About Norton Family Parent Control

Parental control software for computers and phones adopts diverse methods for monitoring children’s online activities, tracking their whereabouts, and managing screen time. Some operate covertly, essentially spying on connected kids, which can be unsettling. Conversely, Norton Family advocates for parental engagement, emphasizing transparent communication about established rules. We commend this proactive approach.

Norton Family offers the capability to supervise an unlimited number of devices, allowing you to monitor all your children’s activities conveniently from either the web interface or through a dedicated parent option on the mobile app.

Norton Family Features

Web Filtering

The primary feature of many parental control systems is the web content filter, which prevents children from accessing inappropriate websites either accidentally or intentionally. Norton Family’s Web Supervision feature enables you to monitor your kids’ website activity and block access to sites deemed inappropriate when necessary.

Norton Family offers the flexibility to restrict or permit access to specific websites, along with over 45 predefined website categories such as Crime, Alcohol, Mature Content, Suicide, Violence, and others. Additionally, there’s an option to notify the child about a site and allow them to decide whether they want to access it. This feature is beneficial for granting children more online autonomy while encouraging critical thinking about the content they encounter.

Norton Family provides detailed activity reports on your child’s web usage, available on a daily, weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly basis. These reports outline the whitelisted sites and site categories your children accessed, as well as any attempts to access blacklisted sites or categories. Moreover, you have the option to allow or block specific sites and site categories according to your preferences.

Tests conducted with unsupported browsers such as Brave and Opera revealed that Norton Family’s web filtering was ineffective on these platforms. To prevent children from bypassing Norton Family’s web filtering via unsupported browsers, I highly recommend utilizing the App Supervision feature to block them. This underscores the need for Norton Family’s web filtering feature to include an option for blocking unsupported browsers.

Time Management

The Time Management feature exhibits a slight discrepancy between operating systems. Android and Windows users receive a daily time limit in addition to a weekly schedule, whereas iOS users are confined solely to the schedule.

To establish daily time limits, you navigate to the desired day and choose the allocated time from a dropdown menu. However, this feature currently permits only full-hour increments ranging from zero to 24 hours. It would be beneficial if Norton Family offered more granularity in time allocation.

If your child exceeds their screen time limit, they can still utilize their device, but access to apps will be restricted. However, they retain the ability to make emergency calls to whitelisted contacts, which is a valuable feature. Additionally, I appreciate that children have the option to request additional screen time if needed, eliminating the necessity for an emergency call simply to extend their screen time by 30 minutes to complete homework.

School Time

The School Time feature combines elements of both Web Supervision and Time Supervision features, limiting your child’s web usage specifically during school hours. Notably, the web filtering rules for School Time are distinct from those of Web Supervision, offering convenience as there’s no need for constant adjustment of Web Supervision rules when your child’s school schedule changes. This functionality proves invaluable for ensuring that children remain focused on studying during school hours or online classes, rather than being distracted by platforms like YouTube or Reddit.

Additionally, Norton Family offers an Instant School Time option, enabling quick activation of School Time restrictions. Simply specify the duration (up to 8 hours) in 30-minute increments. You can also customize your child’s school hours (default is set from 8 am to 12 pm), whitelist specific sites, add sites to the restricted list, or modify the website category list.

When tested, the School Time feature functioned effectively. Once activated within the app, it automatically blocked numerous web categories, allowing only selected ones such as Technology, Sport, Reference/Educational, and WebMail. Additionally, it whitelisted over 30 sites like docs.google.com, udemy.com, zoom.us, and others pertinent to school-related activities. Test devices were unable to access distracting sites like YouTube and Reddit, as well as websites potentially containing adult content such as 4chan.

Location Tracking

The Location Tracking feature monitors your child’s whereabouts and tracks their movements. While it may seem intrusive, it can prove invaluable in situations where your child is lost or misplaces their device. Importantly, this feature is compatible with both iOS and Android devices.

Norton Family also offers the ability to establish geofenced zones through the Favorite Locations option. This feature allows you to define specific zones, and Norton Family notifies you when your child enters or exits these areas. Impressively, you can create geofences spanning up to 2 miles or 3,200 meters from a designated location, surpassing the capabilities of many other leading competitors.

