Bark vs. mSpy – Comparison Review

Parental control software is becoming more and more popular due to the increasing dependence of kids on the Internet, apps, and social networks. This protection measure also helps safeguard your kid from threats and harmful content, protect your kid from bullying, help escape dangerous situations, and call for emergency help when required. The market provides software not only for Internet safety, but you may also install geo-locators to be sure that your kid is in a safe place.

The software is released on all types of electronic devices – PCs, mobile phones, and tablets. You can choose the one based on your needs and the current devices that your kid has. If you want to value the kid’s personal space, you may find apps that do not record all communication but use AI to inform only when potentially harmful content is found.

Bark and mSpy are the programs for parental control, and in this article, we will summarize their main features. If you need to compare these programs with other software, please check our other comparisons with Life360, Quastodio, and Famisafe.

Bark vs. mSpy – Comparison Table

Purpose	Parental control for digital devices, geolocation tracking	Parental control for mobile devices, geolocation tracking
Number of devices monitoring	30+	1.0
Website and app filter
Managing screen time
Monitoring contacts and communication
Location and check-in updates
SOS alerts
Blockage of improper content and apps
Encryption
Available in countries	USA, South Africa, Guam, Australia	160 countries
Language support	English, Spanish, Afrikaans	English, Turkish, Portuguese, French
OS support	Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Amazon Fire tablet
Mobile application	iOS, Android	iOS, Android
Price plans	Paid / Two options	Paid / three options
Free trial	7 days
Technical support	Email	Email/ live chat
Additional features	Recommendations of psychologists based on digital content analysis
Other proposals	School monitoring for free, Bark Phone and router filter
LINK	Check Price	Check Price

Main Differences between Bark and mSpy

Even though, at first glance, Bark and mSpy are very close to each other, there are many differences between these applications, from the number of available features to the subscription prices. We summarize the main differences:

A more detailed description of differences and other interesting insights about these programs are available in the next part of our article.

Face-to-Face comparison Bark vs. mSpy

The detailed comparison of Bark vs. mSpy includes a description of all features, installation procedures, supported devices, and other products that are available from these brands.

Overview

Bark is one of the most famous Parental control apps in the USA. It is calculated that 6.9 million kids are under Bark monitoring now, which helped to prevent about two mln. severe harm situations. It provides not only a monitoring function on text, emails, and social media platforms but also a time management feature and blockage of unappropriated websites and apps for the kids.

The application runs in the background on the kid’s phone, and its advanced machine learning and statistic analytics mechanisms detect any signs of cyberbullying, depression, violence, suicidal indications, and many more. In case of any observed harm, you will receive the alert as a push notification, email, or SMS. You can also set healthy limits and schedules for all apps on the phone.

If you want to track the location, you can specify the exact location and be notified by the app for entering or leaving that place. You can use Bark not only for your kid’s existing mobile devices but also purchase a special Bark Phone with the pre-installed app with all safety issues.

mSpy is a popular Parental control program with more than ten years of experience. It has already helped 1.5 million parents to watch their kids from 160 countries. After you install the app on the phone or other device, you receive access to all activities on it – screen recorder, text, and call monitor, and much more – all these functions are available to you.

Not only the parents can control their kids, but also the partner can be monitored for cheating. But you need to check the privacy jurisdiction before you download the app, especially if you want to spy on adults. Unfortunately, you can’t limit activities on the target device. It does not only track activity on the Internet and in communication; you can also track the location of the person.

You can use this feature to track your employees if they are working at a designated place efficiently. With access to numerous features of this app, you can control the way your kid is using the Internet and guide him for responsible usage without inappropriate content.

verdict

Both software products are from reliable companies that have much experience in the market. Based on the overview, both parental control software products obtain a wide choice of features. There is no winner in this section.

Supported Devices

Bark supports many devices – iOS, Android, Amazon Fire, and Laptops (with Chrome and Edge browsers). For each device, you can check the supported apps, browsers, email agents, and monitored activities (notes, memos, photos, etc.).

Due to internal restrictions, installation on Apple devices is slightly different, and parental control is not available for some social networks.

mSpy supports numerous devices for monitoring. If you have doubts, you can insert your device model into the search line on the official website and check compatibility.

It supports Android phones and tablets (Huawei, Xiaomi, Motorola, Sony) and iOS phones and tablets.

verdict

Bark and mSpy support many mobile devices, but Bark also supports laptops and can be installed as a browser extension. So, it is the winner.

Features

Bark s popular because of many features for monitoring and managing the Internet activity of kids:

• Monitoring of text messages, emails, and other communications in social networks for potential threats (more than 30 platforms for tracking).
• Management of internet usage on the monitored devices, possibility to set bedtime or school time.
• Blockage of access to streaming, gaming, adult websites, or social networks, and the possibility to set a filter based on the category.
• Real-time location tracking and sharing.
• There is no possibility of deleting communication history on the monitored device (applicable only for Bark Phone).
• AI is used to analyze contexts, not only direct messages in all communication channels (45 categories of scanning).
• Alerts for potential dangers of hate speech, phishing, medical content, risky new content, violence, and many more.
• Personalized reports and expert recommendations on your Child’s activities.
• All data storage in the encrypted database and the website have SSL encryption.
• The request to approve the installation of all new apps on the monitored device (only for Bark Phone).
• Possibility to set the sensitivity of alerts and monitoring.
• Possibility to check what website and apps your kid wants to access.
• Setting up safe searches on the most popular search engines such as Google or Bing.

