What the Tech: Bark child safe phone
Franklin Goins is just like most 11-year-olds. He loves Roblox, riding bikes with his friends, and of course, he wanted a smartphone.
“I would say all of my friends have one,” Franklin said. “They sometimes all go bike riding and hang out, and I’m not allowed to go to another neighborhood. But I could with a phone because they could text me.”
His parents, Rachel and her husband Matt, felt the pressure from Franklin and from other families.
“My goal was to hold out for as long as I could,” Rachel said. “But I did think middle school, starting in sixth grade, would be more opportunity for him to be away from us for greater lengths of time where we would not be in the same place but we would want to know how he was doing.”
Rachel worried about what Franklin might come across online, even if he was not looking for it.
“We have YouTube on our TV and there are times he’s watching something that’s appropriate, but it’s two clicks, two recommendations to something that’s not appropriate at all,” she explained. “It’s just so easy to get there, and kids are curious.”
The Bark Phone Difference
The Goins family started with a flip phone, but Franklin was teased for it. They needed a solution that allowed him some independence while giving them peace of mind. That is when they found the Bark phone, a Samsung Android device built specifically for kids.
“It allowed us to give him a phone maybe a little earlier than we would have otherwise,” Rachel said. “But it was exactly the kind of device I wanted him to have.”
Unlike traditional smartphones, the Bark phone comes locked down out of the box. Parents choose what their child can access instead of scrambling to restrict features later.
“It arrives safe,” said Titania Jordan, Bark’s Chief Parenting Officer. “You don’t have to work backwards to try to limit your kids from all the things. You actually have to work to allow your child to have access to things so they can use it safely.”
Jordan says Bark’s features stand out, especially for parents concerned about apps like Snapchat.
“It is the only smartphone on the market that can monitor Snapchat,” she said. “iPhone does not allow that, Snapchat does not allow that. But the Bark phone has found a way to do it. And given how many children are on that platform engaging with things like My AI… if you are going to allow your child to have Snapchat, this is one way to monitor it.”
Full Parental Control
Parents can monitor everything from their own phone or computer. Rachel receives notifications whenever Franklin wants to download an app, gets a message from an unknown number, or is sent something with concerning content, language, or acronyms, or emojis.
“If he wants to download an app, I have to approve it,” Rachel said. “So for any social media or the internet, I have not approved those requests.”
Franklin knows the system well.
“It’ll pop up and say, ‘This person is using foul language,’ and they’ll check it and have to approve it so I can see it,” he explained.
Jordan says the controls are even tamper-proof, and parents can go so far as to remotely disable a child’s camera.
“Let’s say they’re at a sleepover,” she said. “You can turn the camera off if you don’t want anything being shown right now.”
More Freedom and More Peace of Mind
The Bark phone gave Franklin a way to stay connected with his friends without exposing him to the full risks of a typical smartphone. For his parents, it is reassurance that they are keeping him safe both online and in the real world.
“It was exactly what we needed,” Rachel said. “It lets him feel like he has a real phone while we still get to protect him.”
The Bark phone is available online for around $240. It comes with cell service and there’s no need to add it to another plan. There is a $30 monthly service charge.
