OurPact vs. Bark: Comparison of Most Popular Parental Control App

Nowadays, most kids have access to the Internet from a very young age. But unfortunately, alongside the helpful educational, resourceful, and entertaining content, they can reach dangerous websites and apps with many violent, adult, or inappropriate offers and interactions. That is why parental control apps have been created to monitor and block harmful activities children can be engaged in.

You may know something about a parental control router that allows parents to monitor the websites their children can access from their home wi-fi network. Unlike them, control apps help parents follow their kids’ online activities on any device, no matter where the child is. Caregivers can track locations, monitor calls, and text messages, and receive real-time alerts. So they can ensure the kids’ safety when at home, school, or outside.

As a parent, you may need clarification when looking for the best control app for your family and individual needs. Therefore, we have compiled this comparison review of OurPact vs. Bark to make your choice-making easier.

Comparison Table

Number of Devices	1 to 20	Unlimited
Web Portal for Parents
Text Logging
Text Blocking
Location Tracking
Web Monitoring
Time Limits
App Management
Price	Free to $100	$6 - $100
Platforms	Android, iOS	iOS, Android, Chromebook, Amazon Fire, Windows, Mac OS
Call Logging
Call Blocking
Geofencing
Location History
Web Filter
Scheduling
App Blocker
Activity Reports
Free Trial	Yes - 14 days	Yes - 7 days
LINK	Check Price	Check Price

OurPact vs. Bark: Overall Comparison

OurPact was launched in 2015. It had many brand-new iOS child control features at the time of launching. However, it caused Apple devices to crack down, so Apple eliminated it from the App Store for a while. It came back in a few years with some improvements and now offers an excellent user experience.

OurPact remains one of the best parental control apps on the market due to its look and usability. However, it also has several unique features that explain its relatively high cost.

All in all, OurPact is a cross-platform app meant to control how much time children spend on the Net, allowing parents to see what type of content they are using. It refers to text messages, locators, websites, and apps. This is an effective supervisory tool to keep your kid safe and reliably protected against harmful content. The company offers a 14-day free trial.

Bark as a parental control app was launched in 2015 by the company’s SEO and father of two kids, Brian Bason. It provides an excellent chance for parents to manage every aspect of their kids’ online activities in the digital world.

The Bark is a state-of-the-art application that uses advanced machine learning algorithms and AI to monitor emails, texts, social media, and images for harmful content. It can monitor text messages, iOS and Android photos and videos, six email hosts, social media, and doc-sharing apps.

The app can scan sent and received emails and their image attachments on such email hosts as AOL Mail, Yahoo! Mail, Comcast, Outlook, Gmail, and iCloud Email. The company offers a 7-day free trial before subscribing to one of its plans.

Bark can monitor texts on most social media apps in direct messages. But, unfortunately, it means your teenager can still find inappropriate content in other people’s posts. So, you will have to talk to your child about the healthy use of the Internet and social media.

Pricing Plans Comparison

OurPact has four pricing options:

a free tier, OurPact Plus, OurPact Premium, and OurPact Premium Plus. A free tier allows you to manage one device belonging to your kid with five manual blocks and one automated block per month.

If you upgrade the plan to OurPact Plus, it will cost you $1.99 per month. Now, the app supports up to 10 devices with unlimited manual and automated block schedules. These two tiers also provide the functionality of “App Scrambling Solution” for iOS and full web browser blocking.

If you need more functions, the next step is OurPact Premium. It costs $6.99 per month (or $69.99 per year). This plan supports up to 20 devices and unlimited manual and automated blocks. It also offers all premium features, apart from getting automated or on-demand screenshots from your kid’s device. It is a part of the Premium Plus plan, which costs $9.99 per month or $99.9 per year.

OurPact Premium is the most popular option among parents. However, if you only need to manage screen time, you can opt for a free or Plus plan.

Bark has two pricing plans:

Bark Junior. It is cheaper and meant for younger kids. Bark Junior costs $5.99 per month and $49.99 per year. It works perfectly for monitoring younger kids who do not have accounts on social media and do not spend much time texting. Here, you can set up schedules for screen time, filter websites, and check-in locations. However, as with Bark Premium, you cannot monitor messages and get parental alerts about the content.

Bark Premium. It includes everything you may need for monitoring and controlling your child. It is actually one of the market’s most expensive parental control apps. However, it’s a good value for money because it offers many of the best-quality features. It does not limit the number of kids’ profiles you may want to open and the number of devices you need to control. Bark premium is $14.99 per month and $99.99 per year.

You can opt for Bark Junior if you do not need the complete set of monitoring features. Even if you are offered a 7-day trial, you need to fill in your payment information before you get access to it. You can cancel the trial at any time in the app’s settings for the subscription.

