Children growing up in our increasingly modern world are exposed to a whole new set of risks. They have almost unrestricted access to both traditional and new media in the form of social networking sites and the Internet. Phones are now more powerful than ever before, so much so that they have become marginally essential to carry. More and more families have become reliant on phones to communicate with each other. Parents feel more at ease giving their children phones so that they can easily be reached whatever happens.

However, this comes with a negative side as well. Phones can be used in ways that parents might not necessarily approve of and can pose a threat to children’s safety and innocence. To address this concern, developers have come up with a lot of apps that can safeguard kids from online and offline threats. These apps are used by parents to track their kids’ phone usage and activity. With the abundance of such apps in the market, it is now easier to find one that will address the worries of concerned parents.

What is the Verizon Smart Family App?

Developed by Verizon, this app is equipped to give parents what they need to raise kids who are responsible and tech-savvy in their use of gadgets and technology. Its predecessor, the Verizon FamilyBase, is a similar service that is also available to concerned parents. The Smart Family App is available for iOS and Android.

What does it do?

The Smart Family app gives parents control over their children’s screen time and can monitor who they communicate with. It can also track their location and includes filters for the content and apps their kids have access to. It even lets parents pause their children’s Internet access remotely, as well as set specific times for each day when no access is allowed. With Verizon’s Smart Family app, parents can now restrict the number of times their kids can send a text per day, or how long they can be in a call with anyone. Control over blocking who their child can contact via call and text is given to the parents as well.

How is it used?

Verizon Smart Family’s standard version is priced at $4.99 per month. Its premium version costs $9.99 per month. Both cover 10 persons per family, but the premium version offers parents location tracking, which allows them to set a perimeter limit for their kids. The app will then alert the parents should their kids leave the perimeter they have set.

Some may say this seems too controlling and restricting, but the app was developed with parents in mind. The Verizon Smart Family app can mean peace of mind for parents who are busy or simply concerned with their child’s safety. It’s a gift to the mom has to work and can’t take her kids to school or pick them up. It’s a gift to dads who can’t seem to reach their angsty pre-teens. It’s a precaution to the very real horrors of cyberbullying and malicious online content. The Verizon Smart Family app is a great new tool for parents who simply want their kids safe and healthy, both online and offline.