Salfeld child safety lock

The Salfeld parental control is subject to a charge. Parents pay 29.95 euros for a term of 24 months (as of 09.01.2024). If Salfeld Parental Control is to be used on several devices, the price increases. Users can try out the Salfeld parental control system free of charge for one month before deciding whether or not to purchase it. In a test conducted by Stiftung Warentest in 2020, Salfeld Parental Control was the test winner among the parental control apps (full test behind a payment barrier). Salfeld Parental Control can be used on multiple devices (e.g. tablet or PC) and is not limited to the smartphone. The program is available for the Windows and Android operating systems.

What does the program promise?

Salfeld Parental Control offers a wide range of functions. Above all, it is designed to enable parents to keep an eye on their children's media time and limit it if desired. Individual time limits can be set for this. Once a limit has been reached, the smartphone can no longer be used. However, it is possible to allow certain apps even if the time limit is exceeded. This ensures, for example, that a call to the parents is still possible even if the other functions of the smartphone are blocked.

Another function is the filtering of websites. It is possible to allow only selected sites and block all "unknown" websites. Or you can allow all sites and create a list of websites that the child is not allowed to access.

The location of the cell phone (and therefore of the child) can be called up online by the parents at any time.

The parent account can be used to view which app was used on the smartphone, when and for how long. It also logs which websites have been accessed. Even if access was prevented by the filter. A weekly report on the child's usage times is sent to the parents once a week. If you wish, you can also receive a report by e-mail every day. The child can also send their approval requests (for example, more screen time or the use of a specific app) to the parent account.

You can find an overview of the functions at on the provider's website.

On the main page of our topic area on youth protection programs, parents can find educational tips on the use of technical aids in media education.

Our experience with the Salfeld child safety lock

The installation

The Salfeld parental control app is currently not available for Android in the Google Play Store (as of 09.01.2024). Once you have downloaded the installation file from the Salfeld website and started it, the app guides you through the installation process in an understandable way. For security reasons, some authorizations could not be granted on our device at first. We had to complete the installation incompletely and then make further settings on our device using instructions from the Salfeld website. Only after several attempts were we able to grant all authorizations and the Salfeld parental control functioned fully.

The handling

The app's wide range of functions is noticeable from the very first time you use it. There are many options for setting the screen time. Time limits can be set per day, per week or per month. You can easily allow less screen time on some days and more on others. This is practical if, for example, children should have a little more screen time at the weekend. You can also specify whether the time limits should apply to the entire device or only to certain apps. If you only want social media to be used for one hour a day, but want learning programs to be accessible indefinitely, you can set this. Another practical feature is that you can define times when the device should not be usable, for example at bedtime.

The filter function worked reliably in our tests. Websites that we had blocked could no longer be accessed. However, it can happen that blocked sites are visible for a fraction of a second before the lock screen appears. Caution: The filter can be easily bypassed by installing another browser. Parents can prevent this by automatically blocking all newly installed apps. Or by also setting up the filter for the new browser.

The function to block certain apps also worked reliably and could not be bypassed in our test. If the child did find a way to bypass a block, this would become clear via the daily or weekly report, in which every app used is listed along with the usage time.

Please note that we have not systematically tested the Salfeld child safety lock. We tested it on a single device over a period of approximately one week. The impressions described here therefore only reflect our experiences during this period and with this device and are not representative.

Lock screen of the Salfeld parental control, which is displayed when the daily limit has been reached.
Once the daily limit has been reached, the smartphone is locked. However, you can specify apps that should continue to be usable, such as the phone.
Lock screen of the Salfeld parental control that is displayed when an attempt is made to access the Pornhub website.
The Internet filter prevents children or young people from accessing unsuitable websites.
Lock screen of the Salfeld childproof lock. The text reads: "Clean up the damn room!", device locked until: Thu, 04.01. at 13:13
The Salfeld parental controls also offer the possibility of using access to the smartphone as a punishment, reward or means of exerting pressure. However, pediatricians and addiction researchers strongly advise against this.
Screenshot of an example usage history as displayed in the parent account. You can see, for example, search queries on the topic of sexuality and the body or on behavior in arguments with parents.
In the default settings, Salfeld parental controls log all websites visited or blocked. The examples shown here make it clear that this can encroach on a child's privacy to a considerable extent. The log can be switched off at a later date.

What we liked

  • Easy to use, comprehensive instructions on the provider's website and the option to contact if you have any questions.
  • The app has many setting options and can be individually adapted to the child and their level of development.
  • If the smartphone is locked, children can send release requests to the parent account.

What you should know

  • Depending on the operating system, additional permissions may need to be granted after installation before the app will work.
  • Blocked content (e.g. porn websites) may be visible for a short time in the browser before the lock screen appears.
  • Location monitoring can be easily prevented by deactivating GPS on the smartphone at .
  • The Salfeld parental control logs the child's behavior extensively in the basic settings (see screenshot above). Depending on the child's age and level of development, these monitoring options should be limited to what is absolutely necessary or switched off completely.
  • The filter only works for Internet browsers. Inappropriate content that is distributed via social media services or messengers is therefore not recorded and is visible to children.