Bark vs FilterDNS

Bark is a paid parental-control service for Android and iOS, with plans starting at $5/mo and a 7-day trial. Its listed tools include content filtering, screen-time schedules, app blocking, activity reports, and location tracking. Bark Premium sends alerts about concerns such as bullying, self-harm, and online predators. Bark Jr lets parents schedule screen time and block internet access for apps and sites; its listed plan covers unlimited children and devices. Other offerings extend beyond the app: Bark Home filters the web and manages screen time for devices connected to home Wi-Fi, including platforms beyond iOS, Android, and Chromebook. Bark Phone has parental controls built in. Bark also offers phone, watch, and wireless plans. Family Wireless options have data limits: speeds are reduced after 35GB and may reduce further or stop after 50GB. Wireless plans do not support hotspots. Support is available daily from 8am to 12am Eastern Time. Bark is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

FilterDNS is a self-hosted DNS filtering service for blocking ads, trackers, and malware. It supports DNS over HTTPS on port 443, DNS over TLS on port 853, and legacy DNS on port 53. Users can create separate profiles for different devices or use cases, with custom domain allow and deny rules and preset rule sets such as gaming and social media. Preconfigured blocklists include Hagezi, StevenBlack, and OISD. Query logs and statistics let users review DNS requests; logging is enabled by default in the documented configuration. Filtering can be paused for 5, 15, 30, or 60 minutes, and maintenance mode allows DNS only for approved domains. The project documents API endpoints for profiles, logs, statistics, rules, presets, devices, and administration. Its Docker Compose quick start uses PostgreSQL and a SvelteKit web UI available locally at http://localhost:8080. DoH and DoT require a wildcard TLS certificate for the service domain. FilterDNS is MIT-licensed and free to self-host.