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Whether it’s helping your kids improve their cyber hygiene, restricting internet access for discipline or productivity purposes, or simply keeping a watchful eye on their internet activities, a parental control app has become a much-needed defense against today’s worsening digital threat landscape.
FamilyTime is one such popular child monitoring application that gives you a granular view of the applications and websites your child visits and allows you to manage their screen time with active limits.
In this review, we’ve taken a deep dive into FamilyTime Premium’s best features, plans, user experience, and customer support to help you decide if it’s the right choice for you. Read till the end because we also compare it with some of the best in the business.
FamilyTime review: Plans and pricingFamilyTime Premium offers a pretty straightforward pricing structure. There are three plans for you to choose from: My Family, My Family 3, and My Family 5. While the first plan covers only one device, the other two cover three and five devices, respectively.
The single-device plan costs $2.41 per month, billed at $29 annually. My Family 3 costs $4.08 per month, billed at $49 annually, while My Family 5 costs $5.75 per month, billed at $69 annually.
(Image credit: FamilyTime)The good news is that there are no feature differences between the three plans – the only difference is the number of devices they cover. This means you get everything FamilyTime Premium has to offer, even with the basic $2.41 plan.
Before you commit to a paid plan, you can try FamilyTime Premium’s 3-day free trial, where you can test various features to see how they work.
However, note that the free trial isn’t particularly extensive and lacks certain features, especially social media monitoring on platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, and Signal. Similarly, you can’t read your child’s text messages or view their calls during the free trial.
That said, it’s still one of the most comprehensive free trials we’ve seen, even if it’s for a very limited time. That makes it worth trying if you’re considering FamilyTime and want to explore its features to understand whether it’s right for you.
FamilyTime review: FeaturesFamilyTime Premium offers a slew of features to help you manage your child’s screen time and phone usage. One of the best is its Balance feature, which gives parents a great degree of control over how much time their child spends on their device.
For starters, parents can define daily usage limits along with individual app limits. There’s also Screen Schedule, which lets you schedule limited screen time for your child during different parts of the day.
(Image credit: FamilyTime)Next, the Scheduled Internet feature offers a finer level of control, letting you block internet access on your child’s device for a specific period. They’ll still be able to use non-internet apps.
What we liked the most, though, is its Time Bank function, which allows a child to carry forward their unused daily allowance. For instance, if you’ve allowed five hours of screen time during weekdays and your child uses their phone for only three hours on a particular day, they can carry the remaining two hours forward for later use.
(Image credit: FamilyTime)Lastly, there’s Family Pause, which can immediately lock your child’s device in case of an emergency. In addition to extensive screen-time controls, FamilyTime also offers several safety features. For example, you can outright block apps or games that you don’t approve of on your child’s device, or block inappropriate and age-sensitive websites.
On the flip side, you can choose to allow your child to access only approved applications and games and enable search filters to block explicit websites, videos, and images.
There’s also a handy SOS Panic Button that your child can use during an emergency. When they activate it, parents receive an immediate SOS alert notifying them that their child needs help.
(Image credit: FamilyTime)FamilyTime also offers a pretty nifty PickMeUp Request feature, which sends real-time reminders and lets you plan your child’s pickup on a day-to-day basis.
(Image credit: FamilyTime)On top of this, FamilyTime offers several visibility features, giving you granular insights into your child’s phone activity. For instance, you can view all the contacts on your child’s device, read their text messages, and access their call logs.
Moreover, you can check the list of installed apps, view your child’s web history, and even monitor their social media activity on platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, and Signal.
(Image credit: FamilyTime)Lastly, there are location-tracking features as well, which can help you locate all your family members on a live map at a glance. You can also define specific areas on the map and receive instant alerts whenever your child enters or leaves a designated zone.
FamilyTime review: Interface and in-useFamilyTime works on both Android and iOS. Unlike some other apps that claim they can be installed remotely using iCloud credentials, FamilyTime Premium makes no such claim.
Parents will need physical access to their child’s device to download the FamilyTime Junior app, while installing the FamilyTime Dashboard app on their own device. Once that’s done, the two applications are linked by scanning a QR code.
On Android, parents will need to grant several permissions, such as overlay access and device administrator rights, and allow installations from unknown sources for all the application’s features to work.
Parents will also need to set a four-digit PIN during installation to prevent the child from removing or disabling the FamilyTime Junior app.
A good thing about the platform is that it gives children greater visibility into their own limits, allowing them to check their remaining screen time, send SOS alerts, review their Time Bank balance, and see which applications are blocked.
(Image credit: FamilyTime)The dashboard itself is very intuitive and easy to use. The layout is clean and simple, and parents can quickly navigate through the various features with just a few clicks. You’ll also appreciate that the setup tutorial is very detailed. That said, the installation process won’t take more than a few minutes.
As with any child monitoring application, users might encounter occasional inconsistencies in FamilyTime’s performance, especially on iOS devices, which operate within a more closed ecosystem. That said, both applications generally work well and don’t come with a steep learning curve.
