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The tech billionaire's attorney has put documentarian Alex Gibney and his production company on legal notice, claiming the Oscar-winning director defamed Musk in his nearly four-hour documentary.

(Image credit: Evan Vucci)

Dr. Rupa Narra is a U.S. pediatrician who arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo to help care for stricken children. Nothing could have prepared her for what she'd face.

(Image credit: Courtesy of Dr. Rupa Narra. Diptych by NPR.)

A comprehensive, user-friendly cloud backup and cloud storage service, iDrive can back up all of your PCs, Macs, mobiles, and tablets from the convenience of a single account.

Personal plans come in 5TB and 10TB forms, and Team plans are available for anywhere between five and 100 users, offering 1TB per person. Larger companies will benefit from the Business plan, offering as little as 250GB or as much as 50TB per person, with unlimited users.

The flexible and tailored pricing strategy makes iDrive a very reasonable proposition, although the cost goes up for those who need the business features—such as server backup. At the higher tiers, it becomes a more expensive solution than Google Drive and Dropbox, though it does offer a more comprehensive set of features to justify the higher price tag.

iDrive: Plans & pricing

The iDrive cloud storage service offers up to 10GB of free cloud storage, one of the best free offerings among cloud services. Only Google Drive does better than this at 15GB of free storage. iDrive’s free 10GB of storage is much more generous than the likes of Dropbox or Proton Drive, which offer only 2GB and 5GB of free storage, respectively.

The paid plans offer plenty of options to choose from. If you're an individual, you have two choices: the Mini plan or the Personal plan. The Mini plan is meant for a single user, whereas the Personal plan allows you to use your storage across multiple computers.

You can get started for as little as $0.25/month with the 100GB Mini plan. There's also a 500GB storage option for $0.83/month. This makes iDrive one of the most affordable cloud storage services available.

(Image credit: IDrive)

The Personal plan gives you five storage options to choose from: 5TB at $6.99/month, 10TB at $10.49/month, 20TB at $17.49/month, 50TB at $34.99/month, and 100TB at $69.99/month. This is by far one of the largest selections of plans we have seen across the industry, especially in the personal category.

If you're multiple people, you have two plans to choose from: Teams and Business. The Teams plan starts with 5TB of storage for five computers and five users, priced at $6.99/month. This scales all the way up to 500 computers and 500 users, offering 500TB of storage for $699.99/month. There are several tiers in between, including plans for 10, 25, 45, 100, and 200 users.

Lastly, there's the Business plan for enterprise-grade organizations, offering 500GB of storage for $13.99/month. This plan lets you add unlimited users, as well as multiple servers and computers. It scales all the way up to 100TB, which costs $1,621.66/month.

All of these plans are billed monthly. While we understand that having so many options can be confusing, it's better to have them than not. You can simply choose the plan that best suits your needs while ignoring the others.

iDrive: Features

iDrive doesn't skimp on features. For example, there's an Express service that lets you put your data on hard drives and actually post them off, as well as the ability to create full disk images in case you need to rebuild a computer from scratch.

iDrive also supports snapshots and versioning. Unlike other platforms, which retain versions only for a specified period, iDrive allows you to restore up to 30 previous versions. The Snapshot feature comes in handy for point-in-time recovery.

If your data becomes corrupted or you fall victim to a ransomware attack, you can simply select the desired date and time, and iDrive Snapshot will restore your drive to its state at that point. From there, you can choose the files you want to recover.

(Image credit: iDrive)

All paid users get access to these physical backups via a temporary storage device, which is especially handy for those with poor Internet connectivity. This is capped at once per year for Personal customers and three times a year for Team and Business subscribers, though subsequent requests are always available at the cost of $59.95.

Then there's also some less obvious functions, including that iDrive only uploads modified parts of files to reduce bandwidth usage, the way data gets retained until you specifically delete it, or the extensive set of activity logs and reports you can access. For team managers, there are multiple user management and remote backup services.

As expected, iDrive focuses heavily on backup functionality, which is why it has also introduced cloud-to-cloud and SaaS backup capabilities. You can now back up your entire Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox, Salesforce, and Box data to iDrive. Each of these services is available as a separate add-on that can be bundled with any plan you choose.

(Image credit: iDrive)

Cloud-to-cloud backup comes in really handy for businesses that rely on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 to manage their emails, files, documents, and other business data. While these platforms already offer robust data protection measures, you’re never too far away from accidental deletions, ransomware attacks, or client-side errors. Backing up critical business data with iDrive ensures longer retention and more granular recovery options than those offered by the native platforms.

While the editing and collaboration ecosystem in iDrive is not particularly advanced, it does offer basic functionality. You can create, edit, collaborate on, and manage Microsoft Office and PDF files stored in your iDrive cloud storage. This allows you to open Microsoft Office files directly from your cloud drive without switching tabs, and any changes you make are automatically synced to the original file.

(Image credit: iDrive)

This is all on top of the core functionality, which backs up an unlimited number of various devices – computers, mobile phones, servers – to a single account. If necessary, it can also back up data from mapped drives on a network. Meanwhile, the iDrive web portal makes short work for managing all of these devices together in one place. While it is filled with function, the basic and frankly uninspiring user interface does leave users feeling somewhat shortchanged.

In addition to the standard features that will appeal to everyone, there are several aimed at organizations with larger, more complex requirements (including server cloud backups covering Linux, Oracle, Sharepoint, MS SQL, Exchange Server and more). iDrive includes bare-metal disaster recovery, which is the business-grade solution to ransomware. Help with new data standards can be found as well, via encryption and date stamping for those in the medical, accounting, and legal professions.

iDrive: Interface

(Image credit: iDrive)

Cloud storage can be accessed through the browser portal, but for the full experience including device backup, the relevant program or application should be installed. Handily, iDrive supports all major device types, though the desktop clients are more impressive than the mobile apps in terms of polish and features.

You can have iDrive backup your entire hard drive (or mobile device) or just specific files and folders, and run backups manually or on a schedule. The goal here is very much ‘set and forget’ – get everything set up the way you like, and then let it work quietly away in the background.

iDrive’s web portal has also expanded, particularly for business users. Admins can now track storage quotas, team roles, and active devices from a centralized dashboard, while also setting custom policies for functions such as backups and restores.

(Image credit: iDrive)

Another useful feature is folder syncing, for keeping certain files consistent across all of your devices. There are intuitive menus and settings screens that make it clear how to create the configurations you need. It’s also great that it is simple to use, so you don't need to have an IT degree or to even consult the help pages to figure out how to do the vast majority of tasks.

The iDrive programs have a ton of settings as well, though iOS versions are less impressive. While the Android client is able to back up things like your SMS messages, iPhones and iPads are limited to contact, calendar, photos and videos (however this is more of a limitation set out by Apple than iDrive). The desktop client allows granular adjustments for bandwidth throttling, file and folder exclusion, data verification, and more. You can even pause a backup if the battery level on your laptop or your phone drops below a certain level.

Uploading and backing up files is just as quick as big players in the cloud storage game, such as Google Drive. That said, initial uploads and backups are notably slow. In our testing, a 1GB test file took around two hours to upload during the initial seed phase. This is probably due to iDrive’s commitment to deduplication and block-level indexing. As such, it’s unlikely that iDrive will be the bottleneck here, and the primary restriction will come from your ISP’s upload speeds which, in most cases, is slower than the download speeds.

It's worth noting that browser downloads redirect to a new tab, and the process of opening the new location can be slow. In the case of our 1GB test file, opening the new tab took up to six times longer than the actual download process, which can prove both time consuming and rather annoying. The entire download process isn’t quite as slick, and took several minutes more than Google Drive for our 1GB file. Fortunately, this is less of a problem when using the desktop client.

One feature we are particularly impressed with is that the account password is required to delete any file, helping to prevent any accidental deletes as the user unconsciously navigates the portal on autopilot.

Due to the nature of the service, iDrive is intended more as a backup drive than a cloud space from which to work, so editing documents online is a no go. This means downloading and reuploading your files as and when necessary, so it’s crucial that you take into account the somewhat convoluted downloading process mentioned above before committing.

Having reached out to iDrive, it is confirmed that there is no maximum file size limit, which is great news to teams and businesses working on large projects such as video editing.

iDrive: Security

On top of two-factor authentication, iDrive provides end-to-end encryption for your data. Be cautioned that this requires a private key known only to you, so don’t you forget it, or you can't get anything back. It also means that you won't be able to share files and folders with other people, as this will break the end-to-end encryption protocols.

Another option is standard encryption, which isn't quite as secure, but will still protect your data against most potential breaches. In this scenario, iDrive stores the encryption key, and can help you restore your data if needed as well as potentially hand over your files if compelled to by law enforcement. The other advantage is that you get to use the file and folder sharing features with this setting.

(Image credit: iDrive)

Besides this, iDrive has also achieved SOC 2 Type II certification, underlining its commitment to safeguarding customer data and account information. It also holds ISO 27001:2022 certification, highlighting iDrive’s systematic approach to managing sensitive customer information while ensuring integrity, availability, and confidentiality. These certifications add another layer of credibility to iDrive’s security practices.

iDrive: Our tests

We performed three tests on iDrive using a Windows 11 virtual machine running the desktop client. The virtual machine was connected to the internet through fiber broadband and a VPN server, demonstrating an average upload speed of 2300 Mbps. The tests assessed the sync speed, file recovery, and versioning.

• Test 1: Sync speed

I used the iDrive desktop client to upload a test folder with 228 files spread across seven folders to the iDrive cloud. The total size of the files was 589MB. I was pleased to see that the app displayed the number of files remaining and the progress of the upload.

The app confirmed that all files had been successfully uploaded in just 16 seconds. You read that correctly: iDrive uploaded 589MB in 16 seconds.

(Image credit: Future)

• Test 2: File recovery

After uploading our test folder to the iDrive cloud, we accessed the web portal and selected “Delete” to remove it from the cloud. Before doing so, we were asked to enter our account password. Upon opening the Trash, we immediately saw the folder's contents; each file could be restored by clicking “Restore.” Unfortunately, we could not find a way to fix the entire folder in one easy step.

Files in Trash are automatically deleted after 30 days, or you can delete them manually. This process did not offer a one-click solution.

(Image credit: Future)

• Test 3: Versioning

During our final test, we wanted to determine if iDrive would allow us to review and restore previous versions of the same file. We uploaded a simple Microsoft Word document to iDrive using the desktop client, then made some edits on our end and uploaded it again using the desktop client.

When we clicked "Restore," we could locate the modified file and view a list of versions. This enabled us to restore any version of the file that we wanted.

(Image credit: Future)iDrive: Alternatives

iDrive is one of the most complete cloud storage platforms, with a heavy focus on data backup and recovery. That said, there are a few alternatives worth considering.

For instance, if real-time collaboration is your main priority, you could opt for a service like Google Drive. In addition to offering 15GB of free cloud storage, it integrates seamlessly with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, allowing remote teams to collaborate on projects in real time, with changes reflected almost instantly. That said, Google Drive can be a little more expensive, with its 100GB plan costing $19.99/year, compared to iDrive’s $0.25/month.

If you are a large business looking for a lifetime plan, you could consider options such as IceDrive or pCloud. While IceDrive offers lifetime plans starting at $199 for 100GB of storage, pCloud offers 500GB of storage for the same price.

If you’re looking for a bundled product rather than just cloud storage, you could consider Proton Drive, which includes secure Proton Mail, Proton Pass, and a high-quality VPN alongside end-to-end encrypted cloud storage. That said, Proton is a bit more expensive.

iDrive: Verdict

iDrive gets high scores for the sheer breadth of services offered – from backing up the photos on your smartphone and files on your computer to backing up a company's databses and servers.

For those who have many devices with data that needs to be secured at reasonable prices, iDrive could well be the service for you. Its great feature set covers a lot of ground, with enough security protection and extra features such as folder sync and bandwidth controls to satisfy the majority of users.

Its cloud-to-cloud backup service is particularly useful for businesses that want to maintain secure backups of critical business data stored in Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. The free 10GB plan only makes sense for users looking to store documents in the cloud, as space is too limited to perform major backups of computers, phones, and tablets.

The best thing about iDrive is its extensive selection of plans, which caters to both personal and business users. You can choose anywhere from 100GB of storage to as much as 500TB, depending on your needs.

• You can sign up for IDrive here

Not long into Marvel's Wolverine, protagonist James "Logan" Howlett is joined by fellow mutant and Team X member Mystique. The blue-skinned shapeshifter is eager to share a shocking discovery with him: a sinister secret hidden behind a closed door. But I ignore her request, instead continuing down the hall to soak in the game's stunning visuals.

Review info

Platform reviewed: PS5 Pro
Available on: PS5
Release date: September 15, 2026

It's the natural-looking rain streaming down a window that initially catches my attention. But beyond the pelting precipitation, I also spy equally impressive smoke, flames, and burning embers spewing from a fiery explosion – the apparent fallout of Wolverine's enemy-eviscerating entrance.

The destruction below is contrasted by beautiful moonlight above, which is occasionally punctuated by eye-pleasing flashes of lightning.

Production values as sharp as Wolverine's claws

(Image credit: Sony)

Of course, if you've played any recent first-party PlayStation game, these realism-rivaling effects probably won't come as a huge surprise. As expected, Insomniac Games' latest superhero romp is obscenely pretty, polished, and packing the sort of production values that've come to define Sony's single-player, story-driven output.

Best bit

(Image credit: Sony)

Nearly invincible with indestructible claws to match, Wolverine begins the campaign as a feral, vengeance-fueled force of nature. But he somehow becomes even more powerful, leading to combo-fueled combat encounters that encourage you to creatively chain together a growing arsenal of epic, blood-spewing specials. From turning Logan's claws into a spinning tornado to spiraling him through enemies like a human drill, there's no shortage of ways to deal death with style – and entrails – to spare.

