GuestSpy Editor
Parent of two children aged 9 and 13, and has run GuestSpy on the family's Android phones since 2022.
I started GuestSpy after trying to find a parental control app that would tell me what it could and could not see. Most of them would not, so I ended up building one that does. I write the guides on this site myself, on the phones in my own house — a Samsung Galaxy A-series and a Pixel, both on Android 14. When a page says a menu sits three taps deep, I counted the taps. When a page says a feature cannot do something, it is because I tried it and it did not work. I am not a security researcher and I do not pretend to be one. What I have is three years of living with these tools in a house with teenagers, and a strong dislike of software that overstates itself.
- 71 articles published here
- Every guide is written, edited and checked by a person — see our editorial standards.
Guides by GuestSpy Editor
How to Set App Time Limits That Actually Stick
Category limits beat per-app limits, warnings beat sudden cut-offs, and a limit set without a conversation gets bypassed within a…
How to Set Up Google Family Link
Every Family Link setting worth turning on, in order, plus what changes at 13 and the things it genuinely cannot…
How to Set Up Apple Screen Time
Every Screen Time setting worth turning on, in order, plus the workarounds kids actually use and how to close each…
A Parent’s Guide to Screen Time by Age
What's generally reasonable at each age band, from toddlers to older teens, and what tends to matter more than the…
The Beginner’s Guide to Parental Controls
A plain-English starting point for parents who have never set up any of this: the three layers that matter, what…
How to Track Elderly Parents’ Location (With Consent)
Capacity, dignity and consent come first. Then the practical part: what to set up, how to involve siblings, and when…
Location Sharing Etiquette for Families and Couples
The unwritten rules of sharing your location with a partner or family: consent, reciprocity, teenagers' right to some privacy, and…
How to Set Up a Family Safety Circle
Who belongs in a family safety circle, how mutual and one-way sharing differ, and how to set one up that…
The Complete Guide to Finding a Lost Phone
A calm, step-by-step guide to finding a lost or stolen phone — what to do in the first five minutes,…
A Beginner’s Guide to Geofencing for Parents
What a geofence actually is, how to choose a radius that doesn't misfire, and how to stop useful alerts turning…