FamilyTime review: SupportFamilyTime Premium has done well when it comes to customer support. For starters, you can access 24/7 live chat through the website even before making a purchase. That lets you iron out any concerns or queries you might have. This was, in fact, one of our gripes with Parentaler, which didn’t offer live chat, at least not before purchasing a plan.
Once you’ve subscribed to a FamilyTime plan, you also get access to 24/7 Premium in-app live chat as well as 24/7 email support, which should be more than enough for most queries or issues you might have.
There’s also a rich collection of how-to articles and FAQs that provide answers to commonly asked questions. We also like that there’s a detailed collection of step-by-step installation guides and walkthrough articles covering various core functionalities of the platform.
FamilyTime review: The competitionmSpy offers more advanced features, such as keylogging, which helps you view every keystroke your child types on their device, including deleted messages and typed URLs. There’s also a keyword alerts function that can notify you whenever specific keywords are typed, which isn’t typically possible with a standard keylogger.
Furthermore, mSpy offers broader monitoring coverage across several social media platforms, including Snapchat, Tinder, Facebook Messenger, and Viber. There’s also AI chatbot monitoring, which lets you see what your child types into chatbots such as Gemini or ChatGPT.
That said, mSpy is pretty costly, starting at $11.67 per month per device on the annual plan. This can become very expensive very fast if you have a household with multiple children.
Qustodio is another strong alternative, particularly if you want a more traditional parental control app with extensive monitoring and filtering tools. It offers screen-time limits, app and website blocking, location tracking, and social media monitoring, while also supporting a wide range of platforms including Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Chromebook, and Kindle.
If you'd like alternatives that, like FamilyTime, take a more inclusive approach, you can check out applications like Bark or HeyPolo.
Bark, for example, explicitly addresses children during setup to explain that the goal is safety, not spying. It also uses an AI alert system to flag genuine risks such as predators, cyberbullying, or self-harm, rather than handing parents a full transcript of everyday conversations for them to go through.
FamilyTime review: Final verdictWe’d recommend FamilyTime Premium for several very good reasons. For starters, it’s one of the most inexpensive parental control applications out there, with plans starting as low as $2.41 per month for a single device. Even its multi-device plans are pretty affordable, starting at just $4.08 per month.
Next, the platform offers a relatively transparent Junior app for your child’s device, where they can view their own screen time, check blocked apps, and send SOS alerts when needed. This is in stark contrast to the closed monitoring environment offered by apps such as mSpy.
You also get 30-day activity reports, location tracking and geofencing, social media monitoring, and a free trial with nearly all the available features. However, if you need even more features, such as keylogging, keyword alerts, or remote camera access, consider splurging on mSpy.
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- Huntress warns of phishing campaign abusing Adobe branding with browser‑in‑the‑browser trick
- Victims lured into fake update pages, unknowingly installing rogue ScreenConnect clients
- Attackers gain persistent remote access; defenders urged to restrict RMM installs and monitor IoCs
Security researchers Huntress have warned of an ongoing phishing campaign that abuses Adobe’s brand while deploying clever browser-in-the-browser (BitB) techniques to trick the victims.
The goal is to deliver rogue ScreenConnect clients which would grant the attackers persistent access to target devices.
In its report, Huntress says it could not find the lure itself and thus could not report what the scam looks like. However, it saw the victims clicking on a link in the email and then being redirected to a typosquatted domain https[://]adoube[.]vu that spoofs an Adobe landing page.
We heard you like browsers…This is where we get to the scam’s unique twist. Usually, phishing lures would simply redirect victims to a malicious website which could be identified simply by looking at the address bar. If the domain differs from the legitimate one, the scam falls apart. To work around that problem, scammers came with a solution called “browser in the browser”.
Using either HTML, CSS, or JavaScript, the crooks would create an entire fake browser window, including the address bar, URL, padlock icon, and more, inside the actual webpage content itself. Therefore, if the victim isn’t all too careful, they might look at the fake address bar, see a legitimate URL, and believe they are visiting the correct website.
In this fake browser window, the fraudsters display a blurred .PDF document. Overlaid is a message saying the documents are “secured” and created with “the latest version of Adobe.” The only way to read them, the message continues, is to “update or download Adobe PDF Reader.” Expectedly, there is a big “View Files” button just under the notification, leading to a different, equally fake BitB page, showing the download progress. In the background, something gets downloaded.
Victims might think they’re getting a PDF reader, while in reality they’re getting a rogue version of ScreenConnect.
Poisoned ScreenConnect instancesOn its own, ScreenConnect is not malware, or dangerous in any other way. It is a legitimate remote access and support software, similar to TeamViewer, AnyDesk, or Remote Desktop, allowing IT professionals remotely connect to and control computers and other devices. These variants, however, are tainted to enable threat actors to obtain persistent remote access to their targets’ endpoints, Huntress explained.