This level of quality extends to Wolverine's characters and storytelling as well. Supported by incredibly layered, emotional performances (Liam McIntyre and Troy Baker especially stand out as Logan and Nathaniel Essex, respectively), the former features unmatched facial details and visual fidelity.

And while the game's narrative doesn't quite achieve the extreme highs of its technical and artistic excellence, it works surprisingly well, spinning an engaging tale that'll please Marvel enthusiasts while also welcoming complete newcomers into this potentially complex universe.

There's a ton of familiar characters, both friends and foes, that fans will love spending time with. But the game's pre-X-Men tale also does a great job introducing these favorites without boring the established audience or relying on exposition dumps.

In Wolverine's universe, for example, Logan and Jean Grey meet for the first time, challenging its writers to not only introduce these well-known characters to each other, but to a potential new audience. The task is handled elegantly, however, in an early mission at Team X's HQ that sees the pair naturally sharing personal details while searching for drawings a mischievous mutant child has hidden for them.

Snikt!-fueled style over substance

(Image credit: Sony)

Similar sentiments can be applied to Wolverine's non-combat content as well. You'll spend most of your time in this globetrotting adventure painting cities and towns – across Canada, Japan, Madripoor, and more – plasma-red, but when not shish kebab-ing baddies, you'll retract your claws for some less violent activities.

In addition to the excellent story interludes, Logan does some investigating, chases fleeing enemies – on foot and while straddling a motorcycle – and a surprising amount of platforming.

None of these tasks are optional and, while they don't offer anything particularly special, they do deliver the occasional fun distraction. The bike chases, for example, are practically on rails, but it still never gets old slashing a pursuing vehicle's tires with your claws.

The platforming sections, meanwhile, generally get the job done, but sometimes kill the immersion when the mutant – who can often scurry up trees like a cat – suddenly can't scale a fence, crate, or wall.

(Image credit: Sony)

Wolverine makes no apologies for being a linear, scripted action-adventure, a quality that often works to its benefit. But it can also be a detriment, like during those fickle platforming moments. This heavily directed approach does afford players some freedom, encouraging them to sniff out collectible bottles of whiskey and timed challenges accessed in Logan's creepy "Nightmare Cabin." These mini-games, unfolding in his haunted memories, also shed a bit of light on his dark, foggy past.

Whether hunting for booze or conquering these timed tasks, you'll collect DNA strand-altering "Adaptation" points, a currency that feeds another character progression path. But these passive perks don't feel all that meaningful among Logan's already considerable arsenal. Toss in the fact that these cabin-diving diversions have you partaking in the same gameplay you're already doing on the critical path – only against a clock – and they feel like an undercooked attempt at optional content.

Suit crafting feels similarly half-baked. The game contains 30-plus costumes and accompanying claws, a fantastic, fan-pleasing inclusion. But the suits are purely cosmetic, and accessed by investing the same "materials" hidden around the world.

Donning Logan with a cowboy hat or dropping him in this hyper-realistic world as his anime-inspired Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls persona is awesome, as is the permanent health bump you receive as you buy more suits. But with just the same single resource used and no gameplay effects added, calling it "crafting" is a stretch.

(Image credit: Sony)

As a linear, single-player action-adventure, Wolverine works brilliantly, delivering a visually striking, cinematic blockbuster supported by engaging characters and emotional storytelling. It's also brimming with stylish, blood-soaked combat that kept a smile stretched across my face until the credits rolled.

When it strays from its heavily scripted path, however, attempting to layer strategic depth into its arcade-y encounters – as well as engaging, optional activities into its carefully crafted world – it does reveal some undeniable cracks in its adamantium armor.

Should you play Marvel's Wolverine?Play it if...

You've always wondered what it would be like to unleash Wolverine's claws
An action game at its core, Wolverine's focus – first and foremost – is ensuring every slice, dice, hack, and slash feels rewarding as hell. Varied, violent, and soaked in enough viscera to rival a slasher movie, combat encounters are a thumb-blistering blast that puts you behind the mutant's unique skills like no game before it.

You're a fan of linear, single-player, story-driven games
If you're tired of open-worlds or overwhelmed by all the freedom RPGs offer you, Wolverine is just what the mad scientist ordered. Linear, scripted, filled with set pieces and incredibly cinematic, it paves an engrossing, action-packed story path – and guarantees you never stray from it.

You're a Marvel enthusiast craving a fresh take on the fan-favorite X-Men member
Wolverine is largely an original, standalone story set before Logan was a member of the X-Men. It's an accessible tale for newcomers, but it's also packed with plenty of familiar characters – friends and foes – as well as settings and story beats that existing fans will enjoy. It also includes a ton of cool call-outs, deep-cut references, and Easter eggs Marvel enthusiasts will eat up.

Don't play it if...

You're expecting an experience similar to Sony's Spider-Man games
While Wolverine is the latest superhero collaboration between Sony Interactive Entertainment and Insomniac Games, it is not another Spider-Man game reskinned with adamantium. Where the Spidey games were open-world romps packed with a ton of combat and traversal options – as well as massive maps brimming with optional activities – Wolverine is a linear, heavily scripted story experience with more straightforward hack-and-slash action and far less to do.

Accessibility features

Marvel's Wolverine includes an impressive suite of accessibility assists, beginning with plenty of options to tailor the blood, gore, violence, and profanity to any player's comfort level.

Beyond that, there are various difficulty settings, as well as ample gameplay assists to further tweak and tailor the challenge within those defaults. In addition to the expected inclusions for customizing subtitles, UI, and HUD elements, a huge selection of audio and visual assists are also available.

While a variety of high-contrast modes and color customizations are included, dedicated protanopia, deuteranopia, and tritanopia selections seem to be absent.

How I reviewed Marvel's Wolverine

I spent just over 25 hours with Wolverine, completing its campaign before replaying many missions to seek out collectibles and attempt optional time trial challenges.

I played the game on my PS5 Pro using my budget TCL 4K 65" TV, with HDR enabled. For audio, I tested with both the display's onboard stereo speakers and Sony's PlayStation Pulse Elite headset.

First reviewed September 2026

South Korea will launch the 614-petaflop Hangang supercomputer in December, opening high-end compute to researchers, national projects, and companies.

The post South Korea to Launch 614-Petaflop Supercomputer: What It Can Do appeared first on TechRepublic.

The best parental control apps, like Bark, are becoming increasingly popular as the web gets increasingly dangerous for young people – and with features like screen time management, website and app blocking and location tracking available, it’s no wonder.

Bark was founded by Brian Bason, the current CEO, in 2015. It’s grown to become one of the biggest names in the parental control space, with 7.5 million children covered by its services – and, admirably, it’s detected millions of potential self-harm and bullying situations alongside loads of other threats.

Should you consider Bark for your parental control needs, though, or should you look elsewhere? Let’s find out.

Plans and pricing

Bark’s core service, its monitoring app, is available with two different plans. The more affordable plan, Bark Jr, costs $5 per month or $49 per year and allows parents to control screen time, filter websites and apps and monitor for appropriate content. It also offers location tracking and check-in features.

The more expensive plan, Bark Premium, costs $14 per month or $99 for a year and adds social media, email, and YouTube monitoring on phones, tablets, and computers. That pricier product also includes advice and tips from child psychologists and web search monitoring.

Bear in mind that right now the app only works in the US, Guam, South Africa and Australia. Bark’s size and popularity mean that the company has branched out beyond the app, too.

The Bark Phone integrates many of the app’s features into a kid-friendly smartphone with automatic monitoring capabilities. The Starter Plan costs $29 per month and doesn’t allow apps, social media or browsing, so it’s ideal for younger children. The Advanced Plan costs $39 per month and adds those features – with parental controls – for older children.

The Bark Watch monitors texts, tracks locations, manages contacts, and includes an emergency SOS button. It costs $15 per month and includes a Bark Premium subscription.

Finally, there’s Bark Home, which is a small device that connects to your home internet to monitor screen time, content and apps for every device in your home. It costs $6 per month.

Features

We’re here to discuss the Bark app, though, and there’s no denying that there’s plenty to talk about.

Firstly, it’s essential to note that, like many parental control tools, Bark can monitor various services and apps on both Android and iOS devices. While there are still differences between the features available on both platforms, Bark is still better than the likes of Boomerang when it comes to iOS functionality.

On Android, Bark currently monitors 30 different apps. The list includes big social media names, like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, X and TikTok, alongside messaging services like WhatsApp, Kik, Slack and Discord. It covers cloud storage services like OneDrive and Google Drive, apps like ChatGPT, Spotify and Steam, and gaming platforms like Roblox.

(Image credit: Bark)

Beyond that, Bark on Android monitors Google Chrome, Firefox, and the device's default browsers, email clients including Outlook, Gmail, AOL, Comcast, and iCloud, and the device’s texts, photos, and videos.

On iOS, add Yahoo Mail to the list. On Apple’s platform, Bark only includes complete monitoring for 16 apps, and that list does not include TikTok, Snapchat, Skype or Discord. That said, Bark can still monitor some social media apps like WhatsApp, X, and Reddit on iOS.

When a potential event is detected, the parent gets a real-time alert to intervene, and different alerting methods are available, including texts, emails, or push notifications.

(Image credit: Bark)

Bark also offers comprehensive features to limit children’s online time, including blocking websites and controlling screen time with a range of granular options. Bark allows you to set up your child’s schedule throughout the week, choosing from options like School, Free Time, and Bedtime.

For instance, you can block games and social media apps from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. while still allowing your child to access educational apps. You can also set time limits for specific apps with Bark (however, this is a Bark Phone-exclusive feature and is not available in the app).

A particularly handy feature is the ability to pause internet access on your child’s device with the click of a button. This automatically cuts off access to apps that require an internet connection to work (provided they do not find an alternative, such as public Wi-Fi). As with any other parental control application, you can also block certain websites or apps that you deem inappropriate for your child.

What we liked about Bark is that it includes predefined content categories such as gaming, sexual content, social media, and streaming services. You can simply toggle a button to block all websites within a category instead of blocking each website manually.

You can also require safe search on browsers such as Google and Bing while blocking all other search engines that do not support the feature. It's worth noting that a complete website history is not available. Bark will only update you if it’s flagged for your chosen topics.

(Image credit: Bark)

But, with Bark, that’s the idea. It’s not a keylogger or a tracker, and relies on a certain level of trust between parent and child – so you get alerting and reporting, but not a complete picture.

A similar approach is deployed for Bark’s location tracking. You get alerts when your children are at specific locations, rather than 24/7 tracking. If they drive, you get a summary of their travel and top speed.

You can also choose to lock your child's phone while they are driving to help them stay focused on the road. Parents can also request in-app check-ins to confirm that their child has reached a destination safely.

(Image credit: Bark)

Unlike Net Nanny, Bark allows you to drop pins on a map and set a radius of up to 200 meters (0.12 miles) to create a predefined geographical boundary. Every time your child enters or leaves this boundary, you’ll receive an instant alert. However, the radius is a bit too small. Competitors like Norton Family allow you to set a two-mile radius, which is a much more practical approach to geofencing.

Despite offering such a wide range of parental control and monitoring features, Bark stays true to its philosophy of being non-intrusive. This is why you cannot read your child’s conversations in real time. Instead, Bark notifies you only when its algorithms detect a potential issue.

Bark can detect instances of anxiety, bullying, depression, drug- or alcohol-related conversations, hate speech, profanity, sexual content, violence, and weapon-related conversations.

Another handy feature is that Bark alerts you if your child attempts to create an alternative account to circumvent its monitoring. This helps prevent them from creating secret accounts to hide their online activity.

Bark’s machine learning is great at catching the latest trends and slang words, and it can spot if your child is using VPNs. To play into the trust involved here, children can uninstall Bark – albeit with a warning. If they try to install risky apps, parents will get a warning and parents can block, but that’s not automatic.

Interface and in-use

Setting up Bark is straightforward and takes around 10 minutes per device to connect your child’s phone with your own. Simply follow the setup checklist presented when you first log in.

One thing we liked about Bark is its "alerts, not logs" philosophy. Since Bark uses AI to filter your child’s activity, parents are not bombarded with endless notifications and are alerted only when there is a genuine concern.

(Image credit: Bark)

Each alert is detailed, providing information about the platform where the incident occurred, the time it was detected, and even suggestions on what your next steps could be. Parents can review each alert and take the appropriate action, either dismissing it as a false positive or escalating it for further review.

Bark’s apps and desktop interfaces are excellent: clear, straightforward, and attractive. A dashboard provides a summary of the rules you’ve set for your children and their activity over the last seven days, and parents get a weekly report via email too.

Support

Bark offers email and live chat support, online guides and forums, and an AI assistant can provide easy access to articles and triage basic issues.

On the Bark website you’ll find how-to videos that explain the app’s key features, and plenty of support articles.

There isn’t any phone support, though, which may be a dealbreaker for parents who want quick responses while talking to a real person.

The competition

Bark faces plenty of competition as one of the larger names in the sector. Qustodio is one of the other big names, and it suffers from some of the same issues: it’s far more powerful on Android than on iOS, for starters.

One of Qustodio’s biggest advantages is its pricing, which is much more affordable than Bark’s. The basic Qustodio plan is priced at around $5/month, the same as Bark Jr., but it also includes the ability to pause internet access. Qustodio’s complete plan costs around $9.16/month, roughly $5 less than Bark, while offering similar features alongside AI-powered search and messaging alerts.

Elsewhere, Google Family Link is free, even if it’s a bit more basic than Bark, and Mobicip is a good alternative if you want real-time activity monitoring and location tracking.

