The Device Nanny Blog
Insights, guides, and ideas for digital parenting.
Phone Contract for Kids: What to Put in It, and What Parents Should Promise Back
What to put in a phone contract for kids and teens, what most get wrong, and how it should change from 10 to 16. Free printable versions by age.
Read article"Make New Friends" Is the New Dating App
Wink, Hoop, Wizz and purp use the dating-app formula with friendlier packaging, then hand the conversation to Snapchat. What to know and what to ask.
Read articleThe Two-Letter App
Vault apps install under names like PV, SA or SC so parents scroll past them. What the short name tells you, what it doesn't, and what to ask.
Read articleCanada's Social Media Ban for Under-16s: What Parents Need to Know
Bill C-34 would bar under-16s from social media accounts. Where it stands, what it can and can't do, and the part the headlines skip.
Read articleWhat Is a Vault App? (And How to Tell If One's on Your Kid's Phone)
A vault app is built to hide photos, messages and even other apps, usually behind a disguise like a calculator. How to spot one and what to do about it.
Read articleDigital Parenting Without Spying
There's a middle path between surveillance and hoping for the best. It's called visibility, and it works better than either.
Read articleParental Controls on an Android Phone: Complete Setup Guide
Every built-in tool Android gives you through Google Family Link, step by step, plus an honest look at what those tools can't do.
Read article10 Apps That Disguise Themselves as Calculators (and How to Spot Them)
Ten real apps that hide photos, messages and whole apps behind a working calculator, and the tells that give each one away.
Read articleParental Controls iPhone: What Screen Time Can and Can't Do
A walkthrough of everything Apple's Screen Time offers for parents, how to set it up, and the gaps it leaves open.
Read articleKid Uninstalled Parental Control App? Why It Happens and What to Do About It
Why kids remove monitoring apps, what it costs families when they do, and why the answer might not be a better app but a different approach.
Read articleParental Control App vs Phone Scanner: Which Do You Actually Need?
Parental control apps manage the digital environment. A phone scanner tells you what's actually on the device. They solve different problems, and you may need both.
Read articleParental Controls App Guide: What They Do, What They Don't, and What's Missing
An honest breakdown of the four types of parental control tools, what each does well, where every one of them falls short, and the gap none of them fill.
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