“The first initial remote client installed was the rogue ScreenConnect Client configured to communicate with instance-uxh86b-relay[.]screenconnect[.]com. The attacker used a legitimate ScreenConnect Trial Relay domain to further avoid detection,” the researchers said. “This initial malicious ScreenConnect Client used the native Windows command shell and curl to retrieve and install a second malicious ScreenConnect Client configured to communicate with attacker-controlled IP. Both clients established service-based persistence for continued remote access.”
After installation, the attackers used the second ScreenConnect session to run HideCursor.exe, an executable, as the name suggests, that helps the attackers hide their mouse activity.
Huntress’ researchers don’t know what the endgame is, since the threat actors were spotted and shut down in this stage of the attack. The researchers also did not share the details about the target, such as the size of the organization, or the industry it operates in. Therefore, it is impossible to even speculate on the nature of the attack and if the threat actors aimed to install ransomware.
Still, the researchers stressed the importance of training employees to “treat unexpected software update prompts and file-viewing pages with caution”, and to make sure they know how to verify downloads through trusted channels. IT teams should also restrict who can install remote-management tools, maintain an approved inventory of RMM software, and alert on new or unapproved ScreenConnect clients, unusual relay connections, and executables launched from the user Downloads folders.
Finally, businesses should monitor for Indicators of Compromise (IoC) listed on this page.
- PlayStation cuts ties with Kojima Productions for upcoming Physint game
- Hideo Kojima states PlayStation tried to cancel Physint, so he decided to look for a new partnership
- Xbox and Kojima Productions now have a partnership for Physint and future projects, including OD
Sony dented its reputation in the gaming industry with its announcement that it would be ending the production of physical game discs — and the trend of controversial decisions is still going strong.
PlayStation has cut ties with Kojima Productions for its upcoming game, Physint, and Xbox has swooped in as a replacement in a new partnership with Hideo Kojima's video game and film production studio.
In a statement on X, PlayStation says: "After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to step away from collaborating with Kojima Productions on its project, Physint. We continue to have great admiration for Hideo Kojima's vision for the game."
From that statement alone, it's not exactly clear why the split has occurred. However, Hideo Kojima took to X to weigh in on the matter himself, stating: "We unexpectedly received notice from PlayStation Studios that they would cancel the Physint project," which is PlayStation in form, at least based on its cancellations of multiple projects from its first-party studios.
"Physint is an important project both to me personally and to Kojima Productions. Determined to keep the project alive, we have spent the last three months searching tirelessly for a new partner. We found Xbox, a partner with whom we share a common vision for the future, and we have decided to team up with them once again."
Unsurprisingly, Xbox is more than happy to partner with the critically acclaimed developer, as its CEO, Asha Sharma, says: "We're honored that Kojima-san has chosen Xbox to work with Kojima Productions on Physint. His ambition to challenge conventions reflects the kind of creativity we want to support at Xbox."
Sony's Physint cancellation attempt hints at bigger concerns(Image credit: Xbox / Kojima Productions)Fortunately, Physint is in fine condition, with development still underway, as Kojima confirmed, calling it Kojima Productions' "genre-defining action-espionage title", which many have lauded as the next Metal Gear-style franchise since Kojima left Konami in 2015.
However, the bigger question remains: is the split between the companies solely due to the PlayStation's Physint cancellation attempt? Considering Kojima's stance against a digital-only future, which Sony has greenlit for games, it's hard to imagine that this didn't play a role in the partnership's collapse.
Kojima highlighted his sadness about Sony's decision to end the production of physical PlayStation game discs, considering the loss of ownership, which he described as a company suddenly stating, "You can turn on the tap for a certain amount of money each month."
That points towards fears of subscription services and how media will only be accessible by using them, and easy access to favorite movies and games will cease to exist.
It's not hard to imagine Kojima getting cold feet about launching Physint on PlayStation as an exclusive, without any physical game discs, as it directly highlights his fears of an all-digital future. It may not have been the direct factor behind the separation, but the timing (a few months after Sony's disc-axing announcement) certainly doesn't appear to be coincidental either.
Whether the blowback from this new decision will push Sony to reverse course is to be seen, but if Kojima's pushback on an all-digital future has anything to do with the disbanding, it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see other developers eventually do the same.
Parental control applications help you keep tabs on and manage screen time for your children effectively. However, the market is flooded with thousands of applications, and picking the best parental control app for your specific needs can be quite a challenge.
This is why we’ve dug deep and conducted a comprehensive review of Parentaler – one of the most popular child monitoring applications today.
Along with extensive social media monitoring, the application allows parents to monitor their child’s texts across various platforms, track their location using GPS, and filter the kind of content they can view online.
But is Parentaler the right choice for your? Read on as we analyze its best features, pricing, and user experience, while also comparing it with the best in the industry.
Parentaler review: Plans and pricingWe’re not a fan of how Parentaler’s pricing isn’t prominently displayed on its website. You’ll have to answer a series of questions before you can find out how much it costs.