Mobicip is also more affordable than Bark, with plans starting at just $2.99/month and supporting up to five devices. Even on this budget plan, you get similar features such as screen time limits, schedule management, activity reports, and app blocking.

Bark: Final verdict

Bark has adopted a modern approach to parental controls, promising to remain non-intrusive. This philosophy is clearly reflected in its feature set, which gives children a greater degree of freedom and privacy. Parents cannot read their children’s text messages directly. Instead, they are notified only when something suspicious or inappropriate is flagged by Bark’s algorithms.

In addition to the essentials, such as website blocking, app blocking, and location tracking, Bark offers several additional utilities that add value to its parental control suite. You can receive alerts whenever your child attempts to create a second account to circumvent Bark’s controls. Additionally, Bark offers pre-built content categories, allowing a single toggle to block all websites within a selected category, saving you a lot of manual setup time.

That said, Bark is a bit on the expensive side, costing around $14/month for its full feature set. If you’re looking for cheaper alternatives, apps like Qustodio, Mobicip, and Norton Family are all worthy options.

• We've picked out the best free parental control software

Sept. 11 represented a new kind of national security threat, and a new national security architecture was created to confront it.

Apple raised prices on older iPhones by $100 after its latest launch, changing the usual strategy for buyers waiting for previous models to get cheaper.

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The internet is littered with hundreds of parental control apps that claim to give you complete visibility into your child’s online activities. However, in doing so, many of these apps invade your children’s private space and blur the lines into surveillance.

This is where HeyPolo stands out. Launched by the team behind Surfshark VPN, HeyPolo is a separate product that takes a consent-based approach to location sharing. It allows you to see the approximate or real-time location of your loved ones at any point.

The best part is that users can control who they share their information with, what information they share, and for how long. HeyPolo also says it will never sell, monetize or exploit users' location data, with location data encrypted while in transit.

If you’re looking for a lightweight, easy-to-use, and inclusive location-tracking application, HeyPolo might just be the right pick. Read on as we explore its various features and pricing, and compare it with the best parental control apps so that you can make an informed decision.

HeyPolo review: Plans and pricing

HeyPolo offers one of the simplest parental control pricing plans we've seen. The monthly plan costs $5.99/month, while the annual one is just $1.99/month. The only difference between the two plans is the duration of the subscription. Everything else is the same, meaning both plans come with everything HeyPolo has to offer.

One good thing is that a single plan covers your entire family, with unlimited devices and no per-person pricing. Exactly what Surfshark VPN is known for, too. You also get a 30-day money-back guarantee, which means that if you don't like how HeyPolo works, you can get a refund.

Next, although HeyPolo’s website says that it doesn't offer any free trial, that's not entirely true. Sure, if you purchase through the website, you don't get a free trial. But if you download the app on your iOS or Android device and purchase a subscription through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, you do get the option of a 3-day or 7-day free trial.

(Image credit: HeyPolo)HeyPolo review: Features

First up, there’s real-time location sharing, where you can view your contacts’ location details, which are updated every five seconds. Users can choose whether to share their exact location or a general area, giving them better privacy control.

Location sharing can either be left on indefinitely or for a specific time period. Users can also set arrival and departure alerts for specific places, such as school, work, or home.

(Image credit: HeyPolo)

There’s also an SOS emergency alert, where any family member can send an instant SOS alert that notifies the recipient of their real-time location. This could come in handy for elderly people living alone, children travelling solo at night, a car breakdown, or any other emergency situation.

You can also set up low-battery alerts, alongside location and emergency alerts, so you can know when a family member's phone is running low on power.

Similarly, there’s group location sharing, which allows users to share their location with several people at once within specific groups or circles.

(Image credit: HeyPolo)

What stands out is that while most location-sharing apps only allow the person who created the group to control it, HeyPolo gives every member a certain degree of control over what they share. Each plan comes with unlimited groups, and everyone can join for free. One person can belong to multiple groups simultaneously, each with different sharing settings.

You can choose between three different levels of location sharing: Exact Location, which shows your live location; General Area, which shows the neighborhood you're in; and Private Mode, which turns off location sharing completely. You can also choose to share your location for a one-time period or during repeating periods, rather than having it constantly enabled.

So, you’ll get a notification every time your child reaches school or leaves it. The same goes for workplaces too. You can also share trips with people in your group. This shows where you travelled, when you travelled, your route on a map, and the length of the trip.

(Image credit: HeyPolo)

Lastly, HeyPolo saves detailed location history, allowing you to check where you or any member of your group has been, including past routes. However, this history is stored for only seven days, after which it is automatically deleted.

HeyPolo review: Interface and in-use

(Image credit: HeyPolo)

HeyPolo is very easy to install. Simply download the application from the Google Play Store or iOS App Store, and you’re good to go. You only need to set up a profile, purchase a subscription, and then invite the family members or friends whose locations you want to track.

People can be invited either by sharing a link or using the short code displayed on the screen. Note that only one person in the group needs an active subscription; everyone else can join for free.

(Image credit: HeyPolo)

An important caveat worth mentioning is that you won’t be able to move ahead with the app until you opt for a free trial or purchase a subscription, which means there is no demo mode offered by HeyPolo.

However, once you’re inside, you’ll see an interface with a live map showing everyone in your group as icons. Each icon is labelled with a status such as “Active”, “Arrived Home”, “In Private Mode”, or “Left Work”. People who are on the move will have a tag such as “On the Move (47 mph)”, showing their current speed.

We also like how the reviews for the HeyPolo apps have been overwhelmingly positive. The app is rated 4.35 stars on Google Play and a whopping 4.9 on the App Store. Most users describe the setup as uncomplicated, and the application itself is minimal and low-clutter, which is consistent with HeyPolo’s positioning as a lightweight, consent-first alternative to surveillance-heavy family trackers.

HeyPolo review: Support

HeyPolo has one of the fastest support services we've seen across the industry. There are two ways to reach customer support: email and live chat.

We tried out the live chat function by clicking on the small chat icon at the bottom right of the screen. To our surprise, it wasn’t an automated AI chatbot where you have to fight through several menus before getting an answer.

A live human agent was there to help us almost immediately, and resolving any queries was as easy as typing them out and asking whatever we needed. Overall, the chat was very swift, and we got straightforward, to-the-point answers to our questions.

Just keep in mind that live chat support is available from 9am to 5pm CDT. But there’s a good collection of FAQs, blogs, and articles on the website should you need help with common queries outside these hours.

HeyPolo review: The competition

HeyPolo is very good at what it does – tracking the real-time location of your family members. However, it's pretty limited in functionality and does not extend to other parental control features. If that’s what you’re looking for, here are a few alternatives you can consider.

mSpy is one of the best keyloggers in the industry, offering extensive insights into your child’s device and allowing you to see every word they type on their devices.

It also comes with robust location tracking, just like HeyPolo. You can monitor various social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, and even TikTok, and block certain apps on your child’s phone that you do not approve of. There’s also a screen-recording function that captures the child’s phone activity at set intervals.

That said, mSpy is a bit intrusive and does not follow the same consent philosophy as HeyPolo. Not to mention, it can also be pretty expensive, costing $11.19 per month on the annual plan.

(Image credit: HeyPolo)

Life360 is perhaps the closest substitute to HeyPolo, offering similar location-sharing features. However, it comes with better ancillary features than HeyPolo, such as 24/7 roadside assistance, crash detection, emergency dispatch, and free towing for up to 50 miles.

You also get $1 million in reimbursement for stolen funds, medical assistance, stolen phone protection, and more, depending on the plan you choose.

Life360 also offers a 7-day free trial, allowing you to check out the application and see if it suits your needs. That said, it's again a bit expensive, with its Silver plan priced at $9.99 per month.

HeyPolo review: Final verdict

HeyPolo is a straightforward, no-nonsense location-tracking application that helps you know the exact location of your loved ones at any moment.

It's ideal for families that believe in complete transparency. HeyPolo allows members to choose what data they share, with whom, and for how long, giving them greater control over their privacy. Users can see real-time locations updated every five seconds, as well as location history going back up to seven days.

You also get a 3-day or 7-day free trial when you purchase a subscription on the mobile apps. Along with this, the subscription is very affordable, at just $1.99/month.

That said, HeyPolo isn’t a full-fledged child monitoring app and is limited to location tracking. If you need other features like social media tracking or screen-time management, mSpy can be a good alternative.

• We've also featured the best parental control software

Thailand has asked 49 data centers under construction to pause voluntarily while more than 117 pending projects face an approval freeze.

The post Thailand Asks 49 Data Centers to Pause as New Power and Water Rules Loom appeared first on TechRepublic.

If you’re looking for a comprehensive online security suite for your family that also includes parental controls, Bitdefender is one of the best options right now. It's a well-known security provider offering an award-winning antivirus program, along with a password manager, VPN, and identity theft protection.

But does its parental control offering, which is bundled with its Family plans and not available via a standalone subscription or even a dedicated app, compete against the best parental control apps?

Read on as we dissect the various parental control features it offers, what they cost, how easy the dashboard is to use every day, and what the top competitors offer.

Bitdefender parental control review: Plans and pricing

Bitdefender no longer offers its parental control features as a standalone subscription. You’d have to get one of its four family plans. But note that its entire suite of parental control features is available with each of these four plans.

The Total Security Family plan starts at $79.99 for the first year and covers up to 25 devices across five family members. At this price, the cost boils down to around $16 per member per year, which is more affordable than many other parental control applications. Not to forget that, for the price, you also get 24/7 real-time antivirus protection for up to 25 devices, as well as a password manager.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

Next is the Premium Security Plan, which costs $99.99 for the first year and also comes with scam protection, AI-based scam protection, and a VPN with 4,000+ servers in 50+ countries. The Ultimate Security Family Plan and the Ultimate Security Plus Family Plan cost $119.99 and $199.99 for the first year, respectively.

The former comes with dark web monitoring and identity theft protection features such as an identity protection score and real-time breach notifications, while the latter also includes $2 million in identity theft insurance, three-bureau credit monitoring, and other bank, credit card, and investment alerts.

Bitdefender parental control review: Features

One of the standout Bitdefender parental control features is the ability to set screen-time schedules for your children, who would only be able to access their devices during the allowed time intervals.

Along with this, Bitdefender also offers several preset routines: Focus Time, Family Time, and Bedtime, which you can customize as per your child’s daily activity and schedule.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

There’s also a pretty handy internet time management feature, which allows you to control how much time your child spends on the internet during a day. A nice addition is the ability to reward extra screen time for your children for responsible online use.

In addition to internet scheduling, parents can also choose to cut off internet access directly on their child’s device using Bitdefender’s Stop Internet feature.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

Bitdefender also offers predefined age-appropriate filtering categories to help you filter out inappropriate content such as porn, betting, or online gaming for your children. As with screen time, you can also fine-tune these filters to better suit your child’s day-to-day use.

Apart from category-level filtering, parents can also allowlist or blocklist specific URLs individually, in case you want to go beyond the category selection.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

Parents can set up to five child profiles, each with the child’s name, photo, and birth date. Bitdefender automatically applies age-appropriate filtering as soon as the profile is created, which parents can then edit as per their needs.

Along with this, there’s also location tracking, which helps you know where your child is on an interactive map at all times.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

Lastly, there’s Safe Search, which lets you remove explicit and harmful results from search engines, as well as YouTube restrictions, which ensure your child only views age-appropriate videos on the platform.

However, note that content filtering and safe browsing require an active VPN connection to function, as per Bitdefender’s listing on the Google Play Store.

Bitdefender parental control review: Interface and in-use

Bitdefender parental control works across Android, Windows, iOS, and macOS. That said, Windows and Android get full, unrestricted enforcement of every feature, whereas macOS and iOS are noticeably more limited, largely due to Apple’s own platform restrictions.

For instance, iOS content filtering runs through Apple’s Screen Time and not Bitdefender’s own engine. Parents have to create a child account through Apple ID, then Bitdefender’s app hooks into Apple’s Screen Time restrictions rather than doing its own independent content filtering.

However, the setup is pretty simple. You just have to download the app on your child’s own device. Unlike other parental control applications, you can’t download the app on your child’s phone remotely – you’ll need physical access to the device to do so.

One thing worth noticing is that, after the 2025 overhaul, parental control is no longer configured within the Bitdefender Central mobile app, but from the Bitdefender Central web dashboard, which can still be accessed through the mobile application.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

Once you’re on this dashboard, day-to-day use is genuinely easy. Bitdefender’s Activity Dashboard is filled with several graphs and charts, which allow you to check your child’s phone activity at just a glance.

For example, there’s a bar chart showing their daily internet time over the past few days, as well as a pie chart showing their current day’s internet usage along with their remaining time. The dashboard also gives parents visibility into what’s actually being blocked and when.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

The Prevented Content Access panel is a running log of every link blocked on the child’s device over the past 7 or 30 days. This allows you to see whether your filtering settings are actually able to catch anything, or whether your child is repeatedly trying to search for restricted websites on their device.

Bitdefender parental control review: Support

Bitdefender offers one of the most extensive support options we’ve seen across the industry. For starters, there are hundreds of articles, blogs, and how-to explainers on its website, neatly categorized based on different products.

If that doesn’t solve your problem, you can contact Bitdefender support using 24/7 live chat, phone, or email. However, to do so, you’ll first have to go through a few selections, such as the exact help you need, the type of issue you’re facing, and the product you need help with.

The support section features various phone numbers for different regions. The email support requires you to enter your own email address along with the problem you’re facing and doesn’t hand out direct email addresses to the consumer.

Beyond all this, Bitdefender also has an active expert community where you can get answers and solutions from other users across the world. Overall, Bitdefender’s support infrastructure is pretty solid, and you’ll never be left wanting for answers.

