Phone Monitoring Software Seeks to Help Parents Prevent Cyber Bullying

BRADENTON – For many parents today, cyber bullying is becoming an increasingly difficult issue to prevent in their children’s lives. With so many digital platforms teens are exposed to every day, it has become nearly impossible for parents to monitor their child’s activities without extreme or invasive action. In response to this problem, TeenSafe, a company based in Costa Mesa, Calif., has developed the world’s first iPhone monitoring solution that works without modifying the child’s phone. The software allows parents to monitor their children’s text messages, location, web browsing history, contacts and call logs to keep their children from becoming victims of cyber bullying.

The software is available to monitor both iPhone and Android phones. It is currently an online service, available at www.teensafe.com, but the company is in the process of creating an app and will soon have a smartphone and tablet version for the parents to use. What sets this software apart from other products is that TeenSafe is the only monitoring system on the market that allows parents to monitor without jailbreaking or modifying the iPhone. It allows parents to view deleted text messages and provides them with on-demand location tracking.

“One of TeenSafe’s highest priorities is to prevent cyber bullying and the devastating effects of harassing behavior among teens. Kids today are so closely tied to their mobile devices, we feel it is more important than ever to really understand what is being said so we can help guide and teach them through these challenging situations,” said Ameeta Jain, co-founder of TeenSafe. 

Cyber bullying is something that can often go unnoticed by parents. Like any form of bullying, it can lead to low self-esteem, poor academic performance, lack of motivation, depression and even suicide. Monitoring software like TeenSafe gives parents a fighting chance to prevent these types of symptoms by identifying cyber bullying as it happens. 

According to TeenSafe’s chief technology officer Jubin Kothari, the idea behind this product is one that should be taken very seriously. “Before we give our children a bike, we teach them how to ride it with training wheels. Before we give them a car, they have to learn how to drive it with an instructor and a permit,” Kothari said. “Why is it that when we give our children phones, knowing that they have the world at their fingertips, we do not give them guidelines or boundaries? Once a child is given a smartphone without a safety mechanism/resource or tool like TeenSafe, parents are in the dark when it comes to their digital life.”

TeenSafe’s monitoring software can be purchased for $14.95 per month. A 7-days free trial is available for parents who wish to try out the service, after which they can cancel any time and are not under contract. Parents can set up their account or begin their 7-days free trial by visiting www.teensafe.com.