We’ve done some digging to find out that its monthly plan costs $42.69, whereas the quarterly plan comes at $24.40 per month. However, its most affordable plan is the annual package, costing $10.17 per month, billed annually at $121.99.
(Image credit: Parentaler)The good thing is that there aren’t any plans to choose from, other than the subscription length. All the three packages offer the same set of features, which is everything Parentaler has to offer. This is the kind of simplicity we also lauded in HeyPolo – Surfshark VPN’s own parental control app.
What we also didn’t quite like about Parentaler is that it doesn’t offer a free trial or even a demo, which means you’ll have to buy a plan to see how it works for you. That said, the company does provide a 14-day refund policy, so if the app doesn’t meet your expectations, you can claim a full refund.
Parentaler review: FeaturesParentaler offers three main categories of functions with its child monitoring app: text and call monitoring, location monitoring, and content filtering. Let’s dive into each of them.
Parentaler allows you to monitor various platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Telegram, Viber, Kik, and TikTok. Parents can also view messages their child sends and receives, calls made, links shared, and any media they might have sent or received.
Besides this, Parentaler also lets you keep an eye on the kind of content your children are sharing on a particular social media platform, say Instagram or TikTok, and this includes keeping you aware of their posts, stories, and more.
Its SMS and text monitoring is also pretty robust and works with iMessage on iPhone, allowing you to see both incoming and outgoing texts, including deleted messages. Of course, you can also monitor call logs on both platforms, including a list of contacts.
(Image credit: Parentaler)Text monitoring also covers all major social media platforms. One caveat worth noting is that instant-message tracking, such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber, and Skype, along with Gmail and Wi-Fi network monitoring only works on Android if it’s rooted. That’s a bit of a bummer, in our opinion.
Next up is its GPS tracking technology, which allows you to check your child’s location right from the app’s dashboard on your device. You can even view detailed information such as the address, timestamps, and coordinates.
(Image credit: Parentaler)Parents can also mark allowed and restricted zones on a map directly from the Parentaler app and get instant alerts if their child enters or leaves these geofenced areas. You can also set screen-time limits with Parentaler, designating time limits for certain apps such as social media or games.
On the flip side, you can also schedule downtime, during which your child can only use certain apps. For instance, you can set up downtime during school hours where only learning apps might be accessible to your kids.
Along with this, there’s a dedicated Focus Mode on Android, which can pause distracting apps at preset times. You can also view detailed time reports to see where your child is spending most of their time.
Parentaler also offers handy content-filtering options, allowing you to block content relating to specific topics such as adult websites, social media, or any other objectionable content you don’t want your child to access.
(Image credit: Parentaler)The app allows you to view your child’s detailed browser history, helping you understand the kind of content they’re viewing online.
Additionally, parents can set up various keyword alerts, which might include commonly used slang or objectionable words. If your child ends up using them in their conversations, you’ll be able to view the alerts on the application’s dashboard.
Parentaler review: Interface and in-useParentaler works for Android, iPhone, and iPad, all of which come with a central dashboard accessible from any device or browser.
Parentaler’s compatibility policy page says that you don’t need physical access to the iPhone device to install the application if you already have the iCloud credentials and two-factor authentication hasn’t been activated.
However, if two-factor authentication is enabled or iCloud backup is disabled, you’ll need physical access to install the app on the target device. With Android, you’ll compulsorily need physical access for app installation.
Once the application is up and running, you’re greeted with an intuitive dashboard that lays out everything from call logs, social media monitoring, text messages, web history, and your child’s location on a single page. You can access various settings from the same dashboard and fine-tune them according to your requirements.
Overall, the platform is indeed very easy to use, with no major quirks or learning curve. That is, once you’ve successfully gotten past the installation hurdle.
Parentaler review: SupportParentaler’s support options were honestly disappointing. We could only locate a “Contact Us” form on its website, where you need to enter your name, email, question, and message, and then wait for a response from Parentaler’s team.
Noticeably, the company’s marketing copy says that a 24/7 live chat option is available in various languages. However, we couldn’t locate any live chat button while navigating through its website.
It might be possible that you get a live chat option after you’ve purchased a plan, but the lack of proper support before committing to a purchase could be a major drawback for some parents. There’s no phone or dedicated email support either.
Parentaler review: The competitionWhile Parentaler is a solid parental monitoring and parental control app, there are a few features it lacks.
For instance, mSpy offers features like an anti-installation alert, where if your child uninstalls the parental monitoring app, you’ll get an instant notification. mSpy also offers remote camera and microphone access, allowing you to micromanage your child’s phone usage.
That means mSpy is great for anyone who needs a higher degree of control over what their child uses their devices for. It’s also one of the few parental control apps to offer extensive keylogging features, allowing you to see every word typed on your child’s device.