Bitdefender parental control review: The competition

Bitdefender is billed as a complete security suite and not a standalone parental control app, which is why it does lack a few advanced, dedicated parental control features.

For instance, Parentaler offers social media monitoring, allowing you to view your child’s WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok accounts, and see what they’re posting or with whom they’re chatting.

There’s also text and call monitoring with Parentaler, allowing you to read your child’s incoming and outgoing texts, including deleted messages. We also like its keyword alert function, where you can get instant notifications if your child uses certain controversial words or slang in their conversations.

Another notable feature missing from Bitdefender is geofencing. While it allows you to check your child’s location, it doesn’t offer alerts based on allowed or restricted zones on a map.

If you’re looking for a more comprehensive all-in-one package, Aura is another strong option. It combines parental controls with identity protection, antivirus, VPN, and a password manager, making it more of a complete digital security solution than a standalone parental control app.

If you still need a standalone parental control app but need something more affordable, try Google Family Link, which is entirely free to use and offers comparable features such as screen-time management and content filtering.

Or, you could try FamilyTime, starting at just $2.41 per single device per month. In addition to screen-time scheduling and internet schedules, you can also block apps or games on a child’s device that you don’t approve of.

It also comes with an SOS panic button that your child can use during an emergency. It’s also a great choice for households with several children, thanks to its affordable family plans that can cover up to five devices.

Bitdefender parental control review: Final verdict

Bitdefender’s family packages are ideal for parents looking for all-round security protection for their children rather than a dedicated, comprehensive parental control app.

But there’s still lots to like. You get robust screen-time management and internet-time management features, along with predefined age-appropriate filtering categories and location tracking. That’s all in combination with an antivirus with real-time protection, a password manager, an unlimited VPN, and identity theft protection, depending on the plan you choose.

The pricing is pretty affordable too, with the monthly cost working out to around $1.33 per member on the entry-level plan. However, if you’re looking for more advanced features, such as social media monitoring, keyword alerts, or geofencing, options like Parentaler or mSpy are more suitable.

• We've also featured the best parental control software

If you’re looking for a comprehensive online security suite for your family that also includes parental controls, Bitdefender is one of the best options right now. It's a well-known security provider offering an award-winning antivirus program, along with a password manager, VPN, and identity theft protection.

But does its parental control offering, which is bundled with its Family plans and not available via a standalone subscription or even a dedicated app, compete against the best parental control apps?

Read on as we dissect the various parental control features it offers, what they cost, how easy the dashboard is to use every day, and what the top competitors offer.

Bitdefender parental control review: Plans and pricing

Bitdefender no longer offers its parental control features as a standalone subscription. You’d have to get one of its four family plans. But note that its entire suite of parental control features is available with each of these four plans.

The Total Security Family plan starts at $79.99 for the first year and covers up to 25 devices across five family members. At this price, the cost boils down to around $16 per member per year, which is more affordable than many other parental control applications. Not to forget that, for the price, you also get 24/7 real-time antivirus protection for up to 25 devices, as well as a password manager.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

Next is the Premium Security Plan, which costs $99.99 for the first year and also comes with scam protection, AI-based scam protection, and a VPN with 4,000+ servers in 50+ countries. The Ultimate Security Family Plan and the Ultimate Security Plus Family Plan cost $119.99 and $199.99 for the first year, respectively.

The former comes with dark web monitoring and identity theft protection features such as an identity protection score and real-time breach notifications, while the latter also includes $2 million in identity theft insurance, three-bureau credit monitoring, and other bank, credit card, and investment alerts.

Bitdefender parental control review: Features

One of the standout Bitdefender parental control features is the ability to set screen-time schedules for your children, who would only be able to access their devices during the allowed time intervals.

Along with this, Bitdefender also offers several preset routines: Focus Time, Family Time, and Bedtime, which you can customize as per your child’s daily activity and schedule.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

There’s also a pretty handy internet time management feature, which allows you to control how much time your child spends on the internet during a day. A nice addition is the ability to reward extra screen time for your children for responsible online use.

In addition to internet scheduling, parents can also choose to cut off internet access directly on their child’s device using Bitdefender’s Stop Internet feature.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

Bitdefender also offers predefined age-appropriate filtering categories to help you filter out inappropriate content such as porn, betting, or online gaming for your children. As with screen time, you can also fine-tune these filters to better suit your child’s day-to-day use.

Apart from category-level filtering, parents can also allowlist or blocklist specific URLs individually, in case you want to go beyond the category selection.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

Parents can set up to five child profiles, each with the child’s name, photo, and birth date. Bitdefender automatically applies age-appropriate filtering as soon as the profile is created, which parents can then edit as per their needs.

Along with this, there’s also location tracking, which helps you know where your child is on an interactive map at all times.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

Lastly, there’s Safe Search, which lets you remove explicit and harmful results from search engines, as well as YouTube restrictions, which ensure your child only views age-appropriate videos on the platform.

However, note that content filtering and safe browsing require an active VPN connection to function, as per Bitdefender’s listing on the Google Play Store.

Bitdefender parental control review: Interface and in-use

Bitdefender parental control works across Android, Windows, iOS, and macOS. That said, Windows and Android get full, unrestricted enforcement of every feature, whereas macOS and iOS are noticeably more limited, largely due to Apple’s own platform restrictions.

For instance, iOS content filtering runs through Apple’s Screen Time and not Bitdefender’s own engine. Parents have to create a child account through Apple ID, then Bitdefender’s app hooks into Apple’s Screen Time restrictions rather than doing its own independent content filtering.

However, the setup is pretty simple. You just have to download the app on your child’s own device. Unlike other parental control applications, you can’t download the app on your child’s phone remotely – you’ll need physical access to the device to do so.

One thing worth noticing is that, after the 2025 overhaul, parental control is no longer configured within the Bitdefender Central mobile app, but from the Bitdefender Central web dashboard, which can still be accessed through the mobile application.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

Once you’re on this dashboard, day-to-day use is genuinely easy. Bitdefender’s Activity Dashboard is filled with several graphs and charts, which allow you to check your child’s phone activity at just a glance.

For example, there’s a bar chart showing their daily internet time over the past few days, as well as a pie chart showing their current day’s internet usage along with their remaining time. The dashboard also gives parents visibility into what’s actually being blocked and when.

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

The Prevented Content Access panel is a running log of every link blocked on the child’s device over the past 7 or 30 days. This allows you to see whether your filtering settings are actually able to catch anything, or whether your child is repeatedly trying to search for restricted websites on their device.

Bitdefender parental control review: Support

Bitdefender offers one of the most extensive support options we’ve seen across the industry. For starters, there are hundreds of articles, blogs, and how-to explainers on its website, neatly categorized based on different products.

If that doesn’t solve your problem, you can contact Bitdefender support using 24/7 live chat, phone, or email. However, to do so, you’ll first have to go through a few selections, such as the exact help you need, the type of issue you’re facing, and the product you need help with.

The support section features various phone numbers for different regions. The email support requires you to enter your own email address along with the problem you’re facing and doesn’t hand out direct email addresses to the consumer.

Beyond all this, Bitdefender also has an active expert community where you can get answers and solutions from other users across the world. Overall, Bitdefender’s support infrastructure is pretty solid, and you’ll never be left wanting for answers.

Bitdefender parental control review: The competition

Bitdefender is billed as a complete security suite and not a standalone parental control app, which is why it does lack a few advanced, dedicated parental control features.

For instance, Parentaler offers social media monitoring, allowing you to view your child’s WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok accounts, and see what they’re posting or with whom they’re chatting.

There’s also text and call monitoring with Parentaler, allowing you to read your child’s incoming and outgoing texts, including deleted messages. We also like its keyword alert function, where you can get instant notifications if your child uses certain controversial words or slang in their conversations.

Another notable feature missing from Bitdefender is geofencing. While it allows you to check your child’s location, it doesn’t offer alerts based on allowed or restricted zones on a map.

If you’re looking for a more comprehensive all-in-one package, Aura is another strong option. It combines parental controls with identity protection, antivirus, VPN, and a password manager, making it more of a complete digital security solution than a standalone parental control app.

If you still need a standalone parental control app but need something more affordable, try Google Family Link, which is entirely free to use and offers comparable features such as screen-time management and content filtering.

Or, you could try FamilyTime, starting at just $2.41 per single device per month. In addition to screen-time scheduling and internet schedules, you can also block apps or games on a child’s device that you don’t approve of.

It also comes with an SOS panic button that your child can use during an emergency. It’s also a great choice for households with several children, thanks to its affordable family plans that can cover up to five devices.

Bitdefender parental control review: Final verdict

Bitdefender’s family packages are ideal for parents looking for all-round security protection for their children rather than a dedicated, comprehensive parental control app.

But there’s still lots to like. You get robust screen-time management and internet-time management features, along with predefined age-appropriate filtering categories and location tracking. That’s all in combination with an antivirus with real-time protection, a password manager, an unlimited VPN, and identity theft protection, depending on the plan you choose.

The pricing is pretty affordable too, with the monthly cost working out to around $1.33 per member on the entry-level plan. However, if you’re looking for more advanced features, such as social media monitoring, keyword alerts, or geofencing, options like Parentaler or mSpy are more suitable.

• We've also featured the best parental control software

Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: two-minute review

In August 2026, Tineco launched its most advanced floor washer to date — the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum. With a suction power of up to 25,000 Pa, it’s one of the most powerful wet-dry vacuums on the market, picking up fine materials like flour in a single pass and large materials like 8-12 leaves in less than a minute. With the lie flat design, you can reach further under furniture. Side edge cleaning doesn’t get better than this. You can clean along the front of the vacuum up to about one-half to one-eighth of an inch. With a battery that lasts 65-75 minutes on Auto mode and up to 100 minutes on Quiet mode, you can clean most houses in a single go.

Thanks to four cleaning modes, including a dirt detect mode, the Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum soared through our various cleaning tests from dry debris to wet messes and stubborn stains. A HydroBurst sprayer that can spray solution on tough stains is a great addition, but kind of unnecessary since the mopping power is exceptionally good. Not only does the wet-dry vacuum use hot water to clean (and continuously washes the brushroll as it mops), but the brushroll presses against the floor for a deeper clean and utilizes a streak-free scraper when the wet-dry vacuum goes in reverse. This helps to remove tough messes and prevent streaks or water stains.

(Image credit: Future)

The most notable upgrade, however, is the Smart Refresh Station. Tineco clearly took inspiration from robot vacuum bases and created a base that automatically refills the wet-dry vacuum with cleaning solution and clean water from a 5-liter water tank. This reduces the maintenance required, which is already impressive considering the base uses hot water and hot air to clean the brushroll. Maybe soon enough Tineco will surprise us with a base that removes dirty water and debris too.

Perhaps the biggest drawback to this wet-dry vacuum is the price. It’s one of the highest on the market. If you’re willing to do a little more maintenance, the Tineco Floor One S9 Artist Pro cleans just as well. Still, I can’t deny that the Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum might do better with larger debris and is a great investment for those with larger homes who want to clean their space on a single charge.

Keep reading for my full review of the Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum and see why it’s currently my favorite on the market.

Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: price and availability

• List price: $1,199 (about £880 / AU$1,660)
• Launch date: August 2026
• Availability: US

The Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum launched in the US in August 2026 at a list price of $1,199 (about £880 / AU$1,660), making it Tineco’s most expensive wet-dry vacuum and a premium-priced wet-dry vacuum on the wider market. It’s sold through Tineco, as well as third-party retailers like Amazon and Walmart.

The price is not surprising, considering it may be the first wet-dry vacuum to offer a base station that auto refills the unit with water and solution. I’ve been testing wet-dry vacuums for years, and though this isn’t new technology (in that we see it utilized with wet-dry robot vacuums), it is new for wet-dry vacuum bases. Add in the exceptional battery life, solution sprayer, and streak-free scraper technology, and this price makes sense.

Perhaps during the holidays, the Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro will be discounted. For now, you could go with the equally exceptional Tineco Floor One S9 Artist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum if you’re willing to refill the water tank by hand. It’s usually $849, but it’s discounted to $599, and I can say firsthand that it has a similar cleaning prowess as the S9 Scientist Pro.

• Value score: 4 out of 5

Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: specs

Max suction

25,000 Pa

Dimensions:

9.5 x 10.25 x 43 inches (the unit), 12 x 11.25 x 17 inches (base only)

Water tank volumes

0.85 L on the unit, 5L on the base (clean) / 0.72 L (dirty)

Filter

HEPA filter

Max runtime

Up to 100 mins

Recharge time

Approx 3-4 hours

Tools

Brush to clean dirty water tank

Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: design

• 180-degree lie-flat design for hard-to-reach places
• Four cleaning modes and a solution sprayer for tough stains
• Self-cleaning and clean water auto-refilling base

It took minutes to put the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum together. All I had to do was remove it from the packaging, slot the handle into the unit, and put it to charge on the base. A bottle of cleaning solution, extra brushroll, and a cleaning brush were provided in the packaging.

The first few things I noticed about the design were the thickness of the vacuum head and the sleek rectangular box design of the body. It looks almost robotic-like, and as I delved further into the design, it makes a lot more sense why the vacuum looks the way it does.

The Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum is 30lbs, so it’s not lightweight, but thanks to a self-propel system, it doesn’t feel heavy. I liked that vacuum head and the body are flexible and twist and turn easily. The wet-dry vacuum can also lie 180-degree flat making it easy to reach under beds and sofas to clean. This is possible because the dirty water tank is on the back of the vacuum body and the clean water tank is on the top of the vacuum head — hence why the vacuum head is so bulky.

(Image credit: Future)

A streak-free scraper under the vacuum head lifts when you push the vacuum forward and drops when you pull it backwards, so that it can scrape excess water and tough stains. This results in a completely clean floor free of water stains and streaks. A white headlight helps to illuminate dark spaces, while a comb and scraper near the brushroll prevents the tangling of hair and other debris.

