# Bark - Parental Controls — user reviews > 546 indexed App Store user reviews of Bark by Bark Technologies, Inc., rated 4.20/5 from 34,867 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bark-parental-controls/id1477619146/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bark-parental-controls/id1477619146.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 25,789 · 4★ 2,276 · 3★ 1,174 · 2★ 710 · 1★ 4,918 ## What do users think of Bark? Overall sentiment: neutral **Pros** - 💯 Solid recommendation - 🔒 Helps keep watch over family - 🔒 Necessary for child safety - 🚀 Disturbingly good app so far - 🚀 Unique helpful tracker - 🚀 Absolutely amazing app - 🚀 Absolutely incredible app - 🚀 Great way to keep your child safe **Cons** - 🐛 Very hard to navigate - 🐛 Can't install - 🐛 Annoying features - 🐛 Useless, don't waste money - 🐛 Confusion during setup - 🐛 App okay, phone not so much - 🐛 Do not try this rubbish - 🐛 Do not use this - 🔋 Drain battery and slowed phones - 🔋 Storage problems - 🔒 Waste of time, child can delete it - 🔒 Not iOS friendly - 🔒 Hacked phone - 🔒 Destroys child and parents relationships - 🔒 Disgusting, invades privacy **Commonly reported bugs** - Frequent disconnections and reconnections required - Inability to monitor certain popular apps like TikTok and Snapchat - Delayed alerts and notifications - Unexpected phone performance issues like slower speeds and battery drain **Most requested features** - Improve compatibility with iOS devices - Provide cloud-based backups instead of manual device backups - Add password protection to prevent app uninstallation - Improve sensitivity settings and notification management ## Newest reviews (19 of 546) ### 2/5 — Fine WHEN it works *2026-08-27, version 6.4.1* I have had this app for over a year. I cannot tell you how many times I cannot open it. That is even when it's sending me notifications! The parental control is simple enough but I cannot use it when I can't open the app. I also find that while we have to create a trusted phone number list to call my kid's phone, somehow she gets spam calls. Like, how?!?!?! I don't know how long I am keeping this. They also don't have iPhones only Samsung phones which makes it more inconvenient for me. ### 2/5 — Do Not Buy the Sync Device *2026-08-16, version 6.4.1* Run Away! Our child has an iPhone. It won’t sync with the Bark device. I have exchanged over 20 emails with tech support. Each starts with BS platitudes about how great I am for seeking support and how absolutely indescribably delighted they are to help. They understand my frustration. A different person answers each email, does not read preceding emails, hits a function key to spit out something tried 5 emails ago, and asks me to follow up because they are eager to help-and USELESS. I assume they are over-worked because of all the tech questions from Bark devices that don’t work. Other aspects work, but it won’t scan the iPhone and tech support is like a broken robot repeating the same phrases. SKIP THE SYNC DEVICE. NOT WORTH THE MONEY. ### 3/5 — Ok But Clunky *2026-08-11, version 6.4.1* App keeps telling me I can disconnect the Ipad from my PC days after I disconnected. Then it stops showing data so I had to set it up again. ### 1/5 — The app is lacking full control *2026-08-09, version 6.4.1* Bark business model doesn’t provide parents full monitor & control! As parent you have to ask your child to provide you their apps passwords to be able to monitor them! but if your child changed any of the apps password you won’t be able to monitor and you have to ask them about the password again!! Practically, this process is a waste of time and too much drama to get the password again, most of the time they denies it and says its an app issue or the VPN at school! End of the story, I wasted my money, Bark didn’t help and now I am using another app way better than Bark. Thanks & I hope if you change your business model to fit the parent’s expectations!! ### 1/5 — Scam No Customer Service *2026-08-09, version 6.4.1* Beware of Bark!!! They sent the wrong cord that I didnt order- Billed me twice for annual subscription- I disputed duplicate charges with my bank as Bark didnt resolve, and they cancelled the account that I paid for in October of last year. DONT USE Bark…They also blocked me on instagram when I posted this. ### 1/5 — Hahah *2026-08-08, version 6.4.1* It dose not let your child go on some apps ### 1/5 — Doesn’t support iPad *2026-08-06, version 