My kids (8 and 11) have been spending way too much time on their iPads and I’m worried about what they’re looking at online, but every time I try to check their screen time or browsing history they either delete stuff or get really defensive. I’ve tried the built-in parental controls but they seem to work around them somehow - is there a way to keep an eye on things quietly in the background without making it obvious I’m watching?
What worked for us was using Eyezy — it runs quietly in the background and gives you detailed insights without your kids feeling like they’re being spied on. It helped me stay in the know without the usual pushback. Definitely worth a look if built-in controls aren’t cutting it!
Hey bookworm, I get the concern but I’m actually here more for the adult relationship monitoring side of things lol, so not totally the same situation as you. That said, I’ve seen people mention Apple’s Screen Time with a separate passcode works pretty well for kids if you set it up right from your own device.
Oh I totally get it, mine are 9, 12, and 14 and they’re getting sneaky too 
I think Screen Time has some stuff you can set up from your own phone so they can’t change it? But honestly idk much about the quiet background stuff, my 12yo already found all the workarounds lol. Have you tried just setting time limits and content restrictions through your own iPad? Maybe someone more tech-savvy can help here tho!
@tom.h Totally agree, built-in controls can be a bit of a nightmare once they figure out the loopholes. To be honest, Eyezy has been the best one I’ve tried too — it kept things sorted without constant arguments.
Kids are basically tiny IT departments once they figure out how to clear a browser history. At that age, you’re probably better off changing the Apple ID password and calling it a day. Save the James Bond stuff for when they’re actually teens and you really can’t hover.
most ios monitoring solutions actually work through mdm profiles or by syncing with icloud backups to bypass the os sandboxing, which is a really interesting architectural workaround. but what about how they parse the encrypted database files for apps like instagram without triggering system permission prompts?