The location tracking feature provides a thorough insight into your child’s current whereabouts and maintains an extensive record of their past locations. Upon opening the app, it displays a selection of the most recent location pings on the map. Additionally, you can access detailed location tracking for specific date and time windows, offering comprehensive information from the chosen period.

Norton Family offers an alternative to traditional location tracking for users who may find it intrusive. Instead of actively monitoring their child’s location, parents can request their child to use the kids’ app to perform a check-in, which then shares their location. However, it’s worth noting that Location Supervision is not available in many European countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, France, Russia, Israel, Italy, and others. Despite this limitation, Norton Family still provides a highly accurate location tracking feature, incorporates geofencing technology, and offers the check-in option for children.

Search Supervision

The Search Supervision feature monitors searches on popular platforms like Google, YouTube, Yahoo!, and Bing. Additionally, it allows you to enforce safe search settings on these search engines, ensuring that your children are not inadvertently exposed to adult content.

On Android and Windows 11 devices, the Search Supervision feature performed exceptionally well. It reliably tracked all searches across various search engines and YouTube, consistently preventing me from accessing adult content on platforms like Google and Bing.

However, there is significant room for improvement. Specifically, on iOS devices, the feature exclusively monitors your child’s searches when using the Norton Family browser. It does not track searches conducted through browsers such as Chrome or Firefox.

Video Supervision

The Video Supervision feature provides insights into the YouTube and Hulu videos your children have watched. It can track YouTube videos on the YouTube site across iOS, Android, and Windows platforms, as well as Hulu videos on the Hulu site specifically on Windows devices.

Norton Family’s video tracking feature functions effectively, although there are occasional delays (typically 20-30 minutes) for tracked videos to appear in the parental app. However, Norton Family provides comprehensive information about the videos, such as the video name, description, and thumbnail, particularly for YouTube videos. Additionally, there’s a convenient link provided for parents to watch the video themselves.

Unfortunately, the Video Supervision feature encounters similar limitations as the Search Supervision feature. It solely monitors videos on the Norton Family browser on iOS and within the in-app and Google Chrome browsers on Android devices. Furthermore, on Windows platforms, it’s susceptible to circumvention as children can easily disable or remove the Norton Family browser extensions. Additionally, the feature cannot track YouTube videos embedded into other websites, allowing tech-savvy children to access restricted content from alternative sources.

App Supervision

Norton Family’s App Supervision feature effectively monitors and blocks apps on Android and Windows platforms. However, this capability is not available for iOS devices. Instead, for iOS devices, users need to activate app restrictions using the built-in iOS restrictions feature provided by the device.

The app filtering feature is user-friendly, presenting a comprehensive list of all installed apps on your children’s devices, giving you the option to block or allow them with ease. Furthermore, it offers activity reports detailing app installations, uninstalls, and usage patterns. This functionality proves invaluable for promptly identifying and restricting apps that may be overly distracting for your child.

We encountered some drawbacks with Norton Family’s app filtering feature. Specifically, it flagged apps like Discord and Steam, which frequently receive updates, as newly installed apps on our test Windows PC. We found this labeling to be somewhat misleading and unnecessary. Additionally, the inability to view the most used apps on a Windows PC is a limitation; this feature is only accessible on Android devices.

The app filter effectively blocked popular apps among kids and teens, including Discord, YouTube, Twitter, Netflix, and WhatsApp. However, we observed a slight delay of a couple of minutes for the changes to take effect after blocking the apps in the parental app.

Other Features

Monthly/weekly reports: If you prefer not to receive alerts and instead want to monitor your children’s web activities to ensure they aren’t exposed to inappropriate content, the monthly and weekly reports can be beneficial. These reports provide a comprehensive breakdown of your kids’ activity in an email, helping you stay vigilant and ensuring nothing slips your mind.

Instant Lock: This feature restricts access to your children’s devices, allowing emergency calls only to trusted contacts. Unlocking a child’s device can be done either from within the parental app or by utilizing a 4-digit PIN generated by Norton Family within the Instant Lock feature. Upon testing this feature on my Android phone, it consistently prevented access to any apps, demonstrating its reliability.

Plans and Pricing

Norton Family offers both a paid yearly plan and inclusion with certain Norton bundled plans. With its unlimited connections allowance, Norton Family presents an excellent option for large families.