OurPact and Its Features

OurPact has many advanced functions and abilities, including the following:

Due to its App Rules function, you can see tabs for all apps installed by children on their devices and block them if necessary.

Pros and Cons of OurPact

OurPact is one of the best parental control apps for iOS. Its functions and features are impressive, though it needs a proper web-filtering system and location history.

Bark and Its Features

Bark is one of the most popular parental control apps. It has many effective features that can help caregivers keep the kids safe online. They include content monitoring of email and text messages, social media, and websites. You can also access screen time control, share locations, track online activities, and block inappropriate content. In addition, the app sends real-time alerts when your child encounters harmful content or their online activities have signs of bullying, suicidal thoughts, or depression.

Bark’s approach to parental control differs significantly from its competitors. It encourages effective communication between parents and their children rather than locking down their access to the Net by force. Therefore, you won’t be able to read all text messages and view a complete list of the websites your child is visiting while the app is scanning the text messages or browsing history for any harmful topics and influences you need to know about.

This approach offers some privacy to children, though you can be sure that the app’s message monitoring is the most comprehensive on the market. We have looked through over 30 parental controls available these days. The Bark is the only one that can scan big numbers of emails, social media DMs, and doc-sharing apps. When the software sees the problem (you can preliminary define it in the Monitoring tab), you will see it and take time to decide what to do about it.

If you need a parental control app for a big family, Bark is pretty priced if you compare it to other apps because the number of devices and accounts it can monitor is unlimited.
With Bark, parents can do the following:

Bark can provide the features that allow for the following:

As you understand, this software was developed in close cooperation with psychologists, digital media experts, juvenile advisors, and law enforcement professionals. That is why it is also the most kid-friendly solution on the market.

Our test also shows that Bark can catch slang, foul language acronyms, and hazardous emojis. You will also be notified via push, text messages, or emails when the software detects the potential issue. Or you may opt for a weekly report that is available every Sunday. Even if the app is meant for more open conversations between parents and children, you can choose a lockdown via the Screen Time section and restrict access to some content. You may also prefer to pause all Internet access, though you will need to purchase the Bark Home router filter at $80. The app cannot block problematic phone numbers remotely, though. You can do it only from your kid’s mobile.

Pros and Cons

We have tested Bark with over a hundred kids, teenagers, and their parents, and we can assume that the app does a great job of alerting parents and screening all kinds of messages. However, it does not send detailed reports. It also does not control contact lists and set automated time limits. You cannot remotely lock down the device with it, either.

OurPact vs. Bark: Comparison and Contrast of Specific Features

Now, it’s time to compare some specific features of these two apps to decide which one is better for your needs.

Installation

The installation process of OurPact may be complicated because, unlike Bark and many other parental control apps, you need a Windows or macOS computer. You should install iTunes and OurPact Connect on this computer to get connected to your kids’ devices. You also need a USB cable for these connections to the PC or Mac and the screen-lock passcodes to these devices, if they have any. You will also have to disable “Find My iPhone” in the settings.

After that, the device will be assigned to your child in the program, and you can create a profile. You should follow the installation guidelines carefully to finish up the installation procedure.

Installing the app for Android is easier because it does not need any extra software beyond OurPact Connect. However, you have to follow the instructions accurately, too. Although the process seems cumbersome, you will have to do it only once. If everything is installed, you can manage all the ongoing processes from the parent app.

The Bark is not as tricky to install as OurPact, even for those parents who are not tech-savvy. It has a clear and straightforward guide that explains every step of the installation process. It even provides tips on talking to your kid about parental controls and the necessity of healthy Internet use.

verdict

If you prefer simple and quick solutions that are not time-consuming, opt for Bark. You will not have to install any additional software here. OurPact works perfectly, but you need some time to understand it.

App Management

This feature is OurPact’s strong point. It is the same for iOS and Android. You won’t need anything else apart from the general schedule set for the child’s device, managed with the help of either “Always Blocked” or “Always Allowed.”

The app shows a complete list of all the apps installed on your kid’s device, both on Android and iOS. You can click on the app’s name and see what it is about, including its rating, recommended age, description, and screenshots. It helps identify potentially harmful apps.

The new feature here is the “App Organized.” Some years ago, if you blocked the app or site, it disappeared from the screen. Your child can save the home screen and ask you to unblock it. When unblocked, it comes back to its place.

The Bark app is intuitive and easy to use, too. It works smoothly and without any bugs. However, the app must be downloaded from the official website only but not from the app store.

