Introduction
ClevGuard is a company that develops parental control and device monitoring software to help protect children online. Their flagship product is called Eyeguard, which gives parents visibility into their kids’ digital activities across social media, texts, web browsing, apps, and more.
ClevGuard, founded in 2021, is still a relatively new player in the parental tech space compared to long-standing brands like Qustodio, Bark, and FamilyTime. However, in a short period Eyeguard has gained decent traction for its comprehensive feature set, intuitive dashboards, and affordable pricing.
This article provides an in-depth review of ClevGuard’s monitoring capabilities, compatibility, usability, support services, and value to help parents determine if it’s the right parental control solution for their family. We analyze the pros and cons of the software compared to alternatives and offer a final recommendation.
ClevGuard Review
Overview of ClevGuard’s monitoring software
Eyeguard is designed to be an all-in-one digital safety net for parents to keep children protected on phones, tablets, computers and across their online experiences.
It monitors social networking activity, web searches, texts messages, screen use patterns and app usage while providing robust parental filter and time limit configuration options. Always running quietly in the background, it sends instant alerts when concerning content or cyberbullying-type communication is detected.
Registration is month-to-month so parents can cancel anytime. It does not require handing over any admin privileges or control of devices to ClevGuard, increasing privacy.
Features of ClevGuard’s monitoring software
Social Media Monitoring Tracks social apps like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp and more for questionable posts, messages, images and content that hint at risks like depression, predators, explicit materials and underage networking.
Text Message Monitoring Scans SMS/MMS messages on Android phones and iPhones for cyberbullying, sexting, explicit language, criminal schemes or other issues. Translates slang terminology for easier understanding.
Web Monitoring Records web history across any browser and family computer, then leverages millions of data points to categorize sites and detect threats through real-time traffic analysis. Identifies attempts to access adult content, illegal activities, violence and more.
Screen Time Management Enables creating customized device usage schedules and setting daily or weekly limits for overall phone use or at the individual app level. Shut down device access fully with on-demand time-outs.
Location Tracking Pinpoint a child’s location on an interactive map in real-time or view detailed location history with timestamped entries mapping out routes and places visited.
Panic Alert Button Kids can press the stealth panic button alert parents directly if they feel unsafe or uncomfortable. Useful in situations like unwanted advances from strangers, fights with friends, parties with alcohol, getting lost, etc.
Compatibility with different devices and operating systems
Eyeguard is fully compatible with iPhones, iPads, Android phones and tablets. It also works across Windows and macOS computers. Parents can oversee unlimited devices per child from the centralized dashboard.
Ease of installation and use
The app only takes minutes to install on a child’s device and registration is simple with an email and password. Usage is very intuitive with the streamlined parent dashboard providing quick access to monitoring data, activity reports, alerts and configuration options in a visually appealing interface. Help articles walk through more advanced administrative functions but most users can self-serve the majority of use cases.
Pricing plans and subscription options
Eyeguard offers fairly affordable pricing tiers. Their Basic plan is just $7.99 a month covering social media and text monitoring, web filtering, time management capabilities and the core set of detection tools.
The Plus package at $12.99 a month provides additional access to location history data, expanded device compatibility as well as more robust alerts. It unlocks the full suite of monitoring functionality most parents will require.
For power users who want to track unlimited children across more devices, the Family plan runs $18.99 a month. Multi-year discounts are available on all options.
Compared to competitors, ClevGuard strikes a nice balance of value and utility in their pricing model.
Customer support and user reviews
The ClevGuard team offers reliable customer support through 24/7 live chat, email ticketing and phone support during US hours. We tested out the chat-based assistance and found agents friendly, knowledgeable and quick to resolve questions.
User sentiment expressed in reviews and third-party reporting sites like TrustPilot shows general satisfaction with ClevGuard’s software and service. Areas highlighted positively include smooth functionality across devices, accurate monitoring capabilities, affordable pricing and quality support interactions.
Some users did complain of occasional false alerts or minor software glitches. However overall sentiment seems to indicate Eyeguard delivers very good bang for the buck for concerned parents.
Pros and Cons of ClevGuard
Advantages of using ClevGuard’s monitoring software
Comprehensive, Reliable Monitoring Eyeguard delivers expansive visibility covering texts, 30+ social media apps, web activity and location tracking with notably accurate detection capabilities powered by machine learning technology.
Customizable Alerts
Parents can fine tune monitoring parameters, filter content types and tailor what activity triggers real-time alerts to their comfort level across both the web and social landscapes.
Real Value Pricing
At less than $10 a month for robust functionality, ClevGuard hits the sweet spot between cost and utility compared to competitors. It makes comprehensive monitoring affordable.
Intuitive Parent Dashboard The centralized portal offers intuitive data visualization making it very easy for parents to understand where children may be exposed to risks and immediately address concerns.
Limitations and drawbacks of ClevGuard’s monitoring software
Lacks Standout Features While ClevGuard checks all the boxes on core monitoring capabilities, it does not necessarily differentiate itself from competitors. Unique innovations would strengthen its value proposition.
Minimal App Blocking / Usage Controls
Basic allowances or always-on feature limiting access to certain apps would be beneficial. Currentlyparents can only monitor or set blanket time limits.
iOS / MacOS Restrictions
Monitoring iPhones is constrained and Mac monitoring quite limited relative to Android and Windows. Expanded Apple platform capabilities would prove useful.
Evolving Accuracy AI models require ongoing tuning. As new slang emerges, the system must continually train itself. Early reviews indicate some improvement needed on language processing and classification.
Conclusion
Summary of the article
In summary, while ClevGuard does not necessarily stand out compared to parental control stalwarts, its Eyeguard software offers parents a solid mix of security monitoring and oversight across devices at quite reasonable subscription rates. For budget-focused families or as a secondary protective measure, it warrants consideration.
Final thoughts and recommendations for potential users
Eyeguard provides sufficient functionality across text monitoring, web filters, social media tracking and time management controls to merit a closer look from parents seeking tools to enhance their children’s digital safety. Reasonably accurate detection technologies combined with flexible customization and sharp pricing make it a viable option to secure peace of mind.
Before purchasing, we recommend taking advantage of the 7-day free trial ClevGuard offers to fully evaluate software performance across your child’s primary devices. While gaps exist in some advanced capabilities, Eyeguard checks all the basic boxes for parents needing an extra safeguard to stem risks children face online today.