The 2025 Bark Phone Pro (starting at $48 per month) is a monitored phone that teens might actually want to use. The customized Samsung Galaxy A36 5G ($399.99) offers kids a full smartphone experience without telltale branding while also giving parents complete control over their child’s mobile activities. Parents can monitor location, control access to apps and the internet, set time limits and alarms, and more, all from their own Android or iOS device. While the Bark parental control software is impressive, it’s not entirely foolproof. A savvy teen may be able to get around some of the restrictions, but parents can always choose to block certain apps entirely. The Bark Phone Pro is more flexible than the kid-focused and completely locked-down Gabb Phone 4 Pro ($199.99), ensuring that it is a robust solution that should satisfy both teens and their parents, making it our Editors’ Choice for kids' phones.

Design: Unabashedly Samsung

The Bark Phone Pro's box features the Bark Logo, but there's no logo on the phone itself. "Galaxy A36 5G" is etched discreetly into the rear of the phone, just like it is on a non-Bark version of Samsung's Android phone. The phone runs the Bark Phone software on top of Android 15.

(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

A fairly large device, the Bark Phone Pro measures 6.41 by 3.08 by 0.29 inches (HWD) and weighs 6.88 ounces, which makes it a better fit for teenagers than younger children who might find it too big for their hands. It's almost exactly the same size and weight as the original Bark Phone, the $199.99 Samsung A16 5G, which measures 6.47 by 3.07 by 0.31 inches and weighs 7.06 ounces. The Gabb Phone 4 Pro, meanwhile, is based on the slightly older Samsung Galaxy A15 5G.

The frame is made of plastic, while the front and back are covered with Gorilla Glass Victus+, so it should survive the occasional drop. The back is smooth and slippery, so you’ll probably want to put a case on it for protection, regardless of how old your child is. You can purchase a case in Black or Frosted (white) from Bark for an additional $9 when ordering the phone. The phone has an IP67 rating for dust and water protection, meaning that it can handle being dunked in fresh water.

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

Biometric settings are turned off by default on the Bark Phone, presumably so you can always access your child’s phone, but parents can turn on passcode, fingerprint, or face unlock features. See our full review of the Galaxy A36 for a more detailed breakdown of the phone's performance.

There’s no 3.5mm headphone jack here, but the phone does have Bluetooth 5.4 support to connect wireless headphones and speakers.

Display: Fast Refresh Rate

The phone’s 6.7-inch Super AMOLED screen has a resolution of 2,340 by 1,080 pixels and a refresh rate of 120Hz. That's the same size and resolution as the regular Bark Phone, but an improvement over its 90Hz refresh rate. It also reaches a peak brightness of 1,900 nits, so you can see the screen under most lighting conditions.

The Gabb Phone 4 Pro has a 6.5-inch screen with 2,340 by 1,080 pixels.

Performance: Plenty of Power

The Bark Phone Pro runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 processor with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The regular Bark Phone has an Exynos 1330 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. There’s no microSD slot to add storage. The Bark Phone Pro isn’t a powerhouse by any means, but it can smoothly run graphically intensive games, such as Genshin Impact, and has more than enough power to run most apps.

A MediaTek 6835 powers the Gabb Phone 4 Pro and it has just 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.

Battery: All Day and Then Some

One of the Bark Phone Pro's strengths is battery life. It has a large 5,000mAh battery that can charge at up to 45W when plugged in. It doesn't support wireless charging, and while there's a USB-C cable in the box, you'll need to supply your own charger.

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

The phone performed well in my battery tests, which included playing a 1080p video on repeat with the screen brightness at 100%. It lasted 16 hours and 40 minutes on a single charge, which is impressive. That's much better than the original Bark Phone (13 hours and 46 minutes) and the Gabb Phone 4 Pro (14 hours and 3 minutes).

Connectivity: Dependent on T-Mobile

The Bark Phone Pro supports all versions of 5G, including C-band and the faster mmWave bands. It comes equipped with Wi-Fi 6 support, but not the newer Wi-Fi 6E or 7 protocols. In 2023, Bark partnered with T-Mobile to run its own MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) service over the T-Mobile network, so you’ll want to make sure you have reliable T-Mobile coverage in your area when choosing a Bark phone. The phone performed well on T-Mobile's cellular network and over Wi-Fi during testing.

The Gabb Phone 4 Pro is limited to sub-6GHz 5G and Wi-Fi 5.

Cameras: All Features Accessible

The phon comes with a 50MP f/1.8 main camera, an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera, a 5MP f/2.4 macro camera, and a 12MP f/1.8 front-facing camera for selfies. Unlike the $199.99 Gabb Phone—Bark’s major rival—your child can access all of the camera’s features, including all video and camera modes. Photos are crisp and clear, and the cameras do a good job of capturing detail, especially in bright conditions. 

(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

Pricing: Plans Can Be Costly

Bark requires you to choose a device and a connectivity plan. You can choose between two devices: the basic Bark Phone at $10 a month for 24 months or the Bark Phone Pro at $19 a month for 24 months. This covers only the cost of the phone itself.

Plans are divided into two categories: Starter and Advanced. The Starter Plan costs $29 per month and includes unlimited talk and text, location tracking, contact management, and monitored texts and photos. It doesn’t include access to apps, an internet browser, or voicemail. It's a completely locked-down experience intended for younger children.

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

There are four Advanced Plans and they are intended for older children. They start at $39 per month for unlimited talk, text, and Wi-Fi-only connectivity (no data). A $49-per-month plan gives you unlimited talk and text and 4GB of data, while a $59 plan gives you 8GB of data. The most expensive plan costs $79 per month and offers unlimited data, though speeds are throttled after your kid consumes 35GB. These prices exclude fees and taxes. You can choose to pay an additional $7 per month for device protection against drops, damage, or loss. 

