Aura parental controls review: Features, pricing, and ease of use testing

In the digital world we’re all living in, the kids are constantly exposed to multiple online threats. Whether you’re concerned about cyberbullying or online predators, there is one clear question. If you’re like me, you must be wondering: “How can you protect your kids online while not restricting their internet access entirely?”

This is where Aura parental control comes in handy. Thanks to its feature-rich nature, you can easily monitor, manage, and protect your kids' online activities. Plus, its numerous features and advanced identity protection make it a well-rounded solution for parents.

That’s why I decided to test this tool with the help of my Cybernews research team. So, keep reading my Aura parental control review to learn more about it. I’ll also focus on the pros and cons, pricing plans, ease of use, and compare it with some of the leading parental control apps on the market.

Quick overview of Aura parental control app

🥇 Overall rank	#1st out of 7 parental control apps
🌐 Web & app filtering	Yes
🕓 Screen time limits	Yes
📍 Location tracking	No
🖥️ Supported platforms	iOS, Android, Windows, macOS
📲 Number of devices	Up to 50
✂️ Free plan	No
⌛ Trial period	14 days
💵 Price	Starts at $8.33

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What are Aura parental controls and how do they work?

Aura parental controls refer to a suite of features that help parents manage their kids’ online activities and protect them from numerous online threats. More precisely, these features let you set limits on screen time, block certain websites and apps, and receive alerts about potential online risks.

Speaking of features, you’ll be able to benefit from content filtering and screen time management across numerous devices, like smartphones, tablets, and desktop devices. On top of this, you can monitor various platforms, including streaming, gaming, and social media apps.

You can even set time limits on all of these platforms, ensuring that not only your kids engage with content that’s appropriate for their age, but also don’t spend hours scrolling through social media or other websites.

Key features of the Aura parental control app

Aura’s parental control app provides diverse tools for managing your child’s online activities. Below is the breakdown of its key features:

Content filtering

Aura allows parents to customize their children’s online experience by restricting or blocking access to specific websites, apps, and content. It has customizable Circle-powered filters that prevent children from interacting with violent and harmful content, depending on the setting parents select. For example, you can restrict your child’s access to all dating apps. You can also activate customized filters for age-appropriate content based on the child’s age group.

There are more than 25 website categories for filtering, from gaming platforms to shopping websites. You can restrict access to apps or websites like Discord, YouTube, or Disney+. The app provides real-time monitoring and alerts, so you will be informed if your child attempts to access restricted content.

During our testing, filtering ran smoothly — I couldn’t access a single platform or content blocked from the parent’s device.

Social media and app management

Aura lets you set limits on your child’s app and social media usage, blocking certain apps and tracking how much time your kid spends on a platform. That said, it doesn’t have dedicated services for specific apps, except for YouTube.

Another thing worth mentioning is Aura’s Safe Gaming feature, powered by the award-winning ProtectMe software. This feature is especially useful if your child is an avid gamer. Safe Gaming covers over 200 games (including global hits like Apex and Fortnite) and Discord. It also monitors voice and text chats to inform adults of potential cyberbullying, scams, and other threats.

Email and text monitoring

For now, Aura doesn’t offer email and text monitoring. This is one of the app’s weakest spots — especially since most of its competitors, like Bark and Qustodio, take these things into account.

Screen time management

Unlike email monitoring, screen time management is one of Aura’s strongest assets. Aura lets you set daily time limits for separate apps, monitor your child’s time online, and even restrict internet access on the device by clicking “Pause the Internet.”

The best thing about Aura’s screen time management is its flexibility. You can adjust the app to meet your kids’ needs. For example, you can set a 2-hour YouTube limit for one child while limiting time on gaming apps to 1 hour for others.

I also like how Aura encourages parents to award their kids bonus time on the Internet through the app — a potential reward for chores or responsible online behavior.

Location tracking and geo-fencing

Unfortunately, Aura doesn’t offer location tracking just yet. While the app provides other great features like identity theft protection, the absence of geo-fencing and tracking limits its effectiveness.

Activity reports

You can access activity reports for each child through the app’s main dashboard. These reports detail time spent online, in different apps, online history, and more.

Safe Gaming also sends parents weekly reports on cyber-bullying threats. Unfortunately, there is no option to receive them more regularly, which makes it harder to monitor the situation in real-time.

While there is room for improvement, the Aura parental control app proved to be an excellent pick for monitoring and limiting your child’s online presence. Its high customizability and flexible time management solutions are among the stand-out features.

Aura plans & pricing

Aura has two monthly subscriptions that include parental controls. These plans are the Kids and Family one. So, let’s see what they offer.