If you use Bark for a desktop, it can monitor texts, photos, and images. You need a fully functional desktop app here. It does not have a native extension for monitoring Windows and macOS devices, so you need to install the browser extension for Chrome or Edge or purchase the Bark Home device.

If your kid uses iOS devices, Apple may restrict the amount of data that can be shared between iOS and the app. So, the app has to scan texts, photos, and videos manually when the desktop and iOS devices are connected to the same network.

There are two mobile apps for Android and iOS devices – one for parents and one for kids – and it is often inconvenient. However, the app for parents is fully functional and incredibly intuitive, so it is effortless to manage content monitoring.

verdict

OurPact is brand-new in terms of app management. It is more convenient to use. Bark has a lot of different options that may sometimes need to be clarified.

Filtering

Web filtering needs to be improved in OurPact. Parents can only block adult content with it. This is the only category they can set on or off. However, it is specific and understandable for a child. In addition, Google search results are also included, so it is beneficial and convenient. You can block or allow the domain or subdomains that present inappropriate content.

Bark can filter websites and apps. This feature can block Internet access to them. You can decide which apps can be allowed by default and create three alternative rules for filtering. The app helps you to allow or block Internet access to social media, streaming services, games, and other apps and websites. You can also create lists of custom exceptions.

verdict

Bark has more filtering functions than OurPact. However, since it works via a VPN, these functions can easily be disabled. In addition, it can block access to more than 30 apps, which is good. Though OurPact is much more difficult to disable, it can provide smoother functioning.

Time Management

There are two components for time management in OurPact – Schedule and Allowance. They can be used for distinct pages.
You can schedule the periods of time when you don’t want your child to use the device at all. For example, you can use a “Bedtime” schedule. It is programmed already, but you can make changes to it.

Allowance is another component of time management. It indicates the total amount of time you can allow your child to use the device daily.

Bark’s screen time management works by applying different rules to the website and app filtering for different times of the day. For example, you can decide which apps to allow during school hours or at bedtime. In addition, you can make up different schedules or block the Internet altogether at specific times. The time management rules here allow for creating three lists of websites and apps that can be allowed or blocked and choosing the times of the day to allow them. However, Bark does not track how much time a child uses each of them.

verdict

Using time management options for OurPact is easier because they are more straightforward and understandable. The functionality of this option in Bark is almost the same, but the range of choices is wider and more complicated.

Texting Management

This solution in OurPact allows you to block texting apps if you don’t want your child to use them. However, Messages on iOS remain unblocked anyway. Therefore, no text monitoring is available here. Nevertheless, this kind of monitoring could be more favorable among parents, so the company will not develop this feature in the future.

Due to its AI-powered algorithms, texting management in Bark is more effective. For example, the program can see the slang and acronyms for rude language and abuse and send you alerts via email.

verdict

Using Bark for texting management is more efficient because it allows blocking texting apps and social media if the slightest traces of inappropriate language are noticed.

Location Tracking

This feature works perfectly in OurPact. However, it does not provide location history. If you click to the right of your child’s avatar, you will see the Family Locator map with the present-time location. Then, you click on this icon and find out where your kid is at the moment.

The geofencing feature indicates places and is available on Android and iOS. You type the address and see the circle around the point indicated. This is where your child should be, and you can ask for a notification from the system if your kid exits this area. The minimum radius of such an area is 200 meters (656 feet), and the maximum radius is 10 kilometers (32,808 feet). You can resize this area if you need to.

The Bark is meant to establish trust between parents and children. So, the only way of location tracking is by requesting a check-in. You can send a notification to your child’s device, and the child opens the app by pressing the check-in button. Then, you receive an alert on your mobile that shows your kid’s physical location.

Unfortunately, Bark does not have geofencing, which may be useless for younger or irresponsible kids who prefer to pay little attention to their parents’ notifications.

verdict

Location tracking and geofencing make OurPact a more reliable option if you want to know every detail of your child’s moving around. The Bark is meant to build trust. So, your choice depends very much on your parental methods and individual beliefs.

Extra Features

verdict

Extra features provided by OurPact are more valuable. They depend on the pricing plan, too. As for Bark, its extra features aim to establish trust between parents and children, and you may consider them helpful or useless.

Final Thoughts

Internet safety is a fundamental problem all family members must be aware of. Only honest and straightforward communication can be favorable for your kids, either tweens or teens. Blocking access and restricting some uses are often necessary for younger children. However, it cannot be a long-term solution. You need to teach your little ones how to stay safe online.

That is why Bark is a more desirable choice because it does not impose too many restrictions on your kid’s privacy. Moreover, it is easier to install and has a higher customer satisfaction rating. It also provides unlimited access to all your family members. Of course, its price is a bit higher than for OurPact and other apps, but such a cost is well worth it.