Android exclusive · other platforms on the roadmap
Anchor is a two-app system: Anchor Parent on your phone, Anchor Child on your kid's. A 6-digit pair code links them. Four layers of bypass-defeat hold the line.
Anchor is a device-level parental control app for Android built around bypass-resistance, not content surveillance. It runs as a two-app system: Anchor Parent on the adult's phone, Anchor Child on the kid's device, linked by a 6-digit pair code. Four enforcement layers close the bypass routes kids actually try: a continuous permission watchdog on a Device Admin foundation, server-truth time that defeats device clock manipulation, pair persistence with a parent-side encrypted record that holds through reboot and gates re-pairing after factory reset, and an offline tamper queue that preserves original event timestamps. Schedule enforcement runs on Anchor's backend clock, not the device clock, so changing the device clock to skip bedtime does nothing. Anchor does not read messages, photos, keystrokes, or browsing history. Anchor is Android-exclusive at present, with other platforms on the roadmap without committed timing. Pricing starts with a 14-day free trial at signup, no card required. Billing begins on day 15: Family at $4.99 per month for up to four child devices, or Family Pro at $9.99 per month for unlimited child devices. One honest V1 limit: the OS-level uninstall block holds, but parent-side notifications when a child attempts to uninstall are not yet shipped, so the defense works while visibility into the attempt is limited at launch. More at https://www.getanchor.store/.
The reviews are full of the same story. Parents install Family Link, Bark, or Qustodio. The kid figures out the workaround in days. The app stays installed but does nothing. Quiet failure is the default.
Kid long-presses the icon, hits uninstall, confirms. The whole system is gone in under five seconds. Most apps cannot prevent this.
Your kid opens Settings, taps the parental control app, and revokes its Accessibility Service permission. The app keeps running. The monitoring stops. You see nothing in the parent dashboard because the app is still installed, still paired, still reporting as active. The protection is gone and you do not know.
Bedtime starts at 9:00 PM? Set the device clock to 6:00 AM. The schedule unlocks. This works on every parental control that trusts device time.
Flip airplane mode. The control app cannot phone home, so it fails open or stops enforcing. Kid gets the rest of the night unsupervised.
Every one of these bypasses takes under a minute to learn on TikTok. Anchor was built specifically to close them.
Each layer maps to a real attack vector documented in parent support communities and the Bypass Test methodology: a continuous permission watchdog on a Device Admin foundation, server-truth time that defeats clock tampering, parent-side pair persistence that holds through reboot and gates re-pairing after factory reset, and an offline tamper queue that preserves original event timestamps.
Device Admin enrollment is the foundation, same as Bark and Qustodio. Anchor's continuous watchdog is what holds: revocation attempts surface within seconds, the child gets re-prompted to restore, you get a tamper alert. Quiet bypass is not on the table.
Schedule enforcement uses Anchor's backend clock, not the phone's. Spoofing the device time changes nothing. The clock change itself surfaces as a tamper event in the parent feed.
The pairing record lives in encrypted storage on Anchor Parent, not just the child device. Reboot does not unlink. Factory reset wipes Anchor Child, but re-pairing requires your 6-digit pair code. The child cannot complete pairing alone.
Enforcement keeps running offline. Tamper events queue locally with their original timestamps preserved, and flush to Anchor Parent the moment the device reconnects. Going offline does not let your kid hide when something happened.
Anchor is built for the 90% of parental control work that matters: deciding what runs and when, and knowing when something is off.
Bedtime, school hours, study windows. Recurring weekly schedules with one-off overrides for sick days and weekends.
Three policies per app: always-block, always-allow, or scheduled. Apply across the kid's whole library in seconds.
Force-stop, permission revocation, clock change, offline disconnect. Each event is surfaced in the parent feed in real time when the device is online.
Run 1, 2, 3, or unlimited children from one parent dashboard. Each kid gets their own schedule and app policy. One pair code per device.
Grant a temporary access window with one tap. Set the duration, share the unlock code, and Anchor re-locks automatically when it expires.
Which apps were opened and for how long. Foreground-only. We do not capture what your kid types, photos, browsing, or chat content.
One subscription covers your whole family. We charge for enforcement, not for reading your kid's messages.
Everything most families need.
Starts with a 14-day free trial. No card at signup. Billing begins day 15.
For larger families and stronger control.
Starts with a 14-day free trial. No card at signup. Billing begins day 15.
100 spots. Lifetime free Family Pro. A 15-day feedback commitment in return. Here is exactly what you get and what we ask back.
100 spots. First-come, first-served. Enter your name and email below.
When Closed Testing opens, the first 100 founders get a sideload invite by email, before public launch.
Founders pay nothing, ever. Lifetime access to Family Pro: unlimited children, all features, every current and future v1.x release. No monthly fee, no expiration, no renewal, for the lifetime of the product.
In return, founders commit to sharing feedback within 15 days of receiving their Closed Testing invite. Real feedback from real parents is how we ship v1.0 right.
Two fields. Lifetime free Family Pro for the first 100 founders. You'll be the first to know when Closed Testing opens.
We'll email you the moment Closed Testing opens. Watch for a note from support@getanchor.store.
Lifetime free Family Pro for the first 100 founders. Feedback expected within 15 days of your invite. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
The whole pitch of Bark and Qustodio is that they read your kid's messages and tell you what's inside. Anchor doesn't. The data we collect is the minimum needed to enforce the schedule you set.
We never see message text, photos, browsing, keystrokes, microphone, or camera. Foreground app name and duration only.
Pairing tokens are encrypted in transit. Parent passcodes use modern memory-hard cryptography. Pair state lives in encrypted storage.
Anchor Child is for use under parental direction. No third-party advertising SDKs, no behavioural tracking, no data resale. Ever.
Unpair a child and the associated activity wipes from our backend within 30 days. Account deletion is a one-tap operation, not a support ticket.
Anchor V1 ships on Android in 2026. Founders Offer closes after 100 sign-ups. Get on the list.
No spam. One email when V1 ships. Unsubscribe in one click.