My review unit came with the $49/4GB plan, which results in a monthly fee of $68 before fees and taxes. That's expensive for a single line, especially for so little data.

By comparison, the Gabb Phone requires an up-front payment for the device ($199.99 for the Gabb Phone 4 Pro) and its Starter plan costs $24.99 per month and comes with unlimited talk and text, the Gabb Messenger app, the Gabb Guard spam call blocker, nine parent-enabled essential apps, and 10GB of Gabb Cloud backup. Gabb's $29.99 Standard plan includes everything in the Starter plan and adds image and group texting and Gabb Music, an app that streams radio-style music (with no explicit lyrics). The Advanced plan costs $34.99 per month; it includes everything in the Standard plan and adds 3GB of mobile data, access to Gabb-curated apps, and Gabb Music+, which allows your kids to create their own curated playlists and download songs. Gabb's warranty costs $4.99 per month.

Setup: Straightforward With Extensive Options

The Bark Phone Pro arrives with a QR code sticker over its screen. Scanning the code from your phone prompts you to log in to the Bark account you used to purchase the phone. From there, you can turn on the Bark Phone and connect it to Wi-Fi. You use your phone to register the device and set up a profile for your child.

The Home screen of the Bark parent app shows your child’s location and provides access to your child’s accounts. It also includes a series of recommended videos on everything from Sexting Facts: What Every Parent Needs to Know, to How to Protect Your Child From Cyberbullying. There are four navigation icons at the bottom of the screen: Home, Map, Account, and Support.

(Credit: Bark Phone/PCMag)

Going into your child's account shows you notifications of the activity on your child's phone and the apps you're monitoring. Below this are options to Find Phone, Manage Apps, Contacts, Recent Locations, and Checkins. 

There are suggestions for various modes you can enable on your child's phone. There’s the Default mode, which is what the Bark Phone looks like most of the time, along with suggestions for a Bedtime mode, a School Mode, and a Free Time mode. Each mode allows or blocks certain features such as texting, browsing, or access to the camera. 

You can set daily time limits for every app, alarms that will ring on your child’s phone, and adjust various other settings. The level of control on offer is frankly overwhelming at first. You should plan to spend several hours combing through all of the settings and options. The upside is that you can really dial in exactly which apps and features your kids can access, for how long, and how you monitor them. 

(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)

The Bark Phone Pro's home screen has icons for the phone app, Google Chrome, and the camera. There are also calendar and weather widgets. Your child can access apps by swiping up from the bottom of the display. You can choose to enable or disable the Google Play Store and whether or not you need to approve app downloads.

The Gabb Phone, meanwhile, requires at least two apps: one to manage the device and a second to access messaging.

Messaging: You Are Mostly In Control

Bark has its own messaging app where you can set up a list of approved contacts for your child. You can’t automatically see your child’s texts, but you will receive a notification if their messaging content is inappropriate. The software quickly picked up when I started texting about bullying, suicide, and nudes. Within minutes, my parent phone received an alert with the text from the offending messages highlighted.

Depending on your settings, the software won’t necessarily stop your child from talking about or looking at inappropriate material, but it will let you know about it very quickly so you can take your own action. Similarly, the Gabb Phone won't let you read your kids' messages, but you will get alerts if messages contain explicit content.

Location Tracking: Real-Time Geofencing

The Bark Phone Pro does an excellent job of tracking your child in real time. It’s easy to add favorite locations and label them as Home, School, Friend, Family, or Sport Activity. You just type in an address, add a name or nickname, choose an icon for the map, and hit Add Location. You can adjust the radius of the location on the map. I found the default radius was often way too big—about the size of my entire neighborhood—so I narrowed it down to its smallest setting, which almost perfectly encompassed my house and yard. 

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

Tracking is consistent and almost instantaneous. I received alerts the second the phone left the house and returned. I could also check its live location at any time.

The app gives parents a full travel history, including how far the phone traveled from home and how long it stayed away. It can detect drives and the approximate time, duration, and—crucially—the speed of those drives. You can also set the phone to lock when the software detects it is in a moving car.

I found these tracking features incredibly useful. They help justify the cost of the service, and I would be especially pleased with them if I had a teenager of driving age. 

Gabb's location tracking isn't as quick or accurate. It updates location data only every 15 minutes, which provides a small window of opportunity for kids to slip of the safe zone for a few minutes.

Apps: Monitored Access to Everything

Unlike the Gabb Phone, which doesn’t allow kids to download many apps, the Bark Phone Pro can give your child access to all their favorite apps. Instead of locking them down, they are closely monitored, with alerts sent to the parent every time the software detects inappropriate content or behaviour.

(Credit: Bark Phone/PCMag)

Bark monitors social media apps, but you’ll have to sign into them via the Bark app on your own phone before giving your child access to them on their phone. However, Bark doesn’t monitor all parts of every app. For example, Bark only monitors direct messages on X and not searches. I was able to search for, find, and view sexual content on X without receiving an alert on my parent phone. Of course, if you’re really worried, you can block access to X and other apps entirely.

The phone does a much better job monitoring YouTube, where it scans the videos your child posts, comments on their videos, new videos from your child’s channel subscriptions, and your child’s views and searches. I could still look up and watch a video about sex, but I got an alert on my parent phone that included the exact search terms and the title of the videos that played. Similarly, I received an alert on my parent phone when I searched for pornography while using Google Chrome.