Child-monitoring apps under scrutiny as experts urge resilience-based approach

The report, published Tuesday, examines the booming market for parental-control software, which was worth an estimated $1.57 billion in 2025 and is projected to nearly triple by 2034. Apps such as Bark Technologies, the current leader, scanned 11 billion messages to or from 7.5 million children in the U.S. in 2025, and its free school program covers about one in 10 American kids.

Pam Wisniewski, a principal research scientist at the International Computer Science Institute affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley, told the publication that her own experiences online as a teenager shaped her decade-long research into family safety. She described the internet as a 'double-edged sword.' Her work has focused on how to protect children without sacrificing trust.

The concerns are rooted in real dangers. In the University of Michigan's 2025 National Poll on Children's Health, parents' top three worries were social media, screen time, and internet safety. Nearly half of American teenagers say they have been bullied or harassed online, according to Pew Research Center. In the first half of 2025, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received more than 23,000 reports of financial sextortion. Chatbots have also emerged as a new threat, with OpenAI facing lawsuits over allegations that its products coached children toward suicide.

However, the MIT Technology Review investigation, which analyzed more than 600,000 reviews of leading apps and interviewed children, parents, and adults who were monitored as minors, found that aggressive surveillance can backfire. Some young people reported false alarms that led to punishment, premature disclosure of secrets, breakdowns of trust, and anxiety that continued into adulthood. While some apps have helped prevent suicide attempts, intercept predators, and avert school shootings, others include features like screen mirroring and camera access, raising additional privacy concerns.

Researchers and advocates suggest alternative approaches. One is a 'duty of care' model that forces social media companies to build safety guardrails into their platforms, an approach advancing in the UK, Australia, and several U.S. states. Another is shifting focus from watching children to building their resilience, helping them recognize risk and turn to trusted adults. Wisniewski is among those developing tools that train resilience rather than aggressively monitor behavior. As she put it, if safety is defined as the absence of risk, the solution is keeping children off platforms entirely; but if safety is defined as the ability to protect oneself, the solutions look very different.