Another major shortcoming with Parentaler is that it doesn’t offer family plans. Even its annual plan, which costs around $121.99 per year, covers only a single device. This means that if you have more than one child to cover, you’ll have to buy separate subscriptions, which can quickly become expensive.
In comparison, Bitdefender offers value-for-money family plans, which start at just $79.99 for the first year, covering five accounts and 25 devices. Along with parental control features such as content filtering, internet time limits, GPS location tracking, and activity reports, you also get extra online protection tools, such as an award-winning antivirus, password manager, VPN, and decent identity protection features.
Parentaler review: Final verdictOverall, we found Parentaler to be a decent parental control app for monitoring your children. It covers all the major bases when it comes to features, along with comprehensive text and call monitoring across various social media apps. You can also view extensive call logs and contact details on your child’s phone.
Its GPS tracking is also pretty well done, allowing you to set predefined geofencing limits. There are robust content-filtering options, so parents can keep a check on what their child views online.
That said, Parentaler doesn’t offer any family plans. While its annual plan is very reasonable at $121.99, this can quickly become expensive for households with multiple children.
It also misses out on certain features, such as remote camera or microphone access. Additionally, it doesn’t offer great support options, with only a Contact Us form available on its website. If you’re looking for more affordable or multi-device plans, Bitdefender and Mobicip can be good alternatives.
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In August 2026, Tineco launched its most advanced floor washer to date — the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum. With a suction power of up to 25,000 Pa, it’s one of the most powerful wet-dry vacuums on the market, picking up fine materials like flour in a single pass and large materials like 8-12 leaves in less than a minute. With the lie flat design, you can reach further under furniture. Side edge cleaning doesn’t get better than this. You can clean along the front of the vacuum up to about one-half to one-eighth of an inch. With a battery that lasts 65-75 minutes on Auto mode and up to 100 minutes on Quiet mode, you can clean most houses in a single go.
Thanks to four cleaning modes, including a dirt detect mode, the Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum soared through our various cleaning tests from dry debris to wet messes and stubborn stains. A HydroBurst sprayer that can spray solution on tough stains is a great addition, but kind of unnecessary since the mopping power is exceptionally good. Not only does the wet-dry vacuum use hot water to clean (and continuously washes the brushroll as it mops), but the brushroll presses against the floor for a deeper clean and utilizes a streak-free scraper when the wet-dry vacuum goes in reverse. This helps to remove tough messes and prevent streaks or water stains.
(Image credit: Future)The most notable upgrade, however, is the Smart Refresh Station. Tineco clearly took inspiration from robot vacuum bases and created a base that automatically refills the wet-dry vacuum with cleaning solution and clean water from a 5-liter water tank. This reduces the maintenance required, which is already impressive considering the base uses hot water and hot air to clean the brushroll. Maybe soon enough Tineco will surprise us with a base that removes dirty water and debris too.
Perhaps the biggest drawback to this wet-dry vacuum is the price. It’s one of the highest on the market. If you’re willing to do a little more maintenance, the Tineco Floor One S9 Artist Pro cleans just as well. Still, I can’t deny that the Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum might do better with larger debris and is a great investment for those with larger homes who want to clean their space on a single charge.
Keep reading for my full review of the Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum and see why it’s currently my favorite on the market.
Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: price and availability- List price: $1,199 (about £880 / AU$1,660)
- Launch date: August 2026
- Availability: US
The Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum launched in the US in August 2026 at a list price of $1,199 (about £880 / AU$1,660), making it Tineco’s most expensive wet-dry vacuum and a premium-priced wet-dry vacuum on the wider market. It’s sold through Tineco, as well as third-party retailers like Amazon and Walmart.
The price is not surprising, considering it may be the first wet-dry vacuum to offer a base station that auto refills the unit with water and solution. I’ve been testing wet-dry vacuums for years, and though this isn’t new technology (in that we see it utilized with wet-dry robot vacuums), it is new for wet-dry vacuum bases. Add in the exceptional battery life, solution sprayer, and streak-free scraper technology, and this price makes sense.
Perhaps during the holidays, the Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro will be discounted. For now, you could go with the equally exceptional Tineco Floor One S9 Artist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum if you’re willing to refill the water tank by hand. It’s usually $849, but it’s discounted to $599, and I can say firsthand that it has a similar cleaning prowess as the S9 Scientist Pro.
- Value score: 4 out of 5
Max suction
25,000 Pa
Dimensions:
9.5 x 10.25 x 43 inches (the unit), 12 x 11.25 x 17 inches (base only)
Water tank volumes
0.85 L on the unit, 5L on the base (clean) / 0.72 L (dirty)
Filter
HEPA filter
Max runtime
Up to 100 mins
Recharge time
Approx 3-4 hours
Tools
Brush to clean dirty water tank
Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: design- 180-degree lie-flat design for hard-to-reach places
- Four cleaning modes and a solution sprayer for tough stains
- Self-cleaning and clean water auto-refilling base
It took minutes to put the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum together. All I had to do was remove it from the packaging, slot the handle into the unit, and put it to charge on the base. A bottle of cleaning solution, extra brushroll, and a cleaning brush were provided in the packaging.
