FMSParental control · Android · Windows · macOS
The rules follow your child to every screen — including the computer
Most parental controls stop at the phone. FMS also runs on Windows and macOS, so the limits you agree on hold everywhere. And instead of only taking time away, it lets your child earn time back by doing what you agreed on.
No card required to start. Cancel any time.
- One family account, every device
- Your child sees exactly what is tracked
- No ads, no data brokers, no selling family data
Why another parental control app
We built FMS after using the alternatives on our own families. Three things kept breaking.
The computer is a blind spot
Phone limits are solved. Then the evening moves to a laptop and none of it applies. FMS ships real agents for Windows and macOS, not just a browser extension.
Blocking alone stops working
A hard block is a wall to climb. Within weeks children find the workaround and the app becomes a game of cat and mouse. Giving them a way to earn time changes what they optimise for.
Surveillance costs you trust
Reading your child’s messages buys short-term certainty and long-term distance. FMS deliberately does not do message interception. It reports time and apps, and tells the child what it reports.
How it works
Three steps, about ten minutes per device.
01
Create the family
Sign up as a parent and add your children. One account holds every child and every device, with a parent PIN protecting anything that changes the rules.
02
Set up the child’s device
A guided wizard per platform. On Android you choose how strict enforcement should be; on Windows and macOS the installer sets up a background agent. Each step says plainly what permission it needs and why.
03
Agree the rules, then let them earn
Set daily limits and which apps are always allowed. Add tasks — homework, chores, reading — with a reward in stars. Completing a task you approve converts into extra screen time.
What parents get
Everything below is in the product today, not on a roadmap.
Screen-time limits per device
Daily allowances and quiet hours, set independently for the phone and the computer, because homework time and gaming time are not the same thing.
App rules
Decide which apps stay open during locked time — phone, messages and camera stay reachable by default, so a locked device is never an unreachable child.
Honest usage reports
Which apps, how long, which day. Aggregated per day and per device, so you can talk about a pattern instead of arguing about a number.
Tasks and rewards
Assign tasks with a star value. The child submits, you approve or send it back with a comment. Stars convert to screen time at a rate you control.
Alerts that matter
You are notified when protection is switched off on a child’s device, when a PIN unlock is used, and when a device stops reporting — not for every app launch.
Parent PIN on every override
Lifting a restriction requires the parent PIN, cached locally so it works even when the device is offline. Nothing about the rules changes from the child’s side.
What is actually enforceable, per platform
Parental control marketing tends to imply every platform behaves the same. It does not — the operating systems allow very different things, and knowing the difference before you buy matters more than a longer feature list.
| Capability | Android | Windows | macOS | Web |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| App usage tracking | Full | Full | Partial | — |
| Blocking apps | Full | Full | Limited | — |
| Screen-time limits | Full | Full | Via system | — |
| Survives the child trying to remove it | With Device Owner setup | Full | Limited | — |
| Parent dashboard | Full | Full | Full | Full |
Android reaches its strongest tier only after Device Owner provisioning, which needs a factory reset or a one-off cable setup. Without it, enforcement is a strong deterrent that a determined child can switch off — and FMS tells you the moment they do, rather than pretending it cannot happen. iOS is limited by Apple’s Screen Time framework and is not yet supported.
Stars, and why the economy is not a currency
The reward loop is the part children actually engage with. It is also the part most likely to be misunderstood, so here is exactly what it is.
Stars
Earned by completing tasks a parent approved. Spent on screen time or on rewards the family defines. Stars cannot be bought and have no cash value.
Family units
Optional custom units a family invents for itself. They exist only inside your family, cannot be transferred out and have no cash value.
Real money stays with the parent
Children never make purchases in FMS. Any paid action lives behind the parent PIN in the parent’s account.
Stars and family units are motivational counters, not electronic money, not a payment instrument and not redeemable for cash. They cannot be transferred between families or withdrawn.
Where we draw the line
A parental control app is handed extraordinary access. These are commitments, written into the Terms and the Privacy Policy, not just intentions.
No message or call content
FMS does not read messages, does not record calls and does not capture keystrokes. There is no covert mode: a supervised device shows that it is supervised.
No selling or brokering family data
We do not sell personal data, do not share it with data brokers and do not run third-party advertising or analytics SDKs in the child experience.
The child can see their own record
Children can see their own usage and their own star history. Supervision the child cannot inspect is surveillance, and it is the thing that destroys trust.
Delete it and it is gone
Account deletion is available in the app and on the web, and it removes the family’s data on a published schedule.
Get FMS
Install the parent app on your device, then set up each child’s device with the wizard.
Web app
v1.6.0 · build 2061
The full parent dashboard in your browser. Nothing to install.
Open web appAndroid
v1.6.0 · build 2068
Parent app and child app in one. Required on every Android device you want to manage.
Download for AndroidWindows Beta
v1.6.0 · build 2067
Installer with the app plus the background agent. Needs administrator rights to install.
Download for WindowsmacOS Beta
v1.6.0 · build 2068
Signed and notarized by Apple — unzip and open, no Gatekeeper detour.
Download for macOSQuestions parents ask first
Will my child know FMS is installed?
Yes, and that is on purpose. FMS has no hidden mode. The child’s device shows the app, the child can see what is being recorded about them, and they get their own view of tasks and stars. Covert monitoring is a different product and we do not build it.
Can my child just uninstall it?
On Windows the agent runs as a service and a child account cannot remove it. On Android it depends on how you set it up: after Device Owner provisioning the app cannot be uninstalled or switched off, while the quick setup is a deterrent a determined child can defeat — in which case you get an alert immediately. We tell you which tier you are on rather than implying every setup is equally strong.
Does it read messages or track location?
It does not read messages, calls or keystrokes. Location is not part of the current product.
What happens when the device is offline?
Limits keep applying — rules and the unlock PIN are cached on the device. Usage is stored locally and reported when the connection returns. Going offline is not a way around the rules.
Can I lock the phone completely?
You can, but by default calls, messages and camera stay available during locked time. A child who cannot reach you is a worse outcome than a child with ten extra minutes of screen time.
Is iOS supported?
Not yet. Apple’s framework limits what a third-party app can enforce on iOS, and we would rather say so than ship something that quietly does not work.
Try it on one device this week
Set up a single child device, agree one rule and one task, and see whether the conversation changes. That is the honest test.
Create a family accountFree to start. No card required.