	Kids	Family
Price	$10.00/month	$32.00/month
Games and app blocking	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Daily time limits	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Web filtering	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Location monitoring	❌ No	❌ No
Pause internet access	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
AI-powered alerts	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Social monitoring	❌ No	❌ No
Custom routines	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
App insights	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Games and apps time limits	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Calls and messages monitoring	❌ No	❌ No
Identity theft protection and insurance	❌ No	✅ Yes
VPN	❌ No	✅ Yes
Password managers	❌ No	✅ Yes
Search site removal	❌ No	✅ Yes
Unlimited devices	✅ Yes	✅ Yes

Aside from the price, the main difference between these two plans are the features included. The Kids plan starts at $10/month and offers basic parental control features, like content filtering and website blocking.

On the other hand, the Family plan is a bit pricer, standing at $32/month and offers more advanced features, including identity theft protection and insurance, VPN, password managers, and search site removal.

Still, you don’t have to rush and make a decision. Thanks to the 14-day free trial and 60-day money-back guarantee, you can first test both plans and see which one fits your needs better.

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Installation & setup (5-minute how-to)

I found the Aura parental control app setup process easy. You can also set it up on iOS, Android, and Windows devices. Both parents and kids download the same app, but the process is still straightforward. So, let me guide you through the installation and setup process:

1. First of all, I downloaded the Aura app. You can do this both from App Store and Google Play, depending on the device you’re using.
2. Then, I created my parent account by entering details like my email and password.
   
3. The next step I completed was adding my kid. To do this, I needed to enter their name and date of birth.
4. As soon as I completed that part, I linked the devices. I really liked that I could do this either by opening a link or scanning a code with my child’s device.
5. Then, I just allowed Aura to work as a VPN with a single click, so I could track and limit my kids’ internet access.
6. That was it. I was immediately able to customize my kids’ online activities.

Ease of use: mobile vs desktop

Based on my tests, I can say that Aura is a user-friendly parental control app. If you’re like me, and like simplicity, then you shouldn’t have any issues. I found the report finding, blocking websites, and managing other security aspects a breeze. However, I noticed some minor differences between the mobile and desktop experiences.

Mobile & tablets

Aura has a user-friendly interface and a minimalistic design. This allows you to set it up within a few clicks (as I explained above), and you’ll gain complete control over the app. I also enjoyed its intuitive and straightforward navigation, which allowed me to focus on key features like time limits and content filtering instead of overwhelming me with technical information.

Desktop

However, I was surprised a bit by the desktop app, because despite the simple setup and effortless navigation, I ran into limited controls. Most of the features I tried were mobile-limited. Aura only allowed me to turn on the Safe Gaming feature that runs in the background and sends alerts after detecting potentially suspicious activity.

Customer support & resources

Although Aura’s customer support proved decent during our testing, there is room for improvement.

The 24/7 live chat is mostly run by a bot but is still useful for basic inquiries. It answered most of my questions satisfactorily and redirected me to additional resources (which include phone support).

Meanwhile, the email option is one of the weakest and pretty much had me going in circles, redirecting me to phone support instead of providing an answer to my questions.

Aura’s online help center contains extensive FAQs, but the absence of a public forum and detailed product manuals can be frustrating for users seeking more comprehensive support.

Overall, while its customer support was effective in dealing with common issues, Aura would benefit from more approachable live options.

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Aura parental control app vs top alternatives

When comparing Aura to other parental control apps, weighing their benefits and limitations is important.

	Bark	Norton Family	Qustodio
Starting price	$5/month	$4.17/month (billed annually)	$4.58/month (billed annually)
Number of people covered	Unlimited	Up to 15 kids	1-unlimited
Screen time management	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Content filtering	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Conversation monitoring	✅ Yes (social media, texts, and email)	❌ No	✅ Yes (social media, texts, and email)
Location tracking	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes

While Aura is a strong all-rounder, consider one of the options above if you’re looking for a cheaper solution or prioritize geo-fencing. Check out our article on Aura vs. Bark to see how these apps compare.

Video review

If you would like a different take on Aura parental controls, check out our video review.

Is Aura worth it in 2025?

Yes, Aura parental control is worth using in 2025 because of its simple navigation and robust protection. Although it lacks features like location tracking, it has a broad, customizable security package, which includes identity theft protection, a VPN, and a password manager.

For families seeking more than basic parental controls, Aura is worth the investment. However, it may be overkill for those looking to monitor their children's online activity.

If you’re unsure whether the app is worth the investment, consider starting with a 2-week free trial. There’s also a money-back guarantee.

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