The first few things I noticed about the design were the thickness of the vacuum head and the sleek rectangular box design of the body. It looks almost robotic-like, and as I delved further into the design, it makes a lot more sense why the vacuum looks the way it does.
The Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum is 30lbs, so it’s not lightweight, but thanks to a self-propel system, it doesn’t feel heavy. I liked that vacuum head and the body are flexible and twist and turn easily. The wet-dry vacuum can also lie 180-degree flat making it easy to reach under beds and sofas to clean. This is possible because the dirty water tank is on the back of the vacuum body and the clean water tank is on the top of the vacuum head — hence why the vacuum head is so bulky.
(Image credit: Future)A streak-free scraper under the vacuum head lifts when you push the vacuum forward and drops when you pull it backwards, so that it can scrape excess water and tough stains. This results in a completely clean floor free of water stains and streaks. A white headlight helps to illuminate dark spaces, while a comb and scraper near the brushroll prevents the tangling of hair and other debris.
A small LED screen is placed on the handle with three buttons. The power button turns the unit on and off, while the change mode button lets you move between the four cleaning modes — Auto, Max, Quiet, and Suction. The mode in use and battery life appear on the LED screen. A HydroBurst button causes cleaning solution to spray from the front of the vacuum head onto tough stains.
Tineco has done something a bit different with the Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum in terms of the Auto Mode (or the dirt detect system). When using Auto Mode, a light blue digital ring on the front of the unit’s body appears. Parts of the ring turn red to notify you how dirty the floor is. The more red the ring is, the dirtier the floor.
(Image credit: Future)While this digital display is intuitive, there are seven status displays in total that appear on the front of the vacuum’s body and not all of them are easy to remember. The seven displays are Dirt Level, Battery, HydroBurst, Self-Cleaning, Drying Mode, Malfunction, and Water Filling Indicators. Each one has a different shape and a different color indicator. This is probably the biggest design drawback for me, as I think Tineco could’ve displayed such indicators in an easier-to-understand method. With the voice commands, you’ll understand what each indicator means, but if you turn off the voice commands, you might find yourself slightly confused.
There is also a self-cleaning button on the top of the handle. It’s to be pressed when the wet-dry vacuum is on the base. Three buttons appear on top of the vacuum body when it’s on the base. The 'Hot Water Refill' button refills the wet-dry vacuum with hot water, while the 'Silent' button results in a longer brushroll drying period. The brushroll dries in five minutes if you press the 'Flash' button.
(Image credit: Future)The base may be large, but consider this: it charges the wet-dry vacuum, self-cleans it with hot water and air, and auto refills the wet-dry vacuum’s clean water tank with water and cleaning solution. At the back of the base there is a cleaning solution compartment that can hold an entire bottle of Tineco cleaning solution. A 5-liter tank of clean water is then placed on top the cleaning solution compartment, so that when the wet-dry vacuum is on the base, the base can move hot water into the wet-dry vacuum hands-free.
While the design outshines other wet-dry vacuums on the market, I see some room for slight improvements in the future.
- Design score: 4.5 out of 5
- Phenomenal cleaning capabilities with great edge cleaning
- Does a outstanding job suctioning liquids and large debris like leaves
- Front edge cleaning varies between ½ and 1/8th of an inch from the wall
From the get-go, I really liked how the handle of the the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum twisted and turned so easily. This especially helped when I laid the wet-dry vacuum flat to clean under my bed. I was able to reach around the legs of my bedframe easily.
The dirt detection system was fantastic, recognizing even the smallest amounts of dust. My home is very dusty because it’s historic, and I was glad to see that the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum suctioned up the dust rather than spreading it about or pushing it back into the air. The headlight illuminated dust and debris in dark spaces, though I would’ve preferred a green rather than a white headlight as green lights make dust and debris more visible. At least, I could trust the Auto Mode to 'see' hidden stains or dirt that I couldn’t see under the white headlight or with the naked eye.
(Image credit: Future)The suctioning capabilities of the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum are beyond impressive, which isn’t surprising considering it has a suction power of 25,000 Pa. (Trust me, that’s massive.) I used the wet-dry vacuum to pick up a lot of dried leaves that had fallen around one of my plants. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wet-dry vacuum accomplish such a task in such a short time. Most struggle to suction one or two leaves, much less 10. Even the reverse cleaning was better than most wet-dry vacuums.
One of the first things I tested was the edge cleaning. There was no space between the wall and the side edge of the vacuum head. However, I noticed that there was about half an inch along the front edge of the vacuum head and the wall. That was a bit disappointing, until I realized that with certain things, like my really tall thresholds, the space shortened to about 1/8th of an inch. After some experimenting, I realized that if I approached the wall slowly with the front of the vacuum head, the front edge cleaning improved and I could clean closer to objects or walls.