A small LED screen is placed on the handle with three buttons. The power button turns the unit on and off, while the change mode button lets you move between the four cleaning modes — Auto, Max, Quiet, and Suction. The mode in use and battery life appear on the LED screen. A HydroBurst button causes cleaning solution to spray from the front of the vacuum head onto tough stains.

Tineco has done something a bit different with the Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum in terms of the Auto Mode (or the dirt detect system). When using Auto Mode, a light blue digital ring on the front of the unit’s body appears. Parts of the ring turn red to notify you how dirty the floor is. The more red the ring is, the dirtier the floor.

(Image credit: Future)

While this digital display is intuitive, there are seven status displays in total that appear on the front of the vacuum’s body and not all of them are easy to remember. The seven displays are Dirt Level, Battery, HydroBurst, Self-Cleaning, Drying Mode, Malfunction, and Water Filling Indicators. Each one has a different shape and a different color indicator. This is probably the biggest design drawback for me, as I think Tineco could’ve displayed such indicators in an easier-to-understand method. With the voice commands, you’ll understand what each indicator means, but if you turn off the voice commands, you might find yourself slightly confused.

There is also a self-cleaning button on the top of the handle. It’s to be pressed when the wet-dry vacuum is on the base. Three buttons appear on top of the vacuum body when it’s on the base. The 'Hot Water Refill' button refills the wet-dry vacuum with hot water, while the 'Silent' button results in a longer brushroll drying period. The brushroll dries in five minutes if you press the 'Flash' button.

(Image credit: Future)

The base may be large, but consider this: it charges the wet-dry vacuum, self-cleans it with hot water and air, and auto refills the wet-dry vacuum’s clean water tank with water and cleaning solution. At the back of the base there is a cleaning solution compartment that can hold an entire bottle of Tineco cleaning solution. A 5-liter tank of clean water is then placed on top the cleaning solution compartment, so that when the wet-dry vacuum is on the base, the base can move hot water into the wet-dry vacuum hands-free.

While the design outshines other wet-dry vacuums on the market, I see some room for slight improvements in the future.

• Design score: 4.5 out of 5

Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: performance

• Phenomenal cleaning capabilities with great edge cleaning
• Does a outstanding job suctioning liquids and large debris like leaves
• Front edge cleaning varies between ½ and 1/8th of an inch from the wall

From the get-go, I really liked how the handle of the the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum twisted and turned so easily. This especially helped when I laid the wet-dry vacuum flat to clean under my bed. I was able to reach around the legs of my bedframe easily.

The dirt detection system was fantastic, recognizing even the smallest amounts of dust. My home is very dusty because it’s historic, and I was glad to see that the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum suctioned up the dust rather than spreading it about or pushing it back into the air. The headlight illuminated dust and debris in dark spaces, though I would’ve preferred a green rather than a white headlight as green lights make dust and debris more visible. At least, I could trust the Auto Mode to 'see' hidden stains or dirt that I couldn’t see under the white headlight or with the naked eye.

(Image credit: Future)

The suctioning capabilities of the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum are beyond impressive, which isn’t surprising considering it has a suction power of 25,000 Pa. (Trust me, that’s massive.) I used the wet-dry vacuum to pick up a lot of dried leaves that had fallen around one of my plants. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wet-dry vacuum accomplish such a task in such a short time. Most struggle to suction one or two leaves, much less 10. Even the reverse cleaning was better than most wet-dry vacuums.

One of the first things I tested was the edge cleaning. There was no space between the wall and the side edge of the vacuum head. However, I noticed that there was about half an inch along the front edge of the vacuum head and the wall. That was a bit disappointing, until I realized that with certain things, like my really tall thresholds, the space shortened to about 1/8th of an inch. After some experimenting, I realized that if I approached the wall slowly with the front of the vacuum head, the front edge cleaning improved and I could clean closer to objects or walls.

Because the wet-dry vacuum’s head is so bulky, I couldn’t reach under cabinet overhangs. This has been my biggest gripe with wet-dry vacuums since they started putting the clean water tank on the top of the vacuum head because it means I have to go back through the house with a vacuum to clean those spaces.

The clean water tank lasted about 30 minutes (which is quite long), while the dirty water tank had to be emptied at about 40 minutes. These results are well above average.

While most people may use a robot vacuum or vacuum to clean daily, the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum is a really great wet-dry vacuum to have on hand for weekly deep home cleanings and stubborn stains.

Cleaning tests

I ran several cleaning tests to see how well the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum Cleaner cleans on Auto mode and was impressed with the results. I sprinkled flour, coffee, and crunchy oats on my laminate flooring, and spilled a variety of liquids like water, soy sauce, and barbeque sauce. I also place an egg on the ground and sprayed some chocolate sauce and siracha sauce and let them both dry slightly.

The Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum Cleaner picked up all the fine and large materials in a single pass, though some flour got stuck on the wheels when I reversed over the flour. The Suction mode did a fantastic job suctioning up the water. I used the Auto mode for the barbecue and soy sauces just to ensure the floor wasn’t sticky afterwards. It cleaned both sauces in a single go without any remaining residue.

FutureFuture

While the wet-dry vacuum picked up the slightly dry siracha sauce in a single pass, it took about four passes to pick up the driest and thickest parts of chocolate sauce on auto mode. The thinner areas of the chocolate sauce only took a single pass.

I test a lot of wet-dry vacuums throughout the year, and Tineco consistently beats every other brand in cleaning capabilities. The Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum Cleaner didn’t disappoint, and proves that this wet-dry vacuum cleans the most consistently and effectively (and with less effort!) compared to others on the market.

FutureFutureFutureMaintenance

The Tineco Floor One Station Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum stands out among all wet-dry vacuums because of its base which is outfitted with a 5-liter water tank and a solution bay (that can hold a single solution bottle). The base automatically refills the wet-dry vacuum’s clean water tank in less than 30 seconds – and it’s pretty amazing to watch.

After each cleaning session, I placed the wet-dry vacuum on the base and ran the self-cleaning system which uses hot water to clean the brushroll. This hot water process is quite effective as the brushroll comes out super clean. I only found a very small amount of dust under the vacuum head when I removed the brushroll — far less than I have found with other wet-dry vacuums that I’ve tested.

FutureFutureFuture

The base dries the brushroll and filter with hot air that’s 230 degrees Fahrenheit. Flash dry takes five minutes to dry the brushroll, while silent dry results in a quiet (40 dB sound rating) drying process. I wish I could say that the brushroll was completely dry when using either of these settings, but there was a very slight amount of dampness. On the flash dry setting, the brushroll was 95% dry, while the silent dry mode made the brushroll about 98% dry.

The only thing the base can’t do is empty the dirty water tank – so you have to do it by hand. A brush is provided by Tineco to remove debris. The debris catcher design could be better, but it catches a decent amount.

• Performance score: 4 out of 5

Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro: battery life

The battery life of the Tineco Floor One Station Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum is more than adequate for most homes. I was able to clean my 1,600-square-foot home in 30 minutes on Auto mode, and still have 50% of the battery life left.

Overall, the battery lasted between 65-73 minutes on Auto mode, which is in-line with Tineco’s predictions that the battery, on Auto mode, can last up to 75 minutes. Remember on Auto mode, the vacuum automatically increases the suction and cleaning power depending on how dirty the floors are. It could use more power and thus more battery life if your floors are especially dirty.

Battery score: 5 out of 5

Should you buy the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro?

Attribute

Notes

Score

Value for money

This wet-dry vacuum is a luxury buy, but it offers some high-tech features and an auto refill base that is one of the first of its kind on the market.

4/5

Design

A sleek unit that lies flat and is outfitted with an intuitive scraper. The new indicator system – lights and shapes on the vacuum’s body – notes dirty floors, low battery, or other features/settings.

4/5

Performance

Exceeds all expectations when it comes to vacuuming and mopping hard floors. Side and front edge cleaning are solid.

4.5/5

Battery

With 65-100 minutes of battery life, this wet-dry vacuum can clean small to large homes on a single charge.

5/5

Buy it if

You want something that can pick up tough stains and dirt and dust in hard-to-reach spaces

The dirt detect technology automatically increases the suction and mopping power when the vacuum recognizes a dirty floor. If need be, there is a HydroBurst function that sprays solution on sticky or tough stains to break them down more easily. Plus, with the vacuum’s ability to lie flat and a 25,000 Pa suction, you can reach far under your bedframe or sofas to clean dust, dirt, and small and large debris.

You have a medium-to-large house

When using the Auto Dirt Detect function, this vacuum can last between 65-75 minutes. Quiet mode results in up to 100 minutes of clean time. No matter which mode you use, you can likely clean your medium or large home on a single charge.

You like doing very little maintenance

You don’t have to fill this vacuum with clean water or cleaning solution because the base does that for you. It even cleans the brushroll with hot water and dries the filter and brushroll with hot air.

Don't buy it if

Your home has a lot of carpets

Some wet-dry vacuums can clean carpets or rugs, but not this one. It’s a better choice for those with hardwood, laminate, stone, or tiled floors.

You’re limited on space.

This wet-dry vacuum has one of the larger bases that I’ve seen, so it may not be ideal for those who are limited in space or don’t find the bulkiness conducive to their dwelling aesthetic. There are plenty of wet-dry vacuums that are better suited for those who live in an apartment or small home.

You’re on a budget

This is one of the most expensive wet-dry vacuums on the market, and while it does a fantastic job, you can find plenty others — even from Tineco — that clean just as well for half the cost.

How I tested the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro

Testing the Tineco Floor One Station Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum occurred over multiple weeks during a Texas summer in my 106-year-old house that produces a lot of dust and has multiple high traffic areas with dirt and debris.

My 1,600-square-foot house is a mix of laminate and historic hardwood flooring, making it a great testing space. I ran a variety of cleaning tests with various liquids, barbeque sauce, eggs, flour, coffee, and dried chocolate sauce, making sure to utilize different cleaning modes and taking notes on things like edge cleaning, battery life, and maintenance requirements. For more details, see how we test, review, and rate products at TechRadar.

First reviewed September 2026

Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: two-minute review

In August 2026, Tineco launched its most advanced floor washer to date — the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum. With a suction power of up to 25,000 Pa, it’s one of the most powerful wet-dry vacuums on the market, picking up fine materials like flour in a single pass and large materials like 8-12 leaves in less than a minute. With the lie flat design, you can reach further under furniture. Side edge cleaning doesn’t get better than this. You can clean along the front of the vacuum up to about one-half to one-eighth of an inch. With a battery that lasts 65-75 minutes on Auto mode and up to 100 minutes on Quiet mode, you can clean most houses in a single go.

Thanks to four cleaning modes, including a dirt detect mode, the Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum soared through our various cleaning tests from dry debris to wet messes and stubborn stains. A HydroBurst sprayer that can spray solution on tough stains is a great addition, but kind of unnecessary since the mopping power is exceptionally good. Not only does the wet-dry vacuum use hot water to clean (and continuously washes the brushroll as it mops), but the brushroll presses against the floor for a deeper clean and utilizes a streak-free scraper when the wet-dry vacuum goes in reverse. This helps to remove tough messes and prevent streaks or water stains.

(Image credit: Future)

The most notable upgrade, however, is the Smart Refresh Station. Tineco clearly took inspiration from robot vacuum bases and created a base that automatically refills the wet-dry vacuum with cleaning solution and clean water from a 5-liter water tank. This reduces the maintenance required, which is already impressive considering the base uses hot water and hot air to clean the brushroll. Maybe soon enough Tineco will surprise us with a base that removes dirty water and debris too.

Perhaps the biggest drawback to this wet-dry vacuum is the price. It’s one of the highest on the market. If you’re willing to do a little more maintenance, the Tineco Floor One S9 Artist Pro cleans just as well. Still, I can’t deny that the Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum might do better with larger debris and is a great investment for those with larger homes who want to clean their space on a single charge.

Keep reading for my full review of the Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum and see why it’s currently my favorite on the market.

Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: price and availability

• List price: $1,199 (about £880 / AU$1,660)
• Launch date: August 2026
• Availability: US

The Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum launched in the US in August 2026 at a list price of $1,199 (about £880 / AU$1,660), making it Tineco’s most expensive wet-dry vacuum and a premium-priced wet-dry vacuum on the wider market. It’s sold through Tineco, as well as third-party retailers like Amazon and Walmart.

The price is not surprising, considering it may be the first wet-dry vacuum to offer a base station that auto refills the unit with water and solution. I’ve been testing wet-dry vacuums for years, and though this isn’t new technology (in that we see it utilized with wet-dry robot vacuums), it is new for wet-dry vacuum bases. Add in the exceptional battery life, solution sprayer, and streak-free scraper technology, and this price makes sense.

Perhaps during the holidays, the Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro will be discounted. For now, you could go with the equally exceptional Tineco Floor One S9 Artist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum if you’re willing to refill the water tank by hand. It’s usually $849, but it’s discounted to $599, and I can say firsthand that it has a similar cleaning prowess as the S9 Scientist Pro.

• Value score: 4 out of 5

Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: specs

Max suction

25,000 Pa

Dimensions:

9.5 x 10.25 x 43 inches (the unit), 12 x 11.25 x 17 inches (base only)

Water tank volumes

0.85 L on the unit, 5L on the base (clean) / 0.72 L (dirty)

Filter

HEPA filter

Max runtime

Up to 100 mins

Recharge time

Approx 3-4 hours

Tools

Brush to clean dirty water tank

Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: design

• 180-degree lie-flat design for hard-to-reach places
• Four cleaning modes and a solution sprayer for tough stains
• Self-cleaning and clean water auto-refilling base

It took minutes to put the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum together. All I had to do was remove it from the packaging, slot the handle into the unit, and put it to charge on the base. A bottle of cleaning solution, extra brushroll, and a cleaning brush were provided in the packaging.

