Look, I get it. Your kid is glued to TikTok at 2am, or you're genuinely worried about online predators, and you want a big red button that makes it all stop. OurPact gives you that button—along with GPS tracking, screenshot spying, and enough control to make the NSA jealous.

But here's the thing: this is a nuclear option, not a parenting strategy. The reviews are mixed at best, with serious complaints about the app freezing and taking forever to actually block anything. More importantly, research is pretty clear that heavy surveillance teaches kids to hide things better, not to make better choices.

If you're in crisis mode—kid got caught sexting, you're dealing with legitimate addiction, or there's a genuine safety emergency—fine, deploy this temporarily while you work on the real issues. But if you're thinking about this as a long-term solution, you're building a relationship based on mistrust and control.

The irony? Kids who grow up under constant surveillance often have worse digital literacy and self-regulation because they never learned to manage themselves. Better approach: use built-in OS controls for basic limits, have actual conversations about why you're worried, and save the spy apps for when you've got real evidence of serious problems.

OurPact works as advertised (when it's not freezing), but that doesn't mean it's the right tool for most families.