Because the wet-dry vacuum’s head is so bulky, I couldn’t reach under cabinet overhangs. This has been my biggest gripe with wet-dry vacuums since they started putting the clean water tank on the top of the vacuum head because it means I have to go back through the house with a vacuum to clean those spaces.
The clean water tank lasted about 30 minutes (which is quite long), while the dirty water tank had to be emptied at about 40 minutes. These results are well above average.
While most people may use a robot vacuum or vacuum to clean daily, the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum is a really great wet-dry vacuum to have on hand for weekly deep home cleanings and stubborn stains.
Cleaning testsI ran several cleaning tests to see how well the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum Cleaner cleans on Auto mode and was impressed with the results. I sprinkled flour, coffee, and crunchy oats on my laminate flooring, and spilled a variety of liquids like water, soy sauce, and barbeque sauce. I also place an egg on the ground and sprayed some chocolate sauce and siracha sauce and let them both dry slightly.
The Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum Cleaner picked up all the fine and large materials in a single pass, though some flour got stuck on the wheels when I reversed over the flour. The Suction mode did a fantastic job suctioning up the water. I used the Auto mode for the barbecue and soy sauces just to ensure the floor wasn’t sticky afterwards. It cleaned both sauces in a single go without any remaining residue.
FutureFutureWhile the wet-dry vacuum picked up the slightly dry siracha sauce in a single pass, it took about four passes to pick up the driest and thickest parts of chocolate sauce on auto mode. The thinner areas of the chocolate sauce only took a single pass.
I test a lot of wet-dry vacuums throughout the year, and Tineco consistently beats every other brand in cleaning capabilities. The Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum Cleaner didn’t disappoint, and proves that this wet-dry vacuum cleans the most consistently and effectively (and with less effort!) compared to others on the market.
FutureFutureFutureMaintenanceThe Tineco Floor One Station Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum stands out among all wet-dry vacuums because of its base which is outfitted with a 5-liter water tank and a solution bay (that can hold a single solution bottle). The base automatically refills the wet-dry vacuum’s clean water tank in less than 30 seconds – and it’s pretty amazing to watch.
After each cleaning session, I placed the wet-dry vacuum on the base and ran the self-cleaning system which uses hot water to clean the brushroll. This hot water process is quite effective as the brushroll comes out super clean. I only found a very small amount of dust under the vacuum head when I removed the brushroll — far less than I have found with other wet-dry vacuums that I’ve tested.
FutureFutureFutureThe base dries the brushroll and filter with hot air that’s 230 degrees Fahrenheit. Flash dry takes five minutes to dry the brushroll, while silent dry results in a quiet (40 dB sound rating) drying process. I wish I could say that the brushroll was completely dry when using either of these settings, but there was a very slight amount of dampness. On the flash dry setting, the brushroll was 95% dry, while the silent dry mode made the brushroll about 98% dry.
The only thing the base can’t do is empty the dirty water tank – so you have to do it by hand. A brush is provided by Tineco to remove debris. The debris catcher design could be better, but it catches a decent amount.
- Performance score: 4 out of 5
The battery life of the Tineco Floor One Station Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum is more than adequate for most homes. I was able to clean my 1,600-square-foot home in 30 minutes on Auto mode, and still have 50% of the battery life left.
Overall, the battery lasted between 65-73 minutes on Auto mode, which is in-line with Tineco’s predictions that the battery, on Auto mode, can last up to 75 minutes. Remember on Auto mode, the vacuum automatically increases the suction and cleaning power depending on how dirty the floors are. It could use more power and thus more battery life if your floors are especially dirty.
Battery score: 5 out of 5
Should you buy the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro?Attribute
Notes
Score
Value for money
This wet-dry vacuum is a luxury buy, but it offers some high-tech features and an auto refill base that is one of the first of its kind on the market.
4/5
Design
A sleek unit that lies flat and is outfitted with an intuitive scraper. The new indicator system – lights and shapes on the vacuum’s body – notes dirty floors, low battery, or other features/settings.
4/5
Performance
Exceeds all expectations when it comes to vacuuming and mopping hard floors. Side and front edge cleaning are solid.
4.5/5
Battery
With 65-100 minutes of battery life, this wet-dry vacuum can clean small to large homes on a single charge.
5/5
Buy it ifYou want something that can pick up tough stains and dirt and dust in hard-to-reach spaces
The dirt detect technology automatically increases the suction and mopping power when the vacuum recognizes a dirty floor. If need be, there is a HydroBurst function that sprays solution on sticky or tough stains to break them down more easily. Plus, with the vacuum’s ability to lie flat and a 25,000 Pa suction, you can reach far under your bedframe or sofas to clean dust, dirt, and small and large debris.
You have a medium-to-large house
When using the Auto Dirt Detect function, this vacuum can last between 65-75 minutes. Quiet mode results in up to 100 minutes of clean time. No matter which mode you use, you can likely clean your medium or large home on a single charge.
