Can a children’s home use Qustodio?

It isn’t designed for it. In a children’s home, reading texts, flagging chats and tracking location is monitoring under Regulation 24: the home has to show it’s needed for safeguarding and no more intrusive than necessary. Reading a child’s messages as a matter of routine is very hard to justify at inspection. Qustodio’s help pages also describe no record of who changed what across shifts. Voop never reads messages, and every change is recorded with a reason the whole team can see.

Can foster carers or parents use Voop?

Yes. Foster carers, kinship carers and special guardians can buy Voop directly, and so can any parent who wants the most secure option for their child.

News: Learn about Voop’s Partnership with the UK Home Office

Use cases

How it works

Pricing

Use cases

How it works

Pricing

Why choose Voop over Qustodio?

Both help keep a young person safe on their phone. Only one was designed around case plans, care teams, and young people who have every reason not to trust being watched. If you’re looking for a Qustodio alternative for foster care or a group home, here’s how they compare.

For youth in foster care, shaped around each young person’s case plan.

Extreme tamper-proof technology - can’t be removed or reset

Each young person’s case plan

Care teams working across shifts and homes

A phone that looks like everyone else’s

Openness the young person can see

Oversight and reporting for your organization

General parental controls that families can install on the devices they already own.

Consumer subscription only

An app the parent installs, with an alert if it’s removed

A parent managing their own children

An app added to phones, tablets and computers

Detailed activity timelines and reports

Reading a child’s texts and flagging their chats, which is hard to justify in care

Location tracking set by the parent

Feature by feature

Who it's for

Feature

Voop

Qustodio

Designed for

Children in residential and foster care, and the teams around them

Parents managing their family’s devices

Designed for

Children in residential and foster care, and the teams around them

Voop

Parents managing their family’s devices

Qustodio

Rules set per young person

Tailored to each child’s case plan

Per child, set by a parent

Rules set per young person

Tailored to each child’s case plan

Voop

Per child, set by a parent

Qustodio

Shared across a care team

Care team dashboard, with team roles and permissions

One other parent can be added, with the same access

Shared across a care team

Care team dashboard, with team roles and permissions

Voop

One other parent can be added, with the same access

Qustodio

Audit log

Every change is recorded in a shared audit log, with a written reason

No record of who changed what, and no safeguard against coercion

Audit log

Every change is recorded in a shared audit log, with a written reason

Voop

No record of who changed what, and no safeguard against coercion

Qustodio

Oversight across multiple homes

One view across every home and team

Organized around a single family account

Oversight across multiple homes

One view across every home and team

Voop

Organized around a single family account

Qustodio

Reporting

Data dashboard and reporting for your organization

Daily or weekly activity reports to a parent’s inbox

Reporting

Data dashboard and reporting for your organization

Voop

Daily or weekly activity reports to a parent’s inbox

Qustodio

Device controls

Feature

Voop

Qustodio

Content filter and app controls

Included. Built into the phone and its connection, so it still applies on any Wi-Fi network and can’t be turned off

Included, as an app on the child’s device. The parent gets an alert if it’s removed

Content filter and app controls

Included. Built into the phone and its connection, so it still applies on any Wi-Fi network and can’t be turned off

Voop

Included, as an app on the child’s device. The parent gets an alert if it’s removed

Qustodio

Bedtime schedules

Included

Included, as a Bedtime routine

Bedtime schedules

Included

Voop

Included, as a Bedtime routine

Qustodio

Who they can call and text

Call and messaging settings, set in line with the case plan

Block or allow phone numbers, on Android only

Who they can call and text

Call and messaging settings, set in line with the case plan

Voop

Block or allow phone numbers, on Android only

Qustodio

Location

Live location on the care team map, when the young person chooses to share it

Location history on a map, switched on by the parent

Location

Live location on the care team map, when the young person chooses to share it

Voop

Location history on a map, switched on by the parent

Qustodio

Safe and unsafe places

Mark places as safe or unsafe on a map, and get an alert when the young person arrives or leaves

