The Bark philosophy is that trust and having an open line of communication between kids and parents is an essential part of keeping kids safe online. Therefore, its features, such as social media monitoring and location tracking, require that the child is an active participant instead of just transmitting the data to the parent’s dashboard. With the screen time tools, you’ll be able to create a routine, which helps develop healthy habits, while at the same time still giving you the ability to control screen time and app use.

Here’s a quick summary of Bark’s features:

Bark Features – Updated in 2025

With its comprehensive library of powerful features, Bark provided me with valuable insights and tools to effectively monitor my kid’s behavior online. By addressing potential risks and offering timely alerts, Bark offered peace of mind and the ability to create a healthy and secure online environment. Here are some of the top features that made Bark an invaluable asset in safeguarding my kids online.

AI Content Monitoring to Detect Inappropriate and Dangerous Interactions

Bark uses AI and machine learning algorithms to scan videos, text, photos, DMs, and even emojis in more than 30 social media and email apps. The algorithm has 17 categories that include everything from sex, drugs, and self-harm to risky app use and creating a public profile.

I was able to adjust the sensitivity levels of the category or turn it off completely if I didn’t think it was relevant to my child.

By adjusting the sensitivity levels, I was able to limit the number of false flags or alerts that were really minor, and didn’t require my attention.

The 17 Categories that Bark Monitors

Bark uploads a screenshot of any content that triggers an alert, along with tags to make it easy to see which categories caused the alert. After my first few days of using Bark, I saw that many of the alerts were caused because the sensitivity settings were high. However, because it shows me the filter tag, I was able to go to the settings and change them to a lower sensitivity level, which reduced the number of false flag alerts.

Another nice feature I noticed is that if I trust the person communicating with my daughter, I can choose to remove all alerts from their interactions. For example, in the image below, the alert was triggered in a siblings and parents group, where one of my other children sent a funny beer commercial that Bark flagged for drugs and alcohol. I don’t need to get alerts from our family WhatsApp group, so I clicked the link that says “Don’t alert me to issues with this group.”

Bark Monitors the Most Popular Social Media Apps and Email Accounts

Bark is compatible with a good mix of more than 30 social media and chat apps that are popular among teens. While I did have to sit with my daughter and connect some of her accounts to Bark, others are automatically monitored if the apps are installed on the phone. Connecting Bark to the apps is an easy process – you can see complete instructions here.

Here is the complete list of the apps that Bark monitors for Android and iOS, and what it can monitor with each one.