The first few things I noticed about the design were the thickness of the vacuum head and the sleek rectangular box design of the body. It looks almost robotic-like, and as I delved further into the design, it makes a lot more sense why the vacuum looks the way it does.

The Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum is 30lbs, so it’s not lightweight, but thanks to a self-propel system, it doesn’t feel heavy. I liked that vacuum head and the body are flexible and twist and turn easily. The wet-dry vacuum can also lie 180-degree flat making it easy to reach under beds and sofas to clean. This is possible because the dirty water tank is on the back of the vacuum body and the clean water tank is on the top of the vacuum head — hence why the vacuum head is so bulky.

(Image credit: Future)

A streak-free scraper under the vacuum head lifts when you push the vacuum forward and drops when you pull it backwards, so that it can scrape excess water and tough stains. This results in a completely clean floor free of water stains and streaks. A white headlight helps to illuminate dark spaces, while a comb and scraper near the brushroll prevents the tangling of hair and other debris.

A small LED screen is placed on the handle with three buttons. The power button turns the unit on and off, while the change mode button lets you move between the four cleaning modes — Auto, Max, Quiet, and Suction. The mode in use and battery life appear on the LED screen. A HydroBurst button causes cleaning solution to spray from the front of the vacuum head onto tough stains.

Tineco has done something a bit different with the Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum in terms of the Auto Mode (or the dirt detect system). When using Auto Mode, a light blue digital ring on the front of the unit’s body appears. Parts of the ring turn red to notify you how dirty the floor is. The more red the ring is, the dirtier the floor.

(Image credit: Future)

While this digital display is intuitive, there are seven status displays in total that appear on the front of the vacuum’s body and not all of them are easy to remember. The seven displays are Dirt Level, Battery, HydroBurst, Self-Cleaning, Drying Mode, Malfunction, and Water Filling Indicators. Each one has a different shape and a different color indicator. This is probably the biggest design drawback for me, as I think Tineco could’ve displayed such indicators in an easier-to-understand method. With the voice commands, you’ll understand what each indicator means, but if you turn off the voice commands, you might find yourself slightly confused.

There is also a self-cleaning button on the top of the handle. It’s to be pressed when the wet-dry vacuum is on the base. Three buttons appear on top of the vacuum body when it’s on the base. The 'Hot Water Refill' button refills the wet-dry vacuum with hot water, while the 'Silent' button results in a longer brushroll drying period. The brushroll dries in five minutes if you press the 'Flash' button.

(Image credit: Future)

The base may be large, but consider this: it charges the wet-dry vacuum, self-cleans it with hot water and air, and auto refills the wet-dry vacuum’s clean water tank with water and cleaning solution. At the back of the base there is a cleaning solution compartment that can hold an entire bottle of Tineco cleaning solution. A 5-liter tank of clean water is then placed on top the cleaning solution compartment, so that when the wet-dry vacuum is on the base, the base can move hot water into the wet-dry vacuum hands-free.

While the design outshines other wet-dry vacuums on the market, I see some room for slight improvements in the future.

• Design score: 4.5 out of 5

Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: performance

• Phenomenal cleaning capabilities with great edge cleaning
• Does a outstanding job suctioning liquids and large debris like leaves
• Front edge cleaning varies between ½ and 1/8th of an inch from the wall

From the get-go, I really liked how the handle of the the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum twisted and turned so easily. This especially helped when I laid the wet-dry vacuum flat to clean under my bed. I was able to reach around the legs of my bedframe easily.

The dirt detection system was fantastic, recognizing even the smallest amounts of dust. My home is very dusty because it’s historic, and I was glad to see that the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum suctioned up the dust rather than spreading it about or pushing it back into the air. The headlight illuminated dust and debris in dark spaces, though I would’ve preferred a green rather than a white headlight as green lights make dust and debris more visible. At least, I could trust the Auto Mode to 'see' hidden stains or dirt that I couldn’t see under the white headlight or with the naked eye.

(Image credit: Future)

The suctioning capabilities of the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum are beyond impressive, which isn’t surprising considering it has a suction power of 25,000 Pa. (Trust me, that’s massive.) I used the wet-dry vacuum to pick up a lot of dried leaves that had fallen around one of my plants. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wet-dry vacuum accomplish such a task in such a short time. Most struggle to suction one or two leaves, much less 10. Even the reverse cleaning was better than most wet-dry vacuums.

One of the first things I tested was the edge cleaning. There was no space between the wall and the side edge of the vacuum head. However, I noticed that there was about half an inch along the front edge of the vacuum head and the wall. That was a bit disappointing, until I realized that with certain things, like my really tall thresholds, the space shortened to about 1/8th of an inch. After some experimenting, I realized that if I approached the wall slowly with the front of the vacuum head, the front edge cleaning improved and I could clean closer to objects or walls.

Because the wet-dry vacuum’s head is so bulky, I couldn’t reach under cabinet overhangs. This has been my biggest gripe with wet-dry vacuums since they started putting the clean water tank on the top of the vacuum head because it means I have to go back through the house with a vacuum to clean those spaces.

The clean water tank lasted about 30 minutes (which is quite long), while the dirty water tank had to be emptied at about 40 minutes. These results are well above average.

While most people may use a robot vacuum or vacuum to clean daily, the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum is a really great wet-dry vacuum to have on hand for weekly deep home cleanings and stubborn stains.

Cleaning tests

I ran several cleaning tests to see how well the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum Cleaner cleans on Auto mode and was impressed with the results. I sprinkled flour, coffee, and crunchy oats on my laminate flooring, and spilled a variety of liquids like water, soy sauce, and barbeque sauce. I also place an egg on the ground and sprayed some chocolate sauce and siracha sauce and let them both dry slightly.

The Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum Cleaner picked up all the fine and large materials in a single pass, though some flour got stuck on the wheels when I reversed over the flour. The Suction mode did a fantastic job suctioning up the water. I used the Auto mode for the barbecue and soy sauces just to ensure the floor wasn’t sticky afterwards. It cleaned both sauces in a single go without any remaining residue.

FutureFuture

While the wet-dry vacuum picked up the slightly dry siracha sauce in a single pass, it took about four passes to pick up the driest and thickest parts of chocolate sauce on auto mode. The thinner areas of the chocolate sauce only took a single pass.

I test a lot of wet-dry vacuums throughout the year, and Tineco consistently beats every other brand in cleaning capabilities. The Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum Cleaner didn’t disappoint, and proves that this wet-dry vacuum cleans the most consistently and effectively (and with less effort!) compared to others on the market.

FutureFutureFutureMaintenance

The Tineco Floor One Station Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum stands out among all wet-dry vacuums because of its base which is outfitted with a 5-liter water tank and a solution bay (that can hold a single solution bottle). The base automatically refills the wet-dry vacuum’s clean water tank in less than 30 seconds – and it’s pretty amazing to watch.

After each cleaning session, I placed the wet-dry vacuum on the base and ran the self-cleaning system which uses hot water to clean the brushroll. This hot water process is quite effective as the brushroll comes out super clean. I only found a very small amount of dust under the vacuum head when I removed the brushroll — far less than I have found with other wet-dry vacuums that I’ve tested.

FutureFutureFuture

The base dries the brushroll and filter with hot air that’s 230 degrees Fahrenheit. Flash dry takes five minutes to dry the brushroll, while silent dry results in a quiet (40 dB sound rating) drying process. I wish I could say that the brushroll was completely dry when using either of these settings, but there was a very slight amount of dampness. On the flash dry setting, the brushroll was 95% dry, while the silent dry mode made the brushroll about 98% dry.

The only thing the base can’t do is empty the dirty water tank – so you have to do it by hand. A brush is provided by Tineco to remove debris. The debris catcher design could be better, but it catches a decent amount.

• Performance score: 4 out of 5

Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro: battery life

The battery life of the Tineco Floor One Station Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum is more than adequate for most homes. I was able to clean my 1,600-square-foot home in 30 minutes on Auto mode, and still have 50% of the battery life left.

Overall, the battery lasted between 65-73 minutes on Auto mode, which is in-line with Tineco’s predictions that the battery, on Auto mode, can last up to 75 minutes. Remember on Auto mode, the vacuum automatically increases the suction and cleaning power depending on how dirty the floors are. It could use more power and thus more battery life if your floors are especially dirty.

Battery score: 5 out of 5

Should you buy the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro?

Attribute

Notes

Score

Value for money

This wet-dry vacuum is a luxury buy, but it offers some high-tech features and an auto refill base that is one of the first of its kind on the market.

4/5

Design

A sleek unit that lies flat and is outfitted with an intuitive scraper. The new indicator system – lights and shapes on the vacuum’s body – notes dirty floors, low battery, or other features/settings.

4/5

Performance

Exceeds all expectations when it comes to vacuuming and mopping hard floors. Side and front edge cleaning are solid.

4.5/5

Battery

With 65-100 minutes of battery life, this wet-dry vacuum can clean small to large homes on a single charge.

5/5

Buy it if

You want something that can pick up tough stains and dirt and dust in hard-to-reach spaces

The dirt detect technology automatically increases the suction and mopping power when the vacuum recognizes a dirty floor. If need be, there is a HydroBurst function that sprays solution on sticky or tough stains to break them down more easily. Plus, with the vacuum’s ability to lie flat and a 25,000 Pa suction, you can reach far under your bedframe or sofas to clean dust, dirt, and small and large debris.

You have a medium-to-large house

When using the Auto Dirt Detect function, this vacuum can last between 65-75 minutes. Quiet mode results in up to 100 minutes of clean time. No matter which mode you use, you can likely clean your medium or large home on a single charge.

You like doing very little maintenance

You don’t have to fill this vacuum with clean water or cleaning solution because the base does that for you. It even cleans the brushroll with hot water and dries the filter and brushroll with hot air.

Don't buy it if

Your home has a lot of carpets

Some wet-dry vacuums can clean carpets or rugs, but not this one. It’s a better choice for those with hardwood, laminate, stone, or tiled floors.

You’re limited on space.

This wet-dry vacuum has one of the larger bases that I’ve seen, so it may not be ideal for those who are limited in space or don’t find the bulkiness conducive to their dwelling aesthetic. There are plenty of wet-dry vacuums that are better suited for those who live in an apartment or small home.

You’re on a budget

This is one of the most expensive wet-dry vacuums on the market, and while it does a fantastic job, you can find plenty others — even from Tineco — that clean just as well for half the cost.

How I tested the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro

Testing the Tineco Floor One Station Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum occurred over multiple weeks during a Texas summer in my 106-year-old house that produces a lot of dust and has multiple high traffic areas with dirt and debris.

My 1,600-square-foot house is a mix of laminate and historic hardwood flooring, making it a great testing space. I ran a variety of cleaning tests with various liquids, barbeque sauce, eggs, flour, coffee, and dried chocolate sauce, making sure to utilize different cleaning modes and taking notes on things like edge cleaning, battery life, and maintenance requirements. For more details, see how we test, review, and rate products at TechRadar.

First reviewed September 2026

Parental control applications help you keep tabs on and manage screen time for your children effectively. However, the market is flooded with thousands of applications, and picking the best parental control app for your specific needs can be quite a challenge.

This is why we’ve dug deep and conducted a comprehensive review of Parentaler – one of the most popular child monitoring applications today.

Along with extensive social media monitoring, the application allows parents to monitor their child’s texts across various platforms, track their location using GPS, and filter the kind of content they can view online.

But is Parentaler the right choice for your? Read on as we analyze its best features, pricing, and user experience, while also comparing it with the best in the industry.

Parentaler review: Plans and pricing

We’re not a fan of how Parentaler’s pricing isn’t prominently displayed on its website. You’ll have to answer a series of questions before you can find out how much it costs.

We’ve done some digging to find out that its monthly plan costs $42.69, whereas the quarterly plan comes at $24.40 per month. However, its most affordable plan is the annual package, costing $10.17 per month, billed annually at $121.99.

(Image credit: Parentaler)

The good thing is that there aren’t any plans to choose from, other than the subscription length. All the three packages offer the same set of features, which is everything Parentaler has to offer. This is the kind of simplicity we also lauded in HeyPolo – Surfshark VPN’s own parental control app.

What we also didn’t quite like about Parentaler is that it doesn’t offer a free trial or even a demo, which means you’ll have to buy a plan to see how it works for you. That said, the company does provide a 14-day refund policy, so if the app doesn’t meet your expectations, you can claim a full refund.

Parentaler review: Features

Parentaler offers three main categories of functions with its child monitoring app: text and call monitoring, location monitoring, and content filtering. Let’s dive into each of them.

Parentaler allows you to monitor various platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Telegram, Viber, Kik, and TikTok. Parents can also view messages their child sends and receives, calls made, links shared, and any media they might have sent or received.

Besides this, Parentaler also lets you keep an eye on the kind of content your children are sharing on a particular social media platform, say Instagram or TikTok, and this includes keeping you aware of their posts, stories, and more.

Its SMS and text monitoring is also pretty robust and works with iMessage on iPhone, allowing you to see both incoming and outgoing texts, including deleted messages. Of course, you can also monitor call logs on both platforms, including a list of contacts.

(Image credit: Parentaler)

Text monitoring also covers all major social media platforms. One caveat worth noting is that instant-message tracking, such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber, and Skype, along with Gmail and Wi-Fi network monitoring only works on Android if it’s rooted. That’s a bit of a bummer, in our opinion.

Next up is its GPS tracking technology, which allows you to check your child’s location right from the app’s dashboard on your device. You can even view detailed information such as the address, timestamps, and coordinates.

