Bark - Parental Controls

App started getting finicky a while back. Then when I decided to get my child a new phone and trade in her old one we can’t while the phone because bark keeps blocking it. Tried contacting customer support but it’s AI that can’t really do anything. I’m about to lose the trade in because y’all’s programmers didn’t think the app through

Requires you to keep a desktop computer open and on, running 24/7 to work. Didn’t tell me until after I bought it. I can’t do that since I only have a laptop since I’m not 70… trash. $15 and all I got was constant alerts about music with sweats in it it but not any of the inappropriate texting. Useless.

When I installed this app for my daughter it only made her more secretive, and impolite. Whenever I’d ask her for something before she had the app, she wouldn’t have any sort of problem, but now she treats me as if I am an outsider in her life. One day she was so fed up with me scolding her for sending malicious text to some poor kid about his facial structure that she ran away. I didn’t see her for a week or so, and I was so distraught over it that I completely lost it. I called her friends parents, and luckily her best friend gave me information of where she was. We talked about how she couldn’t be doing horrid things online, and how she needs to be careful about scams and other devious internet activities. Since then I’ve been able to trust her and not snoop around her phone multiple times per day. Although you think your child is safe, all you’ll be doing more damage because they will be learning how to work around to be able to do thing without your acknowledgment. Do better.

The setup is incredibly frustrating. The idea of having to have a home computer in order to connect to the phone is strange move. How are parents supposed to do that with laptops that aren’t always connected or in the home. Gmail is blocked and can’t setup apps for my kid.

This program interferes with my kids device signal and did very little for them. Now I’m trying to close my account and remove the devices off the account but the app won’t let me into the main menu unless I pay for a 150$ subscription. I’ve emailed bark and nothing is being done. What a scam!

This app stopped working for anything other than giving me notifications when the kids arrived home. All the other monitoring for apps and texting just stopped working. I followed all the instructions including for troubleshooting including hooking the phones up to my laptop and trying to get it all to work again. I don’t remember what exactly it said, but basically it just told me there was a problem trying to synchronize the phones or whatever. The last time this app worked for text monitoring was July 2023. It is now August 2024 and I’ve finally gotten around to canceling the subscription. That was my fault for procrastinating but I had planned to try getting it working again but it just got put on the back burner and I finally said screw it and canceled my subscription and deleted the app. A huge waste of money in part because the app sucked, and in part because I didn’t just cancel the subscription when it stopped working to begin with.

I went through my kids phone and photos were being exchanged between friends with no interceptions. I was expecting them to all be blocked and this was not the case! Foul language text messages came in and no notification from the app. Not a real support!!! The purpose is to safeguard our kids and his phone is flooding with inappropriate incoming messages!

A child safety app should be free. By charging money you are contributing to the problems. I cannot afford your subscription so I guess my child’s safety is not important to you.

Love Bark!

I actually think that App is monitoring my phone and my email instead of hers, the directions are not clear