Bark alerts can expose issues on apps that can't be monitored

Parental Controls + Monitoring
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#1

I posted this on our high school parents FB page. This is my specific experience but I encourage any Bark parent who would like to post something similar:
From a concerned parent:

Hey good morning all,
I wanted to share information I just discovered that I feel is URGENT and IMPORTANT for parents. Some or many of you may already know about it and if that’s you, this post isn’t for you. But I didn’t know and this post is for any other parents who might not know but would appreciate the information. Please don’t judge my post or any comments that may be made.
Many of our kids have unrestricted ability to cheat and/or share photos, videos, explicit messages, etc. during school via AirDrop, Snapchat, etc. What I saw my teenager was receiving concerned me the most.
I became aware of all this because I monitor my students phone with the BARK app. I found these issues when I looked thru the phone because of alerts I received from BARK. Most but not all apps can be monitored. And there are other things you can do if you want parental controls on your teenager’s phone. Also, my kid had told me that they need their cell phone at school for some classes - so I emailed each of his teachers and unsurprisingly got the response from each that the students do not need their cell phones at school.
Some of you may feel your child doesn’t need to be monitored and that’s great. But my kid doesn’t seem on the surface to need monitoring either. My kid is a teenager who insists on going to church youth group Every Wednesday night. My kid is courteous and kind, loves helping people, and has a good heart. But they are also a teenager who has access to unimaginable things to some of us from previous generations, and has neither the life experience nor the maturity to stay away from in spite of the guidance and good examples that surround them. From what I’ve seen on their phone the same goes for many of their peers at school.
If anyone is interested in parental controls I strongly encourage you to download Bark. It takes a little work But it is way more than worth it.
And I included a BARK link.

#2

Hi there! Really glad to hear that Bark was able to alert you and give you important insights on your daughter’s activities. Having a tween and teen myself, I fully understand where you are coming from - so much that they don’t always share with us parents!

I’m a Bark mom and also a member of Bark’s Community team- always happy to help in any way if we can. We appreciate you sharing Bark with other families to help keep kids everywhere safer! :raised_hands:

Did you know that Bark provides its services free of charge to all US K - 12 schools?

Also, in case you weren’t aware, we do have a parent referral program! :slight_smile:

Our friendly team is always happy to chat if you ever have any questions. You can reach us at bark.us/contact. Thanks very much!

#3

Hi Jodie!
I appreciate your reference to the parent referral program and yes I am aware of that. My main goal this morning was to refer BARK to as many parents at my son’s high school (St Amant High School) as possible. I don’t expect referral points from that. I also referred Bark to each of his teachers in individual emails to them. One of his teachers responded that she has two teenagers and will def be looking into Bark. My hope is that many if not all of the parents who read my post will at least look into BARK.
Thanks for all you do!

Jodie Sherrill Jodie team-member
January 25

Hi there! Really glad to hear that Bark was able to alert you and give you important insights on your daughter’s activities. Having a tween and teen myself, I fully understand where you are coming from - so much that they don’t always share with us parents!

I’m a Bark mom and also a member of Bark’s Community team- always happy to help in any way if we can. We appreciate you sharing Bark with other families to help keep kids everywhere safer! :raised_hands:

Did you know that Bark provides its services free of charge to all US K - 12 schools?

bark.us

Internet Safety for Students and Schools - Bark for Schools

Protect your students online with Bark for Schools. We offer free content monitoring, web filtering, and student safety alerts for G Suite and Microsoft 365 accounts.

Also, in case you weren’t aware, we do have a parent referral program! :slight_smile:

Bark

Parent Referral Program

If you believe in Bark, take a moment to tell your friends — it could change their lives. For every person who subscribes to the Bark Premium plan, you’ll receive a $50 Amazon gift card. If they su…

Our friendly team is always happy to chat if you ever have any questions. You can reach us at bark.us/contact. Thanks very much!

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#4

Get out!! I graduated STA! :crocodile::yellow_heart::black_heart:

#5

Do you care if I let the other STA parents know that?

Small world! :blush:

Jodie Sherrill Jodie team-member
January 25

Get out!! I graduated STA! :crocodile::yellow_heart::black_heart:

#6

Small world! :blush:

Jodie Sherrill Jodie team-member
January 25

Get out!! I graduated STA! :crocodile::yellow_heart::black_heart:

#7

I don’t mind at all. Class of ‘99! :tada: I have really fond memories of my Gator days. :yellow_heart: I pass it every time I go back and visit home.

#8

Thanks for the heads up. I just turned off Airdrop on my kids phone. He doesn’t have Snapchat. I’ve also turned off Safari so he can’t search.

#9

That’s Great to hear! You may already be aware, but one easy but not very well-known way to protect our kids from apps they shouldn’t be using is to set up restrictions on the phone so that a code has to be put in before any app can be downloaded. There are so many ways to hide apps once they’re downloaded so I have found this restriction very helpful!

#10

Yes! The Screen time tool is great. I’ve turned off that option to download without my permission. I feel like someone could say I’m too controlling, but this day and age… we have to protect what goes in their eye and ear gate to their soul.

Amy Crain

#11

Absolutely. I tell him that everything he sees and hears affects the man he will grow to be because his character is being built right now in these years. And as he shows me maturity accountability, etc., his privileges grow. If he shows me the opposite, his privileges shrink. I find if I keep it simple, as much as he doesn’t like it he at least understands it. Meanwhile I realize I’ll never do all this perfectly, just doing my best on any given day. :blush:

| Amy Crain amycrain7 bark-parent
January 26 |

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Yes! The Screen time tool is great. I’ve turned off that option to download without my permission. I feel like someone could say I’m too controlling, but this day and age… we have to protect what goes in their eye and ear gate to their soul.

Amy Crain

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