http://www.bark.us/

This company's trying to steal Mark Zuckerberg's award for most intrusive spyware.

They literally advertise themselves as being able to read every text your child sends.

Creepy

"Well, that's what some people want, so it'd be stupid not to take their money, right?"

This sort of invasion of privacy makes me want to "debark" that company.

Burn it to the ground.

I mean hell at least they're honest about it

If my parents did this to me, I would kill my phone. Or myself.

how to make your kids never talk to you again

I hate how privacy is thought of as a privilege children have to earn.

If you wouldn’t listen to everything you kids says to their friends in real life, you shouldn’t online

Privacy is not a privilege, it’s a right. Kids should never have to earn it or have it taken away, it should just always apply

Parents who spy on their children inevitably break their trust, making them less likely to talk their parents when they have actual problems

And if you use these services, not only do you violate your own child’s right to privacy, you violate the right to privacy of anyone they talk to!

Tl;dr: don’t spy on your kids. It’s just not worth it

@10Dev Good point but it's worse than the lack of privacy.
The smartphone has become an extension of our minds.
And if parents use such technology they're hampering the development of becoming an mind of your own. Kids that have to live with this crap will develop trust issues for the rest of their lives. Who can kids trust when even their parents don't trust them and shield them from every bad expirience. How do they become functioning adults who can manage their lives of their own. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Sorry but it's obvious non of you are parents. A child that is unsupervised online is in constant danger from all sorts of predators. Yes it's a big intrusion and has to be carefully weighted but as a parent you have a responsibility to protect your child. If that is controlling which apps can be installed and used or checking with whom your child communicates has to be your decision. Before phones you would have controlled where your child is from time to time and relied on people around you to tell you if something bad is happening but you can't do that for online activities.

I'm very privacy focused myself but my passion of keeping children safe online has taught me that to many parents ignore what their children do on their phones alone. The amount of predators on social media is mind crushing and giving your child an unprotected phone is like getting them to go play in the worst part of town at night all alone.

@Tamrael Low risk, insanely high cost. You are teaching your children that you don’t trust them and that they are unable to protect themselves without help. And as mentioned above, that they should be fearful of other people. They could very well have trust issues for the rest of their life.

@Root agreed, though he has a point in saying that the amount of predators online is still a danger.
Don't even know why I offered my opinion on that, just felt like it.

@Tamrael then you shouldnt expose your kids to the internet until they have a certain age/maturity. This thing that all kids must be connected at all costs is just plain wrong.

@Ranchonyx There isn’t even much danger. Yes it exists, but it’s such a low chance that they’ll ever run into it. So instead of hiding them away or watching their every freaking move, teach them how to recognize that danger and avoid it. Trust your bloody kids!

@Root @reactiveBasil @Ranchonyx

Kids have to get a phone and laptop for online school. Saying I should not let them on the net until they are mature enough just doesn't work in this day and age.

I have the ability to control everything on their phone but almost never exercise that power because I want them to be free. Controlling what apps your kid has access to it not hampering their freedom, it's creating a safe space to learn.

Further going into this is not likely to change your minds and I don't care to do that anyway. I have seen innocent kids get talked into doing "innocent" stuff online and then getting blackmailed into more and more stuff. Children have a fear of getting punished by their parents and most don't think about what harm their actions online could mean. They share addresses, social accounts and phone numbers freely.

Parenting is always a fine line between trust and control. Controlling nothing can be as harmful as controlling all.

@Root "their isn't much danger" sorry have you been on tik tok lately and read the comments or do you have a child that gets private messages asking for explicit images? I'm sure Amanda Todd's parents would disagree with you. Every single day thousands of children get tricked online.

Don't trust me, check with the people fighting for kids online every day https://sheepdogbloodhound.org/

Yes reading every single message is harmful.

No I won't let my child alone in any dangerous environment until they are old enough to understand opsec and what data should never be shared online.

No I'm not reading any message without my child knowing. The one time I talk to my child about a message was when she got one from a number that wasn't in her contacts. We opened it together. It was spam.

Yes I control what apps are installed and talk with them before they are allowed any new ones they want.

Trust but verify is one thing I try to teach my children.

It has nothing to do with trust issues.

@Tamrael

“Hey @Root, have you been on TikTok lately?” 😅
I would never use Chinese spyware, nor allow it in my house. Seriously. That is simply not okay.

As for your example:

I would tell my children (they’re too young for this currently) that if anyone asks for explicit images, that they’re a creep and want to do bad things to them, like steal them and lock them away and they would never see mommy again. Easy enough lesson.

I don’t allow fear to dictate my actions, nor rule the lives of my children.

@Root how would you know someone asked your child for such images? You didn't read the messages and your child thinks it's in love with that someone they meet online. Sorry but that's one of the scenarios that happens most often online.

My child doesn't have tik tok. It was the first example of "innocent" app that every child wants that came to mind. Insert any other social media app and the example holds. I talked about why I don't allow tik tok and my child understood.

Also being 10 we talked about what is ok to share online. I was very proud when the teachers wanted the children to upload a picture each (as test for the homework upload) and my child took a photo of our cat and asked if that was ok to share.

I stand by my point that "trust but verify" doesn't give children trust issues but empowers them to better decisions in the future. I don't verify everything but I check once in a while.

@rutee07 true and that IS a problem.

If anyone got the impression I would install this on my child's phone let me make this clear: I wouldn't.

Once my child is old enough (14-16? Idk whenever I feel it's mature enough) I will remove the app install restrictions after a long talk about online safety.

Keep your children safe through information once they are mature enough to understand what you tell them.

Just read everything I wrote and...

How the fuck did I end up seemingly defending this company?!?🙈 I'm not at all in favor of this.

If your child has to have a phone (online school because covid) the parental control from Google/apple is enough (time/app control). Don't let your kids get all the internet until they are old enough to understand the dangers.

Seriously, all of this spyware as a service, doorbell cameras, law enforcement surveillance, etc. is marketing. It numbs people to the idea of omnipresent surveillance so they become more and more okay with it.

Within ten to twenty years we will likely have facial recognition everywhere, and it will be “for our safety.” In fact, people will demand it, and the idea of living somewhere without this constant surveillance will be terrifying to the average citizen.

All of this is selling you a surveillance state.

And so does the phrase “the innocent have nothing to hide.”

There's a fine line between being a parent and being a helicopter.

You'll understand that if your a parent 🙄

I don't believe in this kind of intrusive access to their content, block the normal shit, and educate them about what the ramifications are for using half these services actually entail.

Kids will find away around any of this shit eventually or just make a second account and not tell you 🤷‍♂️