Saved places such as home and school, with alerts on arrival and departure

Safe and unsafe places

Mark places as safe or unsafe on a map, and get an alert when the young person arrives or leaves

Voop

Saved places such as home and school, with alerts on arrival and departure

Qustodio

Missing from care

If a young person is reported missing, location sharing turns on until they’re found, and everyone linked to them is alerted

No missing mode. On Android, a Panic Button lets the child alert trusted contacts

Missing from care

If a young person is reported missing, location sharing turns on until they’re found, and everyone linked to them is alerted

Voop

No missing mode. On Android, a Panic Button lets the child alert trusted contacts

Qustodio

Transparency and trust

Feature

Voop

Qustodio

Reads texts and messages

Never. Voop doesn’t read their messages

Parents can read texts sent and received. In care, that’s hard to justify to a caseworker or agency, and it costs the young person’s trust.

Reads texts and messages

Never. Voop doesn’t read their messages

Voop

Parents can read texts sent and received. In care, that’s hard to justify to a caseworker or agency, and it costs the young person’s trust.

Qustodio

Monitors calls

No. The team is only alerted if a blocked caller tries to make contact

Shows who they call and message, and when

Monitors calls

No. The team is only alerted if a blocked caller tries to make contact

Voop

Shows who they call and message, and when

Qustodio

Scans chat and social apps

No. Private conversations stay private

AI alerts from six chat apps, including WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, with a snippet of the conversation

Scans chat and social apps

No. Private conversations stay private

Voop

AI alerts from six chat apps, including WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, with a snippet of the conversation

Qustodio

Young person can see what’s switched on

A transparent, child-friendly app showing what’s switched on and off

The Kids app shows time left, routines and blocked apps

Young person can see what’s switched on

A transparent, child-friendly app showing what’s switched on and off

Voop

The Kids app shows time left, routines and blocked apps

Qustodio

Young person can opt in or out of location sharing

Yes. They choose whether it’s on, and can change their mind at any time

No. Location is set by the parent, and is on by default

Young person can opt in or out of location sharing

Yes. They choose whether it’s on, and can change their mind at any time

Voop

No. Location is set by the parent, and is on by default

Qustodio

The phone

Feature

Voop

Qustodio

What you get

A Voop phone plan and tamper-proof setup on a supported Android phone

An app for phones, tablets and computers you already own

What you get

A Voop phone plan and tamper-proof setup on a supported Android phone

Voop

An app for phones, tablets and computers you already own

Qustodio

Looks like any other phone

A regular Android phone, so nothing marks them out

Depends on the device

Looks like any other phone

A regular Android phone, so nothing marks them out

Voop

Depends on the device

Qustodio

Can the child remove it?

No. The app can’t be uninstalled, and a factory reset is blocked and raises an alert

On Android it guards against uninstalling. On iPhone that needs a computer, and doesn’t support iOS 27

Can the child remove it?

No. The app can’t be uninstalled, and a factory reset is blocked and raises an alert

Voop

On Android it guards against uninstalling. On iPhone that needs a computer, and doesn’t support iOS 27

Qustodio

What it costs

One monthly price per young person, with the phone plan included

A yearly app subscription, priced by number of devices. The phone and its mobile plan aren’t included

What it costs

One monthly price per young person, with the phone plan included

Voop

A yearly app subscription, priced by number of devices. The phone and its mobile plan aren’t included

Qustodio

Questions about Qustodio in foster care

Can I use Qustodio in foster care?

You can, but it’s built for parents managing their own family, not for foster care. Qustodio lets an adult read a young person’s texts, get alerts from their chats, log their activity and track their location. Reading a young person’s private messages is hard to justify to their caseworker and the agency, and it costs their trust. Voop is built for foster care. It never reads messages, the young person can see what’s switched on, protections can’t be turned off, and every change has a written reason your team can see.

Can I use Qustodio in foster care?

I already use Qustodio. Why switch?

If Qustodio is working for you, you may not need to. Care teams usually switch when a young person has removed it or gotten around it, when several caregivers need to manage the same phone, or when reading a young person’s messages is hard to justify. Voop is built for that. Protections can’t be turned off, the whole care team manages the phone, every change is recorded with a reason, and it never reads messages.