mSpy has many features, that may be used for monitoring adults, kids and elderly people:

• Monitor messages, including iMessage and social networks.
• Possibility to view all posts, shares, and likes on social networks.
• Monitor incoming and outgoing calls.
• GPS location tracking in real-time.
• Geo-fences with notifications about coming in and out.
• Alerts about suspicious events and communication, the possibility of creating a block list.
• Detection of cyberbullying and online threats.
• Monitor visited websites, review browsing history, and receive emails – all Internet activity.
• Tracking apps and multimedia files and their usage frequency.
• Automatic records of key logs, including passwords and logins in all apps.
• Remote access to the monitored device in real-time without notification (undetectable).
• The latest encryption protocol to ensure top-quality safety.
• Notification about uninstalling the mSpy app from the monitored device.

verdict

The list of basic features of both parental products is impressive. Most of them are similar. Depending on what features you are interested in, you may choose the most appropriate app. But we can’t be the winner in this round.

Installation Guide

The installation of Bark app consists of six steps:

• Register on the Bark website and create an account for the parent.
• Choose your subscription plan – Bark Jr, Bark Premium, or Bark Home.
• Download the app. You need to install the app on your phone and the companion app on the Child’s device.
• Log in on all devices and synchronize them. You can set the password to the app.
• Set healthy limits (bedtimes, school time), customize filters, and set notification rules.
• Approve the usage of geolocation on your kid’s device if you want to use geo-tracking.

The installation of mSpy is really easy and consists of six steps as well:

• Create your account for free. You do not need to download the app on the device from which you will be monitoring; you can use the browser version to access the control panel.
• Choose your plans based on the number of monitored devices. After payment, you will receive a welcome email with a link to a control panel.
• Follow the link and log into the control panel, where you will find the Installation Wizard.
• You need to install the mSpy app on the monitored device.
• Synchronize the devices.
• After that, you will receive the dashboard in the control panel with all monitored information.

verdict

The installation process for both apps is straightforward and does not require specific computer knowledge. You need to follow the installation wizard for a successful procedure. There is no winner in this regard.

Price

Bark has two subscription plans – Bark Jr and Bark Premium (Bark Phone and Bark Home will be discussed in “Other products”). These subscriptions differ in the included features. The price for Bark Premium is $14 per month, and it includes all available features (described in “Features”) except remote alarms, app and contact approvals, and the impossibility of deleting messages.

The price for Bark Jr is only $5 per month as it is the lightest version of all subscriptions. With this subscription, you can only manage screen time, filter websites for accessing, and monitor the location of your kids with alerts and check-ins. You can subscribe on the official website via Apple Subscription (if you have iOS) or other affiliates.

For payment, Bark accepts Credit and Debit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express); no PayPal payment is possible. To test all subscriptions, you have an opportunity to use a 7-day trial.

mSpy subscription plans are based on the subscription length. All plans provide access to all features, but in Family Kit, you can also manage Internet usage. You may choose between 1 month ($48.99/month), three months ($28.00/month), and 12 months ($11.57/month) plans. The longer the subscription is, the less expensive it is on a monthly basis.

One subscription covers only one device monitoring; for many devices, you need to purchase the Family Kit subscription. All users can pay for mSpy services using several payment methods – credit and debit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express) or payment systems (Discover, JCB, Wire Transfer, Direct Debit).

There is no free trial period for all subscriptions.

verdict

Bark proposes less expensive subscription plans with similar features. Moreover, you have a free trial to test them in advance. So, Bark wins this part of the comparison.

Other products from Bark and mSpy

Bark has two additional products for digital safety. Bark Home is an internet filter that is connected to your Wi-Fi router. It manages all internet devices connected to your family network, including TV and gaming consoles. You can set limits on every device, set custom schedules and website filters, block apps and games, and pause the Internet. The device does not slow down the Internet speed and works with most routers. It costs $6 per month or $79 for the full-time. If you want to increase your kids’ safety, you can purchase the Bark Phone, which comes with a built-in app.

The phone does not look like a kid’s phone and has all the digital capabilities of a modern smartphone. You can talk and text with your kids without limits with advanced content monitoring. You can purchase it directly at the website or on Amazon. The subscription price for Bark Phone starts from $29 per month. If you are a student or a teacher, you can apply for a special free proposal for schools and students to monitor the Internet for free.

verdict

Bark is the winner in this part of the competition Bark vs. mSpy, as you can choose mode advanced devices – Bark Phone and Bark Home – more than parental control software.

Conclusion

Our detailed comparison of Bark vs. mSpy has shown numerous differences. In most cases, Bark has won as it has more subscription options, additional products (Home and Phone), and better prices. Bark can monitor more than 30 apps, set healthy limits for Internet activities, and geo-tracking, and you will receive alerts on all suspicious activities found by AI. mSpy focuses mainly on monitoring and recording everything on your kid’s devices; it proposes an undetectable mode. It also has a geolocation feature with check-ins, but there are limitations and less functionality of app blockage and website filters.

We can’t state that mSpy is not so good in parental control, but with Bark, you can monitor an unlimited number of devices, while with mSpy, only one. So, the features of both programs differ, but your choice should be based on personal preferences and required options. Anyway, both programs are reliable and will help in providing safety for your kids.