Bookmarks

Written by Michael Steiner

Fact checked by Mike Druttman

Updated Aug, 2024

The internet is a vast ocean of information and distraction. Luckily, I chanced on mSpy, a multi-purpose parental monitoring software that allows parents to check out the online bookmarking activities of their children including blocking such activities. Here's my in-depth exploration of the features and limitations of this digital surveillance tool.

mSpy is a popular app that offers many features for monitoring your child’s digital life. One feature parents are starting to discover is its ability to track bookmarks on their child’s phone or tablet.

Basically, what it does is that it allows you to see which websites your child found interesting enough to save for later, and if they have saved any useful (or even harmful) websites in folders. You can even use it to block specific bookmarked sites.

So, are you curious to know what were the results of my test? Here is an account of everything that you need to know.

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Setting up and using mSpy for bookmark tracking

These are the three steps that I took to get me started:

First, you need to subscribe to mSpy.
Next, you need to have access to your child’s device in order to install the app.
Using your phone, go to "INTERNET USAGE" and then "Browser Bookmark" where you will be able to see all the sites that were saved by your kid.

I realized that by determining what websites have attracted them, I'll be able to peep into their preferences when surfing the net.

Understanding the limitations

As much as this app is effective, I could say that it still has its shortcomings like its extensive reliance on browser and device compatibility. In addition to that, it doesn't provide any information on the frequency and time spent during visits. It's a little to much, I know but it would have been a great feature.

More so, physical contact is necessary (this is for installation purposes) while the tool’s functionality may be influenced by target devices’ software updates.

The types of bookmarks what were tracked

Several types of bookmarks can be traced by mSpy such as:

URL bookmarks: These are the ones that they immediately saved and were not added in any folder.
Bookmark folders: The ones that were saved in specific folders.
Mobile app bookmarks: Those that they accessed via their phone or tablet.

What about compatibility?

Take note that this is only possible in specific browsers only. As for compatibility, I could confirm that it works on Safari and Chrome. This range allows for a comprehensive view of your child's online preferences though tracking levels may differ depending on browser compatibility.

Viewing bookmarks on the dashboard

Accessing their bookmark is simple:

Open your mSpy account.
Go to the dashboard and look for INTERNET USAGE.
Click on Browser Bookmark. This tab will bring you all your bookmarked sites, showing what interests your child has online.

Receiving alerts for specific bookmarks

I was hoping for mSpy to have a bookmark alert but unfortunately, this isn't available. The good news is that it has a keyword alert as a feature, which I think is a nice alternative.

You can set up alerts for specific keywords that are related to their bookmarks in order to get notifications via email whenever your child visits a page with these keywords present in its content.

Blocking access to certain bookmarks

So how can I block specific bookmarks? For starters, there’s no direct way to block a specific bookmark but there's a bit of a workaround.

To do this, go first through “Browser Bookmarks” and identify the URLs which you want to block and then add them later using “Block Websites” feature, which is under the RESTRICTIONS section.

To sum it all up

mSpy was more than just a monitoring tool as it helped me look into my daughter’s world via her bookmarks. Thanks to this app, we were able to have conversations regarding her interests and I was able to guide her towards safe internet usage habits.

I realized that while technology could help monitor them; real parenting involves communicating regularly and providing them guidance beyond what any program could do, so I suggest that you do the same.

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