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6 min readBy Nate Bergstedt

Why not just use Apple Screen Time?

comparisonapplescreen-time

If what you want is control, meaning limits, downtime and approvals, you should use Apple Screen Time: it is free, it comes with the iPhone, and iOS 27 added more to it. ParentSEE does a different job. Apple gives you control; ParentSEE gives you the names, a plain list of the apps and websites your child's devices reach, with nothing blocked and no messages read.

It is a fair question, so here is the long answer.

What ParentSEE does not see

Before anything else, here is what ParentSEE can't do, because it matters for this comparison:

  • It doesn't read messages, photos, searches, or what is on the screen.
  • It doesn't block anything or set limits. Screen Time does both.
  • It doesn't measure time inside apps on iPhone. Per-app time comes from the phone itself, on Android only.
  • It has no location data.
  • A determined child can remove it, because it does not hide on the phone. If a device stops reporting, you get an alert.

What Screen Time does well

Screen Time deserves real credit. According to Apple's support pages, a parent using Family Sharing can:

  • set downtime, a schedule when only the apps you choose are available;
  • set app limits for specific apps, app categories and websites;
  • set communication limits on who your child can contact;
  • see Screen Time reports of your child's device usage.

On 2026-09-14 Apple released a new set of child safety features with iOS 27. Apple says they include:

  • Ask to Browse, which lets a parent require approval before a child visits a new website in Safari;
  • Time Allowances, with age-tailored guidance for time in app categories like Social Media, Entertainment and Games;
  • a redesigned Screen Time with an at-a-glance view of usage and one-tap controls;
  • expanded Communication Safety, which now blocks gore and violent content, as well as nudity, in shared images and videos, including in live FaceTime calls.

That is a strong set of tools, and it costs nothing. If your child only has an iPhone and you want to set the rules, start there.

What ParentSEE does differently

Screen Time's reports show usage too, so I am not claiming Apple shows you nothing. The difference is what each is built around. Screen Time is built around setting the rules. ParentSEE is built around telling you what happened, in a form you can bring up at dinner.

  • One list across phones and computers. Screen Time manages Apple devices. Many kids also have a school Chromebook, an Android tablet, or a Windows laptop. ParentSEE works on iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows and Chromebook, and shows them together. On Chromebook, the Chrome extension sees what happens in Chrome, which is nearly everything on a Chromebook, but not Android apps, other browsers, or incognito windows.
  • Names everywhere, and time on Android. On iPhone you see the names of the sites and apps a device reaches, but not whether a name was the app or the website. The free ParentSEE Safari extension settles that for browser visits; it confirms the visit, it doesn't time it. On Android, the ParentSEE app also reports how long each app was actually open. A name means the device contacted it, which is not always the same as your child opening it.
  • Alerts for certain categories. If a device reaches a site in a category you'd want to know about, such as a crisis line or adult content, you get an alert.
  • A weekly summary. Every Sunday, one email.
  • Nothing blocked. With the ParentSEE app on their phone, your child sees a status screen saying a parent can see which apps and websites they use, and that nothing they type, send, or search is read or blocked. I'd still tell your child before you set it up.

It misses some things. In a test I ran in September, opening 99 of the most-visited websites in Chrome on an Android test device, ParentSEE recorded 97. That was a test of websites, not apps. The details are in What I can and can't see.

ParentSEE is $39.99 a year or $4.99 a month as of October 2026, and it is available in the United States only.

When another app is the better choice

If you want to set limits, schedule downtime, approve new websites, or turn on Communication Safety for shared photos, Apple Screen Time does that, it is free, and ParentSEE does none of it. If your child is on Android or a Chromebook and you want the same kind of control, Google Family Link does that. If you want the content of messages scanned for signs of bullying or self-harm, a tool such as Bark does that and ParentSEE does not. If you want to know how long your child spends in each app on iPhone, Screen Time's reports are where that lives, and ParentSEE does not measure app time on iPhone.

Some parents will want both: Screen Time for the rules, and ParentSEE for the names. That is a reasonable way to do it.

How I think about it

My kids are young. When they're older, I expect I'll use limits for some things. But a limit tells me what my kid can't do. It doesn't tell me what they were drawn to. When I see a name I don't recognize, I can ask about it, and that question tends to go better than a locked screen does.

If you're deciding between the two, try Screen Time first. It's already on the phone. If you find you want the names across all of your kids' devices, without reading anything, ParentSEE has a 14-day free trial, and I'm at support@parentsee.com if you want to ask me anything first.

ParentSEE is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple, Google or Bark. Apple, iPhone and Screen Time are trademarks of Apple Inc.; other product names are trademarks of their owners.

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