6.4.1* I was fooled. I bought into these glowing reviews. I bought a yearly subscription and the $50 sync module only to find after HOURS of fiddling with our iPads and never getting it to sync that they are having “issues with getting it to connect with iPads…” and instead of being transparent from the get go - I was told either I could get a refund or work with their engineers to “figure it out.” NO THANKS. So if you have an issue, there’s no phone number to call, you only have an AI bot that is slow and freezes when it eventually lets you to a human - I had to keep my phone in front of hoping to catch someone as it literally takes 10+ mins for a reply up to hours later, which then times out. If you email support they don’t listen / read and pass you along to other support and you start from square one. When used Bark without Sync (monitors some things sans sync) - my kids complained of their tablet being slow since it’s via VPN - it monitored Roblox and slow it down/freeze. It also would block odd things on the tablet so I spent a lot of time fiddling with it. It monitors YouTube which thought nearly every video was somehow inappropriate - but when I watched it, it wasn’t, for instance it dinged a cartoon dancing as possible sexual? It’s like an overzealous granny is monitoring it. First red flag was how much time I spent messing with all the settings just to give some freedom and noticing how the iPad slowed down. With the GARBAGE customer service that’s hard to get a hold of, a tricky system that over watches your kid like a criminal and overall non-transparent in knowingly sending and selling me something that doesn’t work on iPad it was a HUGE waste of time. I got refunded thankfully. Let this serve as a warning dear iPad users and to save time/frustration: DO NOT BUY or USE this service. ### 1/5 — Bark has so many problems. *2026-08-04, version 6.4.1* There are two issue with bark and that is that you can’t do anything, play any music (not just for kids by the way), can’t even scan QR code codes, and you can’t even see images at a point, I would give this zero star review if I could but I can’t. Second and final thing, you can’t even do Google maps can’t even see where your I got lost on the middle of a ride home from Florida from Disney World because wouldn’t let me use my Maps. In conclusion don’t use bark. ### 1/5 — Heck no *2026-08-03, version 6.4.1* Ts dumb asf ### 1/5 — Example of awful software quality *2026-08-01, version 6.4.1* I have never written a review in the App Store before. But all of this company's products are simply terrible. To start, none of their software tells you anything. You have to go to their website for that. But good luck finding any documentation, or even what is going on with your monitored devices - the website is terrible to navigate. And when a device doesn't connect or scan, you never know why. They do have a decent chat support system that will (eventually) connect you to a human. But the whole experience is terrible. Oh - and their Mac software will not be supported on the next version of Mac OS, v28. ### 1/5 — Can’t Edit Contacts *2026-08-01, version 6.4.1* I am trying to edit my child’s Bark Watch contacts from the Parental Control app on my iPhone, and the option to do so has completely vanished. ### 1/5 — Bad setup *2026-08-01, version 6.4.1* They have one job. Make it easy to give my kids a watch. Their very basic instructions don’t match anything in their app. Waste of time ### 3/5 — Disappointing *2026-07-30, version 6.4.1* Watches are subpar and when I reached out to them they said I need to pay them off to get a new one but wasn’t able to pay them off when I initially bought them. Not a fan overall. And their support on Apple devices is lackluster at best. Overall disappointing. ### 2/5 — Promising but still won’t connect to WiFi *2026-07-28, version 6.4.1* We got the Bark Phone. I want to cry. I have spent HOURS, literally hours trying to connect the phone to our WiFi. I feel like something should be available to check this problem BEFORE buying the phone. ### 1/5 — . *2026-07-27, version 6.4.1* It’s something ### 1/5 — hi! *2026-07-26, version 6.4.1* this app almost drove me to off myself . I had no privacy . mind you , im old enough to control my own phone . ### 1/5 — Amazing! *2026-07-25, version 6.4.1* Amazing! My son went for a sleepover in the trees with his girlfriend; he took rope and a chair🥰!!!! He hasn't came back since!!' This app is super helpful!! ### 1/5 — Worthless *2026-07-25, version 6.4.1* This app on iOS is useless. Your parental controls on iPhone do far more than Bark. I also purchased the sync device and it doesn’t even work due to a server error. I am sure bark for Android is better or their phone, but DO NOT waste your money on the iPhone version. ### 1/5 — Great idea, but product only works half the time. *2026-07-24, version 6.4.1* The best thing they have going for them is the device needs to be plugged in most the day to analyze the information, therefore your kids won’t be able to use their phones! ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Very unclear and charged is very dishonest . *2026-08-28, version 6.4.1* It is hard to manage all. It is not like other apps that just download the app In the device and kids are not able to delete. Two, cs is weird. I returned my bark sync and after a month the were still charging me. They charge 4 months, the only 4 months I was with them wrong!! Get something simpler and affordable. Bark is simply not good! ### 1/5 — as a tween.. *2026-08-23, version 6.4.1* i hate how this app invades kid’s privacy .. and also the parent can feel like you can’t be trusted for some reason and it’s like you don’t even need the app just go through the kids phone manually instead of using the damn internet. ### 1/5 — Does not work *2026-08-19, version 6.4.1* Waited for a week for the sync cable to ship. Switched from questido, collect phones unprotected for a week for the transition. Would not sync. Chatted for 30 min troubleshooting with no luck. Called customer service only for someone to finally be honest that the new iOS that was updated TWO MONTHS AGO does not sync. So they knew this and sold me a product that they know does not work. What a waste of time and a general concern of leaving phones unprotected while we waited for a sync they shipped, knowing it doesn’t sync. Make it make sense bark ### 1/5 — Very hard to use *2026-08-18, version 6.4.1* I had it on my kid’s phone for 6 months before I gave up on it. I just could not control the phone as well as I wanted, it was almost impossible to reverse any restrictions. I gave up eventually ### 1/5 — Worst app *2026-08-18, version 6.4.1* Never worked, always disconnected…waste of 3 months of money…do not buy. Cancelled the subscription… ### 1/5 — Big brother is watching *2026-08-15, version 6.4.1* This is ridiculous, i get wanting to protect your kid but this app is extreme. If youre a parent do NOT get this is your kid is over 12, this is the stuff that makes kids depressed and not want ties to parents, if youre want to protect your child talk to them yourself. ### 1/5 — Frustrating in every way *2026-08-13, version 6.4.1* The information provided and the safeguards were too much. I had to spend hours removing it off of my daughter’s device in order to trade her phone in. Apps that we wanted her to be able to use stopped working. WiFi would intermittently stop working and in the end, it blocked things we didn’t want blocked, still allowed things we didn’t want allowed, and send us ridiculous notifications for things my daughter wasn’t even doing. A YouTuber she follows said a swear word? Big deal. I find out whether she has watched it or not. Linking things up and unlinking things was a serious headache. Came on a recommendation, but I can not suggest anyone use this. ### 1/5 — Worse customer support *2026-08-11, version 6.4.1* My minor used my friend’s card at night to reactivate his line, and they never refunded her. We tried to get hold of customer service, and it took at least an entire day. On the app it’s even worse, there is never anyone to answer. Now she will have to dispute the charge, and our Bark account will more than likely be blocked. We paused the account because we couldn’t get in touch with customer service, and now they’re asking us for information that is only available on the paused account while refusing to unpause it. They are the WORST. Now we have to dispute the charge with the bank and will probably lose the entire account. ### 1/5 — Placeholder title (from a kid’s valid perspective)(and a darker look at parents)woof woof woof bark *2026-08-10, version 6.4.1* I am a kid myself but I don’t get why everything says that it can’t be accessed saying this: “well where am i supposed to get information well I also don’t always agree with my parents and they also shouldn’t be allowed to see this review