(Image credit: Parentaler)

Parents can also mark allowed and restricted zones on a map directly from the Parentaler app and get instant alerts if their child enters or leaves these geofenced areas. You can also set screen-time limits with Parentaler, designating time limits for certain apps such as social media or games.

On the flip side, you can also schedule downtime, during which your child can only use certain apps. For instance, you can set up downtime during school hours where only learning apps might be accessible to your kids.

Along with this, there’s a dedicated Focus Mode on Android, which can pause distracting apps at preset times. You can also view detailed time reports to see where your child is spending most of their time.

Parentaler also offers handy content-filtering options, allowing you to block content relating to specific topics such as adult websites, social media, or any other objectionable content you don’t want your child to access.

(Image credit: Parentaler)

The app allows you to view your child’s detailed browser history, helping you understand the kind of content they’re viewing online.

Additionally, parents can set up various keyword alerts, which might include commonly used slang or objectionable words. If your child ends up using them in their conversations, you’ll be able to view the alerts on the application’s dashboard.

Parentaler review: Interface and in-use

Parentaler works for Android, iPhone, and iPad, all of which come with a central dashboard accessible from any device or browser.

Parentaler’s compatibility policy page says that you don’t need physical access to the iPhone device to install the application if you already have the iCloud credentials and two-factor authentication hasn’t been activated.

However, if two-factor authentication is enabled or iCloud backup is disabled, you’ll need physical access to install the app on the target device. With Android, you’ll compulsorily need physical access for app installation.

Once the application is up and running, you’re greeted with an intuitive dashboard that lays out everything from call logs, social media monitoring, text messages, web history, and your child’s location on a single page. You can access various settings from the same dashboard and fine-tune them according to your requirements.

Overall, the platform is indeed very easy to use, with no major quirks or learning curve. That is, once you’ve successfully gotten past the installation hurdle.

Parentaler review: Support

Parentaler’s support options were honestly disappointing. We could only locate a “Contact Us” form on its website, where you need to enter your name, email, question, and message, and then wait for a response from Parentaler’s team.

Noticeably, the company’s marketing copy says that a 24/7 live chat option is available in various languages. However, we couldn’t locate any live chat button while navigating through its website.

It might be possible that you get a live chat option after you’ve purchased a plan, but the lack of proper support before committing to a purchase could be a major drawback for some parents. There’s no phone or dedicated email support either.

Parentaler review: The competition

While Parentaler is a solid parental monitoring and parental control app, there are a few features it lacks.

For instance, mSpy offers features like an anti-installation alert, where if your child uninstalls the parental monitoring app, you’ll get an instant notification. mSpy also offers remote camera and microphone access, allowing you to micromanage your child’s phone usage.

That means mSpy is great for anyone who needs a higher degree of control over what their child uses their devices for. It’s also one of the few parental control apps to offer extensive keylogging features, allowing you to see every word typed on your child’s device.

Another major shortcoming with Parentaler is that it doesn’t offer family plans. Even its annual plan, which costs around $121.99 per year, covers only a single device. This means that if you have more than one child to cover, you’ll have to buy separate subscriptions, which can quickly become expensive.

In comparison, Bitdefender offers value-for-money family plans, which start at just $79.99 for the first year, covering five accounts and 25 devices. Along with parental control features such as content filtering, internet time limits, GPS location tracking, and activity reports, you also get extra online protection tools, such as an award-winning antivirus, password manager, VPN, and decent identity protection features.

Parentaler review: Final verdict

Overall, we found Parentaler to be a decent parental control app for monitoring your children. It covers all the major bases when it comes to features, along with comprehensive text and call monitoring across various social media apps. You can also view extensive call logs and contact details on your child’s phone.

Its GPS tracking is also pretty well done, allowing you to set predefined geofencing limits. There are robust content-filtering options, so parents can keep a check on what their child views online.

That said, Parentaler doesn’t offer any family plans. While its annual plan is very reasonable at $121.99, this can quickly become expensive for households with multiple children.

It also misses out on certain features, such as remote camera or microphone access. Additionally, it doesn’t offer great support options, with only a Contact Us form available on its website. If you’re looking for more affordable or multi-device plans, Bitdefender and Mobicip can be good alternatives.

• We've also featured the best parental control software

Parental control applications help you keep tabs on and manage screen time for your children effectively. However, the market is flooded with thousands of applications, and picking the best parental control app for your specific needs can be quite a challenge.

This is why we’ve dug deep and conducted a comprehensive review of Parentaler – one of the most popular child monitoring applications today.

Along with extensive social media monitoring, the application allows parents to monitor their child’s texts across various platforms, track their location using GPS, and filter the kind of content they can view online.

But is Parentaler the right choice for your? Read on as we analyze its best features, pricing, and user experience, while also comparing it with the best in the industry.

Parentaler review: Plans and pricing

We’re not a fan of how Parentaler’s pricing isn’t prominently displayed on its website. You’ll have to answer a series of questions before you can find out how much it costs.

We’ve done some digging to find out that its monthly plan costs $42.69, whereas the quarterly plan comes at $24.40 per month. However, its most affordable plan is the annual package, costing $10.17 per month, billed annually at $121.99.

(Image credit: Parentaler)

The good thing is that there aren’t any plans to choose from, other than the subscription length. All the three packages offer the same set of features, which is everything Parentaler has to offer. This is the kind of simplicity we also lauded in HeyPolo – Surfshark VPN’s own parental control app.

What we also didn’t quite like about Parentaler is that it doesn’t offer a free trial or even a demo, which means you’ll have to buy a plan to see how it works for you. That said, the company does provide a 14-day refund policy, so if the app doesn’t meet your expectations, you can claim a full refund.

Parentaler review: Features

Parentaler offers three main categories of functions with its child monitoring app: text and call monitoring, location monitoring, and content filtering. Let’s dive into each of them.

Parentaler allows you to monitor various platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Telegram, Viber, Kik, and TikTok. Parents can also view messages their child sends and receives, calls made, links shared, and any media they might have sent or received.

Besides this, Parentaler also lets you keep an eye on the kind of content your children are sharing on a particular social media platform, say Instagram or TikTok, and this includes keeping you aware of their posts, stories, and more.

Its SMS and text monitoring is also pretty robust and works with iMessage on iPhone, allowing you to see both incoming and outgoing texts, including deleted messages. Of course, you can also monitor call logs on both platforms, including a list of contacts.

(Image credit: Parentaler)

Text monitoring also covers all major social media platforms. One caveat worth noting is that instant-message tracking, such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber, and Skype, along with Gmail and Wi-Fi network monitoring only works on Android if it’s rooted. That’s a bit of a bummer, in our opinion.

Next up is its GPS tracking technology, which allows you to check your child’s location right from the app’s dashboard on your device. You can even view detailed information such as the address, timestamps, and coordinates.

(Image credit: Parentaler)

Parents can also mark allowed and restricted zones on a map directly from the Parentaler app and get instant alerts if their child enters or leaves these geofenced areas. You can also set screen-time limits with Parentaler, designating time limits for certain apps such as social media or games.

On the flip side, you can also schedule downtime, during which your child can only use certain apps. For instance, you can set up downtime during school hours where only learning apps might be accessible to your kids.

Along with this, there’s a dedicated Focus Mode on Android, which can pause distracting apps at preset times. You can also view detailed time reports to see where your child is spending most of their time.

Parentaler also offers handy content-filtering options, allowing you to block content relating to specific topics such as adult websites, social media, or any other objectionable content you don’t want your child to access.

(Image credit: Parentaler)

The app allows you to view your child’s detailed browser history, helping you understand the kind of content they’re viewing online.

Additionally, parents can set up various keyword alerts, which might include commonly used slang or objectionable words. If your child ends up using them in their conversations, you’ll be able to view the alerts on the application’s dashboard.

Parentaler review: Interface and in-use

Parentaler works for Android, iPhone, and iPad, all of which come with a central dashboard accessible from any device or browser.

Parentaler’s compatibility policy page says that you don’t need physical access to the iPhone device to install the application if you already have the iCloud credentials and two-factor authentication hasn’t been activated.

However, if two-factor authentication is enabled or iCloud backup is disabled, you’ll need physical access to install the app on the target device. With Android, you’ll compulsorily need physical access for app installation.

Once the application is up and running, you’re greeted with an intuitive dashboard that lays out everything from call logs, social media monitoring, text messages, web history, and your child’s location on a single page. You can access various settings from the same dashboard and fine-tune them according to your requirements.

Overall, the platform is indeed very easy to use, with no major quirks or learning curve. That is, once you’ve successfully gotten past the installation hurdle.

Parentaler review: Support

Parentaler’s support options were honestly disappointing. We could only locate a “Contact Us” form on its website, where you need to enter your name, email, question, and message, and then wait for a response from Parentaler’s team.

Noticeably, the company’s marketing copy says that a 24/7 live chat option is available in various languages. However, we couldn’t locate any live chat button while navigating through its website.

It might be possible that you get a live chat option after you’ve purchased a plan, but the lack of proper support before committing to a purchase could be a major drawback for some parents. There’s no phone or dedicated email support either.

Parentaler review: The competition

While Parentaler is a solid parental monitoring and parental control app, there are a few features it lacks.

For instance, mSpy offers features like an anti-installation alert, where if your child uninstalls the parental monitoring app, you’ll get an instant notification. mSpy also offers remote camera and microphone access, allowing you to micromanage your child’s phone usage.

That means mSpy is great for anyone who needs a higher degree of control over what their child uses their devices for. It’s also one of the few parental control apps to offer extensive keylogging features, allowing you to see every word typed on your child’s device.

Another major shortcoming with Parentaler is that it doesn’t offer family plans. Even its annual plan, which costs around $121.99 per year, covers only a single device. This means that if you have more than one child to cover, you’ll have to buy separate subscriptions, which can quickly become expensive.

In comparison, Bitdefender offers value-for-money family plans, which start at just $79.99 for the first year, covering five accounts and 25 devices. Along with parental control features such as content filtering, internet time limits, GPS location tracking, and activity reports, you also get extra online protection tools, such as an award-winning antivirus, password manager, VPN, and decent identity protection features.

Parentaler review: Final verdict

Overall, we found Parentaler to be a decent parental control app for monitoring your children. It covers all the major bases when it comes to features, along with comprehensive text and call monitoring across various social media apps. You can also view extensive call logs and contact details on your child’s phone.

Its GPS tracking is also pretty well done, allowing you to set predefined geofencing limits. There are robust content-filtering options, so parents can keep a check on what their child views online.

That said, Parentaler doesn’t offer any family plans. While its annual plan is very reasonable at $121.99, this can quickly become expensive for households with multiple children.

It also misses out on certain features, such as remote camera or microphone access. Additionally, it doesn’t offer great support options, with only a Contact Us form available on its website. If you’re looking for more affordable or multi-device plans, Bitdefender and Mobicip can be good alternatives.

• We've also featured the best parental control software

Companies that make the best parental control apps need to make a philosophical choice when producing software: do you want to assume trust and give children some leeway about their behavior, or is it better to try and protect kids by tracking everything?

The developers behind mSpy have clearly opted for the latter approach, with a slate of features that monitors keystrokes, locations, chats, calls, pictures and more.

This parental control method won’t work for everyone, especially for parents who want to maintain trust in their familial relationships. But if you are keen to take a closer look at your kids’ online behavior, is this the app for you? Read on to find out.

mSpy review: Plans and pricing

If you’re a parent who wants to figure out how much mSpy actually costs, good luck: the app’s website makes it quite difficult to actually find this information.

The most affordable option is mSpy Premium. At the time of writing, it costs $11.67 per month on Android and iOS if you pay for an annual package. The 3-month plan costs $28/month, whereas the 1-month plan costs $48.99/month. Notably, there’s no feature variation between the three options – just the difference in subscription period.

(Image credit: mSpy)

That price gives you support for one child device and a broad array of features, although some of those only work on Android and some require users to root or jailbreak phones to get them working.

Then there’s the mSpy Extreme plan, meant for Android devices, costing $23.99 if you opt for the annual plan. The 3-month plan costs $45 per month, whereas the 6-month plan costs $33.99 per month.

This is the highest level of subscription available with mSpy and unlocks several features otherwise not available in the Premium plan, including remote camera access to the target device, ambient recording through the microphone, a screen recorder, and GPS location tracking.

However, one of the biggest advantages of Extreme is that you won’t need to root the target Android device to get the most out of it.

(Image credit: mSpy)

That said, we noticed several internal inconsistencies within mSpy’s support documentation that hint at the possibility that users might still need to root their devices to access advanced features such as keylogging, geofencing, and social media monitoring.

Even mSpy’s own page on its Extreme product offers paid support specifically for rooting the device.

Lastly, the Family Kit offers support for three devices and delivers all of the features available in mSpy Premium. However, the exact price isn’t actually listed on mSpy’s website, at the time of writing.

The pricing available on mSpy feels deliberately obscured, then, and those prices are also extremely high. Other parental apps don’t offer the keylogging and sheer detail of mSpy, but they offer lots of conventional parental access features at a fraction of the price. Plus, it’s worth noting that mSpy doesn’t offer any free trial, only a demo of its platform.

mSpy review: Features

So, what can you actually do with mSpy? Unsurprisingly, many of the app’s features revolve around information gleaned from keylogging.

Parents can see text messages, images sent and received over SMS, and Facebook Messenger activity – alongside chats from apps like WhatsApp, Snapchat, Kik, Telegram, Tinder, Viber, Instagram, iMessage and more.

You’ll be able to get information about who has texted your children and who they’re texting, including contact numbers and names. Unsurprisingly, mSpy’s logging and reporting is always comprehensive – access the parent app and you’ll be confronted with a fearsome amount of information.