I already use Qustodio. Why switch?

Can a group home use Qustodio?

It isn’t designed for it. In a group home, reading a young person’s private messages is hard to justify to their caseworker and the agency, and it costs their trust. Qustodio’s help pages also describe no record of who changed what across shifts. Voop never reads messages, and every change is recorded with a reason the whole team can see.

Can a group home use Qustodio?

Can a child get around Qustodio?

It depends on the device. Qustodio is an app on the young person’s phone. On Android it uses device permissions to guard against being uninstalled. On iPhone, that protection needs a computer and doesn’t support iOS 27 or later. If Qustodio is removed, the parent gets an alert, but by then the protections are off. A Voop phone is different: Voop is installed at the device level, so it can’t be uninstalled and a factory reset is blocked.

Can a child get around Qustodio?

Can a child remove Voop from their phone?

No. On a Voop phone, Voop is installed at the device level. The app can’t be uninstalled, a factory reset is blocked and raises an alert, and filtering works on the phone and the network, so it still applies on any Wi-Fi network. That’s why the young person helps agree their protections: they can see what’s switched on, and they have less reason to look for a way around.

Can a child remove Voop from their phone?

Does Voop read a child’s messages?

No. Voop never reads messages or records calls. The care team sets protections, such as which apps and contacts are allowed and when the internet is on, and the young person can see what’s switched on, on their own phone.

Does Voop read a child’s messages?

Can foster parents use Voop?

Yes. Foster and kinship parents can buy Voop directly from Voop Inc, and so can any parent who wants the most secure option for their child.

Can foster parents use Voop?

Yes. Foster and kinship parents can buy Voop directly from Voop Inc, and so can any parent who wants the most secure option for their child.

Is Voop a Qustodio alternative for foster care?

Yes. Voop is therapeutic digital safety for youth in foster care, in foster homes and group homes. It runs on the young person’s own Android phone. Protections are agreed with each young person and set to what they need, from a normal phone to a basic one, and they can’t be turned off or bypassed with a factory reset. Location sharing is the young person’s choice, unless they’re reported missing, when everyone linked to them is alerted.

Is Voop a Qustodio alternative for foster care?

Sources, checked 8 November 2026

Qustodio, what Qustodio is and the devices it supports

Qustodio, plans and prices

Qustodio, features

Qustodio Help Center, adding another parent

Qustodio Help Center, activity reports

Qustodio Help Center, unexpected changes to your rules

Qustodio Help Center, Device Administrator on Android

Qustodio Help Center, tampering alerts

Qustodio Help Center, alerts when Qustodio is removed

Qustodio Help Center, Qustodio Advance on iPhone

Qustodio Help Center, Routines and Bedtime

Qustodio Help Center, calls and SMS on Android

Qustodio Help Center, monitoring on iPhone

Qustodio Help Center, reading SMS messages

Qustodio Help Center, social monitoring and AI message alerts

Qustodio Help Center, location and My places

Qustodio Help Center, Panic Button

Qustodio Help Center, the Kids app

CARE SETTINGS

Why parental controls fall short for youth in foster care

Parental controls for foster parents

Parental controls for group homes

COMPARISONS AND GUIDES

Compare Voop with other apps

Phones for youth in foster care

Built for care, not adapted for it

Laptop showing the Voop web app, with a green tick

Normalness as protection

For a child in care, a phone that looks and feels like everyone else's means they don’t feel different every time they open their phone.

Phone showing the phone features screen in the Voop app

Oversight that scales

Larger providers get one view across homes and teams, with roles, permissions and reporting built in.

Laptop showing a Voop alert, with a warning sign

Transparency BY DESIGN

One young person who’d deleted a tracking app before agreed to try Voop once they saw exactly what was on, and that location sharing was their call.

One monthly price, with the phone plan included

Voop is a phone plan with digital safety built in, not an app you add on. Each young person’s plan includes unlimited calls and texts with 10GB of data, a tamper-proof phone setup, their own app and your care team dashboard. See pricing

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