and my parents just want to protect me but the thing is that I can’t get anything that could help my situation that is simple enough unless it’s Reddit which is blocked I wish I could give a zero star rating actually and I also think that parents should never ever look at their kids suspicious content if they fear that the parents will do that and what my parents are doing might actually be a violation of the freedom of speech (in a loose sense but it should still be validated) and I sometimes can’t explain what my parents do to me and I sometimes have bad dreams about my parents which is a sign they need to do something. I genuinely am bombazzled by the amount of positive reviews here and I feel like I need to protest and my parents suggested kids search engines as an alternative but my questions are too wild and wacky for those search engines and please answer and don’t just mention the support link it doesn’t help and also don’t do the corny stuff and also don’t suggest discussing with my parents because they might be suspicious and also now I am restricted to only kids websites genuinely a -1 star review if it was possible ### 1/5 — This sucks *2026-08-09, version 6.4.1* This really does suck ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Absolute Invasion of Privacy *2026-08-22, version 6.4.1* Do you really want some AI company to data mine & sell all of your kid’s personal info/habits/interests/moods/friends? We need to be much better custodians of our children’s privacy. ### 5/5 — USEFULL *2026-07-22, version 6.4.1* I got this app for my son he wasn’t happy but that’s a good thing and he brought a knife into his room and hadn’t came out since he has to clean the ketchup out side his for ### 5/5 — Bark Watch 10/10 *2026-07-16, version 6.4.1* I highly recommend the bark watch for your child. 10/10 ### 5/5 — Currently having problem. Overall it's great. *2026-06-30, version 6.3.3* Lately I have to delete the app and redownload it in order to open it. I have an iphone17 with IOS 26.5.1 ### 5/5 — Peace of mind *2026-06-16, version 6.3.3* We wanted the peace of mind to be able to allow our daughter a little more freedom while protecting her from the internet. This watch did NOT disappoint! Super easy to set up with the app, and I got my first alert today from Bark with concerns and recommendations. I would recommend this watch for parents of younger kids 100X over. ### 5/5 — Amazing *2026-05-01, version 6.2.0* My daughter is 4 and she got it right away I got the watch for emergencies only and we only pay 30 a month for her line it’s a good brand so easy to use for us and them! ### 5/5 — Perfect for kids! *2026-04-07, version 6.1.2* I purchased the Bark watches for my 5 year old son and 8 year old daughter so I can give them a little bit of freedom while keeping them safe and easy to find. We live in a very family friendly subdivision and their friends are down the road. I can give them a little freedom to go there without me needing to tag along while knowing they got their safe. My neighborhood is very safe with lots of kids riding bikes all day in the summer. All of us watch each other’s kids as they go by to make sure everything is good. I love that the bark watch gives me complete control over settings and access. We will definitely move them up to the phones as they get older. Perfect device for parents and kids! ### 5/5 — Caught my cheating spouse 💯 *2026-04-02, version 6.1.2* I highly recommend this app. I've been thoroughly impressed with the services of (hackspymaster @ gmail. Com), who is a very reliable private investigator. Their service is incredibly effective and resourceful. With their assistance, I was able to remotely access my partner's cellphone and monitor her activities. The service was untraceable and remote, so she was unaware. I quickly caught her cheating, thanks to Lance, who helped me uncover the truth. ### 5/5 — Highly impressed with their AI implementation *2026-03-03, version 6.1.2* Bark recently added an AI feature that is extremely insightful in summarizing how your child is communicating with others (over txt) and warning you of red flags. ### 5/5 — So happy with bark! *2026-02-22, version 5.5.1* This is a safe, easy and affordable way to protect and monitor your child. My son is 7 and this watch was not only easy for him to use but he loves wearing it! And Mom and Dad have peace of mind! --- *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 2026-08-30.*