bark-kids/id1500629600/reviews.md ### 1/5 — Parents, don’t use this app. *2026-08-07, version 5.0.0* It takes forever to load videos or pictures now and even if it does load it’s bad quality, this app makes your phone so slow. And you can’t turn it off without parent permission obv. ### 1/5 — Worst app *2026-08-07, version 5.0.0* The worst app of all time. This app causes many problems. 1. You can’t delete apps. If you decide you don’t want an app; to bad. 2. If you have perfect internet/cellular, it will be so slow. Slower than if you were in a desert. DO NOT DOWNLOAD! This app causes your phone to be like a 🇰🇵North Korea phone🇰🇵. Watches everything, reads everything, and sucks. Save your time and money by just using downtime rules. When you leave a review, there is some creep that comments back to the reviews.!!!GET A LIFE!!! also, PLEASE IGNORE ALL POSITIVE REVIEWS. EDIT: after I left this review, my phone ran even slower ### 3/5 — Bark review *2026-08-05, version 5.0.0* Ok so I have bark on my phone for parent controls it’s great at monitoring but the only thing is that it glitches like some apps I can’t open like SHEIN and CapCut and it also sometimes won’t turn my phone off at the bedtime please fix this ### 1/5 — This app is useless *2026-08-05, version 5.0.0* Me and my sister have this stupid app and we both have had lots of instances were our internet would be terrible for days and my dad wasn’t able to find out what it was until I suggested this app and after a few more day he sorted it out and it has been that bad again but another thing I hate about this app is that each week that ask you a question and it makes your clock blue and it probably hasn’t gotten annoying for most of y’all, but it’s probably for some of yall ### 3/5 — Perspective of a 13-year-old *2026-08-05, version 5.0.0* It does keep me safe and helps my parents know my location and what I do with my phone and my browsing but there is a couple of bad things I can’t figure out how to delete it and also it cuts out my Internet connection so I really can’t do anything but overall very good for child safety ### 1/5 — Just..why? *2026-08-03, version 5.0.0* So, i like texting my friends, but for some reason on the gcs (group chats) it confuses which person is me and my friends, furthermore the AI moderation is just.. so dumb, i was in a contest, and my best friend asked who won, i said “idk some random dude” and the AI thought i was talking to a random person (who is in fact: my best friend). Also the AI is like: physically incapable of understanding internet slang, i said to my friend on the gc “R.I.P, 🥀” cuz they lost in a video game, then the AI counted that as suicidal behavior! Why?! Also remember when i was talking about the contest? Well that was a video game making contest (i lost, but it was fun) anyway i sent a screenshot of my game, and gave my friends the link to the game and the AI thought i was being asked to give nsfw pics and vids for a game link *insert face palm here* ### 1/5 — DONT GET THIS *2026-08-02, version 5.0.0* IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR KID DONT INSTALL THIS APP ITS SPYWARE. I TRUSTED BARK TO PROTECT ME , BUT NO ITS SPYWARE, AS A CHILD I TRUSTED THIS APP TO PROTECT ME AND IT TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THAT. ### 4/5 — Kinda iffy but still works *2026-08-02, version 5.0.0* (14 almost 15 yo male perspective) So basically I was using it out of my home state and the von thing just kept turning off and on and it wouldn’t let me do anything. So my dad un-installed the app for like a week and in that week my phone had really fast internet, didn’t glitch, and my phone basically had none of the problem it had before. I think that the bark app affected the phones internet and stuff but it still does the job really well. One star off for the vpn thingy though ### 1/5 — Spotify does not work *2026-08-01, version 5.0.0* This app is overall a great idea. However, it eliminates the ability to have privacy, and a huge issue is that it doesn’t seem to work with Spotify. Every time I open/use the Spotify app, the VPN repeatedly turns off and on, and continues to do so for a while after. It stops my phone from working. Again, great concept, not well designed. ### 5/5 — Great for sneaky and deliberate disobedience *2026-07-31, version 5.0.0* This is for my parents who are actually great parents, discipline within reason and are involved with your children. This is also for those of you who are minors and are deliberately disobedient, sneaky and untrustworthy. Don’t do things that would this app be required. Period. Because when you carry that behavior into adult hood, it’s down hill for you and your parents nor an app can keep you safe. ## Frequently asked questions about Bark Kids ### What does Bark Kids do? Bark Kids is a free companion app for parents to manage their child's digital world. It enables features like screen time management, web filtering, and GPS location tracking, helping parents ensure their child's online safety and responsible device usage. ### What are the key features of Bark Kids? Key features include setting screen time limits and schedules, filtering websites and content categories, real-time GPS location tracking with movement detection, and a 'Check-ins' feature for safe arrival confirmations. It also allows children to connect their accounts directly for enhanced privacy. ### Is Bark Kids free to use? Yes, Bark Kids is a free child companion app. However, it requires an established Bark account and the Bark Parent companion app to manage your child's digital environment. ### What devices is Bark Kids compatible with? The description implies that Bark Kids is installed on the child's device and works in conjunction with the Bark Parent companion app, which is managed by the parent. Specific operating system compatibility is not detailed, but it is designed for children's devices. ### How does Bark Kids help with child safety? Bark Kids enhances child safety by allowing parents to control internet access through web filtering and screen time limits. The GPS tracking and check-in features provide peace of mind regarding their location, while the ability to monitor texts, apps, and social media (via the parent app) can alert parents to potential dangers. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 5.0.7 — 2026-08-08 Minor bugfixes and performance updates ### 5.0.0 — 2026-06-10 - Added ability to disable location tracking from the Parent App - Added the ability to backup media from device ### 4.53.0 — 2026-05-29 Minor bug fixes and performance improvements. ### 4.49.1 — 2026-05-01 Optimizations in location tracking to minimize battery drain. ### 4.49.0 — 2026-04-21 Minor bugfixes and performance updates ## Apps similar to Bark Kids | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Life360: Family Safety & GPS](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/life360-family-safety-and-gps/id384830320) | 4.8 (3,021,908) | Free | Social Networking | | [Reclip: Clip Your Friends](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/reclip-clip-your-friends/id1451117460) | 4.5 (5,511) | Free | Social Networking | | [Coverstar - Positive Social](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/coverstar-positive-social/id1219890480) | 4.7 (195,449) | Free | Social Networking | | [BAND for Kids](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/band-for-kids/id1527684503) | 2.9 (190) | Free | Social Networking | | [Peek: Secret Compliment](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/peek-secret-compliment/id6504218505) | 4.7 (7,587) | Free | Social Networking | | [Messenger Kids](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/messenger-kids/id1285713171) | 4.3 (115,144) | Free | Social Networking | ## More apps by Bark Technologies, Inc. - [Bark - Parental Controls](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bark-parental-controls/id1477619146) - [Bark for Schools](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bark-for-schools/id1638803828) All apps by Bark Technologies, Inc.: https://appshunter.io/developer/1164495252 ## Related topics [bark kids](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/bark-kids) · [bark kids app](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/bark-kids-app) · [bark parental controls](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/bark-parental-controls) · [bark parent app](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/bark-parent-app) · [bark parent](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/bark-parent) · [bark](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/bark) · [bark parental control](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/bark-parental-control) · [child protection](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/child-protection) · [goodyear kids safety](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/goodyear-kids-safety) · [kahf kids](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/kahf-kids) · [kids safety](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/kids-safety) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-29.*