Pricing models for parental control services differ significantly, but Norton Family’s plan is straightforward. A subscription to Norton Family costs $49.99 per year and encompasses features like web filtering, location tracking, and time management. It retains 30 days’ worth of activity history and offers additional functionalities such as instant device locking. Moreover, a free 30-day trial allows users to evaluate the software before committing to an annual subscription.

Norton Family is also included in various Norton subscriptions, such as Norton 360 Deluxe ($49.99/year), Norton 360 Premium ($44.99/year), and Norton 360 LifeLock plans. It’s important to note that in these bundled plans, Norton Family is referred to as “Parental Control.” Additionally, Norton 360 Deluxe and 360 Premium subscriptions offer access to Norton 350, Norton Secure VPN, and Norton Password Manager as part of the package.

If you’re interested in safeguarding your family’s devices from security threats, investing in Norton 360 Premium or Norton 360 Deluxe subscriptions is worthwhile. We recommend Norton 360 Deluxe for its exceptional value, affordability, and global availability.

Ease of Use

Norton Family offers flexibility in setting rules and monitoring your child’s activity via a web console, complemented by parental apps available on both Android and iOS platforms. To enforce rules and monitor activity, you’ll need to install a local child app on each monitored device. While Norton Family can effectively monitor Windows, Android, and iOS devices, it doesn’t support Macs. In contrast, competitors such as Qustodio and Kaspersky Safe Kids offer Mac monitoring capabilities in addition to Windows devices. Nonetheless, you can still access the web portal on a Mac to set up parameters, view your child’s activity, and manage other child profiles.

Upon signing in to the Norton Family dashboard for the first time, you’ll need to create profiles for each child you intend to monitor. To add a child, simply enter their name, select a restriction level (ranging from low to very high), and choose an avatar or upload a profile photo. Afterward, designate the device on which you wish to install Norton Family and proceed with the instructions tailored for that platform.

Installing Norton Family on a Windows account is straightforward. The setup process is facilitated through the Norton Family Installer application. Once installed, you log in to your account and proceed to either create a profile for your child or select their existing profile, then add the computer to their device list. In cases where a computer has multiple accounts, the installer prompts you to specify which login belongs to your child.

It’s recommended to set up Norton Family on a non-administrator account to discourage your child from uninstalling the software. However, it’s essential to recognize that there are still potential workarounds available. However, regardless of the account type used, the entire setup process for Norton Family typically takes only a few minutes to complete. Upon installation, the child is notified through a notification tray icon, indicating that monitoring is in effect.

All features are prominently displayed on the main dashboard, making it exceptionally easy to add new restrictions or modify existing ones. However, there was a slight disappointment with the delay of up to 10 minutes for a block to take effect. Nonetheless, the inclusion of helpful explanations for each feature and setting ensures clarity regarding their functionalities.

Customer Support

Norton Family offers commendable customer support, yet there is scope for enhancement. It features a support library comprising useful setup tutorials, troubleshooting guides, and informative articles elucidating Norton Family’s functionalities. Support is also available on social platforms like Facebook and Twitter, alongside an active forum. Moreover, Norton Family provides 24/7 phone support in over 50 countries.

Norton Family stands out as one of the few parental apps offering 24/7 live chat support. While this is appreciated, the current process is somewhat inconvenient. Users are required to complete a form rather than simply clicking a live chat button on Norton Family’s site. Additionally, the initial interaction involves navigating an unhelpful chatbot before being connected to a live person, which can be frustrating when seeking assistance with Norton Family issues. Streamlining the live chat process and improving the responsiveness of the chatbot could enhance the overall support experience.

Conclusion

Norton Family is an excellent choice for large families, offering the flexibility to use the parental app on unlimited devices. With robust filtering features and user-friendly apps designed for both kids and parents, Norton Family simplifies the process of tracking children’s activity across multiple devices. However, it’s important to note that Norton Family does not support Macs, and its iOS app relies on Apple’s free Screen Time feature for blocking and tracking capabilities.

While some competitors provide support for Windows, Norton Family’s advantage lies in its ability to bundle with other Norton products and services. This bundling option may appeal to parents seeking a comprehensive suite of antivirus programs and identity theft protection services, offering convenience and potentially cost savings.