Verizon used to offer a suite of parental controls for monitoring your family’s device usage through its FamilyBase service. Well, the carrier announced this week that the product just got an overhaul and a new name.
The new entity is called the Verizon Smart Family app. It will allow parents to oversee their children’s activity on devices included on the family plan.
Using the new app, adults can do things like enable screen-on time limits for specific days/times or turn on content filters for social media, videos, text messaging.
The Smart Family app is available for $4.99 and up
Real-time location tracking for family members is also included in the package. By the way, you can add up to 10 members to the app.
On top of being able to see how their kids use their phones throughout the day, parents can also remotely pause internet access.
Other customizable limits include minutes used for calls, number of text messages, and monthly purchase amounts.
The new app benefits from an improved, more intuitive design which should deliver a more fluid user experience.
Most of the features were previously available in Verizon’s FamilyBase service. But the biggest additions to the new app include location services and the ability to monitor individual app usage.
While Verizon’s Smart Family is free to download, interested parties will have to pay a subscription fee if they want to use its features. A base subscription is available for $4.99. But if you want location tracking and alerts, you’ll have to pay for a premium subscription which costs $9.99/month.
In a world where smartphones are becoming extremely common in the hands of kids, Verizon’s new Smart Family app seems like a worthy addition to the carrier’s portfolio. Although there are many other apps that accomplish the same tasks out there.
For more info, visit Verizon’s Smart Family page.