Parents can rely on mSpy’s keylogger to see every stroke that’s typed on the phone – so you can check deleted messages, URLs and more. It’s also possible to get alerts if your children type specific words.

(Image credit: mSpy)

And because much of this functionality runs in the background, hidden on the target device, your children may not even know they’re being monitored – or, at least, they won’t find it so intrusive. In case your child does end up finding the app and deleting it, mSpy will send you a notification on your dashboard so that you can take appropriate action.

On the same dashboard, you can also see your child’s device’s battery levels. So, if they say they couldn’t text or call you because of low battery, you’d know right away if they're telling you the truth.

The app allows parents to monitor call logs and emails, including attachments and the ability to see emails they’ve sent and received. Parents can see browser histories, see data about how often sites are visited, filter based on categories and check their bookmarks – and even see what Wi-Fi networks children are using.

(Image credit: mSpy)

mSpy has also introduced AI chatbot monitoring, which keeps an eye on two of the most popular apps: ChatGPT and Gemini. Gone are the days when children used search engines like Google to enquire about their curiosities. A large chunk of this ‘search activity’ has now moved to AI chatbots.

However, since most parental control applications didn’t (still doesn't) include chatbot monitoring, it created a blind spot for parents. However, mSpy has this covered as well. It's, in fact, the only child monitoring app we know that offers this feature.

That’s not all: mSpy allows parents to block apps, see what apps are installed, and view photos and videos stored on the device. A screen-recording feature is also available so parents can get visual snapshots of child phone activity, even with disappearing message features that are now popular on many apps.

(Image credit: mSpy)

Parents can view their children’s current location using mSpy’s GPS-based functionality, and also use geofencing to get alerts when children enter or leave places where you want them to visit – or want them to avoid.

And if you pay for the Extreme version, you can also access their camera and microphone, record calls, and anonymously view Instagram.

(Image credit: mSpy)

It has a comprehensive set of keylogger-based features, but bear in mind that mSpy’s Android app is far more powerful than the iOS app. If you want to monitor an Apple device, you’ll need to do some jailbreaking to access mSpy’s whole range of features.

Rooting and jailbreaking is particularly concerning because it can, potentially, void your device warranty, prevent access to other apps and make devices more vulnerable to cybercrime.

However, mSpy's screen time management is basic, without the detail or granularity found in many other apps, and there’s no category-based website blocking or filtering – this is another area where the functionality is underwhelming. Other apps also offer more in terms of location-based features, including the option to track children’s driving habits.

mSpy review: Interface and in-use

Unsurprisingly, mSpy’s interface provides a comprehensive and in-depth look at your children’s device behavior. You can see everything, from message content and phone call logs to web histories and even the events in their calendar.

There are separate sections for browsing photos and videos, setting up keyword alerts, delving into the keylogger and viewing what apps your children have installed. The interface is clean, well-organized and easy to use, with straightforward menus and good organization. Once you’re set up, it’s easy to get started.

It’s a great interface if you want to delve into the data, but other apps make things a little easier to see summaries of daily and weekly activity – mSpy keeps things granular and specific rather than providing top-level reports.

(Image credit: mSpy)

There are three ways you could install mSpy on an iOS device. The first is iCloud Sync, which works on all iOS versions, for which you’ll need your child’s iCloud login details. However, if there’s no iCloud backup activated or two-step verification enabled, you’ll need physical access to the target device.

Secondly, there’s Wi-Fi Sync (iOS 13-16), where you’ll need to physically plug the target device into a Mac or PC for the initial sync. After that, updates will happen automatically when the phone is on the same Wi-Fi network as the computer.

Lastly, there’s the much-feared jailbroken method, where you’ll need a jailbroken device to install mSpy.

However, an important caveat worth noting is that non-jailbroken installation methods largely restrict which features work on the device and are limited to WhatsApp, SMS, call logs, browser history, calendar events, notes, Wi-Fi network history, and new app installation alerts.

Noticeably, you won’t be able to access features like keylogging, one of mSpy’s strongest selling points, screen recording, or camera and microphone access. In addition, tracking platforms like Telegram, Instagram, and Snapchat also isn’t possible with non-jailbroken iOS installations.

Keep in mind that even if you opt for non-jailbroken methods such as iCloud Sync or Wi-Fi Sync, you’ll still need physical access to the target device for a few minutes.

On Android, you’ll need to disable Google Play Protection to install the app and use most of its features, and parents need to root the phone to get access to every feature.

We’re pleased to see that mSpy provides installation guides for both platforms, but you get far more information if you pay extra for the Ultimate plan – a frustrating choice that feels particularly cynical.

There’s also an option to pay even more to get remote assistance with installation. But no matter what route you choose, mSpy setup is likely to be complicated, frustrating and potentially expensive.

mSpy review: Support

We found mSpy’s support options to be adequate for a parental monitoring application. First, there's a handy chatbot named Sparkle, which you can access by clicking the small chatbot icon at the bottom right of your screen and asking any questions you might have.

Additionally, there are several toll-free numbers listed across the website for various regions. Lastly, there’s also email support for non-urgent queries.

On top of this, mSpy also has a decent FAQ section on the website that answers several questions, although some answers can be a little underwhelming and might not really solve the issue at hand.

There’s also a dedicated mAssistant add-on, which you can opt for when subscribing to mSpy. It’ll come in handy if you face any issues installing mSpy on the target device. However, it's priced at a whopping $53.99, which is more than the cost of the core subscription itself.

mSpy review: The competition

mSpy faces tough competition from parental control apps that concentrate on conventional features rather than surveillance and keylogging.

Mobicip, for instance, is far more affordable than mSpy, with prices starting at just $2.99 per month, allowing you to manage up to five devices. Plus, Mobicip also offers a free basic plan for managing two devices, along with a 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, none of which are offered by mSpy.

One of Mobicip's most notable features is its ability to manage your children’s access to specific categories of websites. Mobicip offers more than 20 categories, including adult websites, cryptocurrencies, and so on.

If you want a more consensual approach towards parental monitoring, you can opt for an app like Bark. It doesn’t include features such as a keylogger, screen recorder, or camera or microphone access, and doesn’t even work stealthily in the background, but it adopts a more transparent approach.

You get comprehensive screen-time and app and website monitoring capabilities, including pre-built content categories to filter. There’s also real-time location tracking and geofencing.

Bark also sells its own hardware, called the Bark Phone – a tamper-proof locked-down device for children – and Bark Home – a router-connected box that extends screen-time monitoring and content filtering to every device on the home network.

mSpy review: Final verdict

If you’re not concerned with ethical or moral questions around keylogging, then there’s no doubt that mSpy does a great job here – on Android, at least, it can monitor virtually everything that your child does using their device.

It comes with one of the best keyloggers we’ve seen across parental control applications and covers a wide range of platforms, such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Tinder, and Discord. It even includes AI chatbot monitoring for ChatGPT and Gemini.

mSpy runs invisibly on the child’s device and comes with features like screen recording, camera access, and microphone access.

But for all of its keylogging prowess, it falls short in many of the more conventional areas of parental control such as screen-time management and content filtering and is also pretty expensive when compared to peers.

If you need something more affordable, Mobicip can be a good choice. Or, if you want to adopt a more transparent approach with your children while monitoring them, Bark can be an excellent choice.

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• PlayStation cuts ties with Kojima Productions for upcoming Physint game
• Hideo Kojima states PlayStation tried to cancel Physint, so he decided to look for a new partnership
• Xbox and Kojima Productions now have a partnership for Physint and future projects, including OD

Sony dented its reputation in the gaming industry with its announcement that it would be ending the production of physical game discs — and the trend of controversial decisions is still going strong.

PlayStation has cut ties with Kojima Productions for its upcoming game, Physint, and Xbox has swooped in as a replacement in a new partnership with Hideo Kojima's video game and film production studio.

In a statement on X, PlayStation says: "After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to step away from collaborating with Kojima Productions on its project, Physint. We continue to have great admiration for Hideo Kojima's vision for the game."

From that statement alone, it's not exactly clear why the split has occurred. However, Hideo Kojima took to X to weigh in on the matter himself, stating: "We unexpectedly received notice from PlayStation Studios that they would cancel the Physint project," which is PlayStation in form, at least based on its cancellations of multiple projects from its first-party studios.

"Physint is an important project both to me personally and to Kojima Productions. Determined to keep the project alive, we have spent the last three months searching tirelessly for a new partner. We found Xbox, a partner with whom we share a common vision for the future, and we have decided to team up with them once again."

Unsurprisingly, Xbox is more than happy to partner with the critically acclaimed developer, as its CEO, Asha Sharma, says: "We're honored that Kojima-san has chosen Xbox to work with Kojima Productions on Physint. His ambition to challenge conventions reflects the kind of creativity we want to support at Xbox."

Sony's Physint cancellation attempt hints at bigger concerns

(Image credit: Xbox / Kojima Productions)

Fortunately, Physint is in fine condition, with development still underway, as Kojima confirmed, calling it Kojima Productions' "genre-defining action-espionage title", which many have lauded as the next Metal Gear-style franchise since Kojima left Konami in 2015.

However, the bigger question remains: is the split between the companies solely due to the PlayStation's Physint cancellation attempt? Considering Kojima's stance against a digital-only future, which Sony has greenlit for games, it's hard to imagine that this didn't play a role in the partnership's collapse.

Kojima highlighted his sadness about Sony's decision to end the production of physical PlayStation game discs, considering the loss of ownership, which he described as a company suddenly stating, "You can turn on the tap for a certain amount of money each month."

That points towards fears of subscription services and how media will only be accessible by using them, and easy access to favorite movies and games will cease to exist.

It's not hard to imagine Kojima getting cold feet about launching Physint on PlayStation as an exclusive, without any physical game discs, as it directly highlights his fears of an all-digital future. It may not have been the direct factor behind the separation, but the timing (a few months after Sony's disc-axing announcement) certainly doesn't appear to be coincidental either.

Whether the blowback from this new decision will push Sony to reverse course is to be seen, but if Kojima's pushback on an all-digital future has anything to do with the disbanding, it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see other developers eventually do the same.

Apple’s iPhone Duo still has a display crease, but clever hardware and software make it harder to notice. Here’s what buyers should know.

The post The iPhone Duo Has a Crease: Apple’s Clever Fix Makes It Harder to See appeared first on TechRepublic.

• Huntress warns of phishing campaign abusing Adobe branding with browser‑in‑the‑browser trick
• Victims lured into fake update pages, unknowingly installing rogue ScreenConnect clients
• Attackers gain persistent remote access; defenders urged to restrict RMM installs and monitor IoCs

Security researchers Huntress have warned of an ongoing phishing campaign that abuses Adobe’s brand while deploying clever browser-in-the-browser (BitB) techniques to trick the victims.

The goal is to deliver rogue ScreenConnect clients which would grant the attackers persistent access to target devices.

In its report, Huntress says it could not find the lure itself and thus could not report what the scam looks like. However, it saw the victims clicking on a link in the email and then being redirected to a typosquatted domain https[://]adoube[.]vu that spoofs an Adobe landing page.

We heard you like browsers…

This is where we get to the scam’s unique twist. Usually, phishing lures would simply redirect victims to a malicious website which could be identified simply by looking at the address bar. If the domain differs from the legitimate one, the scam falls apart. To work around that problem, scammers came with a solution called “browser in the browser”.

Using either HTML, CSS, or JavaScript, the crooks would create an entire fake browser window, including the address bar, URL, padlock icon, and more, inside the actual webpage content itself. Therefore, if the victim isn’t all too careful, they might look at the fake address bar, see a legitimate URL, and believe they are visiting the correct website.

In this fake browser window, the fraudsters display a blurred .PDF document. Overlaid is a message saying the documents are “secured” and created with “the latest version of Adobe.” The only way to read them, the message continues, is to “update or download Adobe PDF Reader.” Expectedly, there is a big “View Files” button just under the notification, leading to a different, equally fake BitB page, showing the download progress. In the background, something gets downloaded.

Victims might think they’re getting a PDF reader, while in reality they’re getting a rogue version of ScreenConnect.

Poisoned ScreenConnect instances

On its own, ScreenConnect is not malware, or dangerous in any other way. It is a legitimate remote access and support software, similar to TeamViewer, AnyDesk, or Remote Desktop, allowing IT professionals remotely connect to and control computers and other devices. These variants, however, are tainted to enable threat actors to obtain persistent remote access to their targets’ endpoints, Huntress explained.

“The first initial remote client installed was the rogue ScreenConnect Client configured to communicate with instance-uxh86b-relay[.]screenconnect[.]com. The attacker used a legitimate ScreenConnect Trial Relay domain to further avoid detection,” the researchers said. “This initial malicious ScreenConnect Client used the native Windows command shell and curl to retrieve and install a second malicious ScreenConnect Client configured to communicate with attacker-controlled IP. Both clients established service-based persistence for continued remote access.”

After installation, the attackers used the second ScreenConnect session to run HideCursor.exe, an executable, as the name suggests, that helps the attackers hide their mouse activity.

Huntress’ researchers don’t know what the endgame is, since the threat actors were spotted and shut down in this stage of the attack. The researchers also did not share the details about the target, such as the size of the organization, or the industry it operates in. Therefore, it is impossible to even speculate on the nature of the attack and if the threat actors aimed to install ransomware.

Still, the researchers stressed the importance of training employees to “treat unexpected software update prompts and file-viewing pages with caution”, and to make sure they know how to verify downloads through trusted channels. IT teams should also restrict who can install remote-management tools, maintain an approved inventory of RMM software, and alert on new or unapproved ScreenConnect clients, unusual relay connections, and executables launched from the user Downloads folders.

Finally, businesses should monitor for Indicators of Compromise (IoC) listed on this page.