You like doing very little maintenance
You don’t have to fill this vacuum with clean water or cleaning solution because the base does that for you. It even cleans the brushroll with hot water and dries the filter and brushroll with hot air.
Don't buy it ifYour home has a lot of carpets
Some wet-dry vacuums can clean carpets or rugs, but not this one. It’s a better choice for those with hardwood, laminate, stone, or tiled floors.
You’re limited on space.
This wet-dry vacuum has one of the larger bases that I’ve seen, so it may not be ideal for those who are limited in space or don’t find the bulkiness conducive to their dwelling aesthetic. There are plenty of wet-dry vacuums that are better suited for those who live in an apartment or small home.
You’re on a budget
This is one of the most expensive wet-dry vacuums on the market, and while it does a fantastic job, you can find plenty others — even from Tineco — that clean just as well for half the cost.
How I tested the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist ProTesting the Tineco Floor One Station Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum occurred over multiple weeks during a Texas summer in my 106-year-old house that produces a lot of dust and has multiple high traffic areas with dirt and debris.
My 1,600-square-foot house is a mix of laminate and historic hardwood flooring, making it a great testing space. I ran a variety of cleaning tests with various liquids, barbeque sauce, eggs, flour, coffee, and dried chocolate sauce, making sure to utilize different cleaning modes and taking notes on things like edge cleaning, battery life, and maintenance requirements. For more details, see how we test, review, and rate products at TechRadar.
First reviewed September 2026
If you’re looking for a comprehensive online security suite for your family that also includes parental controls, Bitdefender is one of the best options right now. It's a well-known security provider offering an award-winning antivirus program, along with a password manager, VPN, and identity theft protection.
But does its parental control offering, which is bundled with its Family plans and not available via a standalone subscription or even a dedicated app, compete against the best parental control apps?
Read on as we dissect the various parental control features it offers, what they cost, how easy the dashboard is to use every day, and what the top competitors offer.
Bitdefender parental control review: Plans and pricingBitdefender no longer offers its parental control features as a standalone subscription. You’d have to get one of its four family plans. But note that its entire suite of parental control features is available with each of these four plans.
The Total Security Family plan starts at $79.99 for the first year and covers up to 25 devices across five family members. At this price, the cost boils down to around $16 per member per year, which is more affordable than many other parental control applications. Not to forget that, for the price, you also get 24/7 real-time antivirus protection for up to 25 devices, as well as a password manager.
(Image credit: Bitdefender)Next is the Premium Security Plan, which costs $99.99 for the first year and also comes with scam protection, AI-based scam protection, and a VPN with 4,000+ servers in 50+ countries. The Ultimate Security Family Plan and the Ultimate Security Plus Family Plan cost $119.99 and $199.99 for the first year, respectively.
The former comes with dark web monitoring and identity theft protection features such as an identity protection score and real-time breach notifications, while the latter also includes $2 million in identity theft insurance, three-bureau credit monitoring, and other bank, credit card, and investment alerts.
Bitdefender parental control review: FeaturesOne of the standout Bitdefender parental control features is the ability to set screen-time schedules for your children, who would only be able to access their devices during the allowed time intervals.
Along with this, Bitdefender also offers several preset routines: Focus Time, Family Time, and Bedtime, which you can customize as per your child’s daily activity and schedule.
(Image credit: Bitdefender)There’s also a pretty handy internet time management feature, which allows you to control how much time your child spends on the internet during a day. A nice addition is the ability to reward extra screen time for your children for responsible online use.
In addition to internet scheduling, parents can also choose to cut off internet access directly on their child’s device using Bitdefender’s Stop Internet feature.
(Image credit: Bitdefender)Bitdefender also offers predefined age-appropriate filtering categories to help you filter out inappropriate content such as porn, betting, or online gaming for your children. As with screen time, you can also fine-tune these filters to better suit your child’s day-to-day use.
Apart from category-level filtering, parents can also allowlist or blocklist specific URLs individually, in case you want to go beyond the category selection.
(Image credit: Bitdefender)Parents can set up to five child profiles, each with the child’s name, photo, and birth date. Bitdefender automatically applies age-appropriate filtering as soon as the profile is created, which parents can then edit as per their needs.
Along with this, there’s also location tracking, which helps you know where your child is on an interactive map at all times.
(Image credit: Bitdefender)Lastly, there’s Safe Search, which lets you remove explicit and harmful results from search engines, as well as YouTube restrictions, which ensure your child only views age-appropriate videos on the platform.
However, note that content filtering and safe browsing require an active VPN connection to function, as per Bitdefender’s listing on the Google Play Store.
Bitdefender parental control review: Interface and in-useBitdefender parental control works across Android, Windows, iOS, and macOS. That said, Windows and Android get full, unrestricted enforcement of every feature, whereas macOS and iOS are noticeably more limited, largely due to Apple’s own platform restrictions.
For instance, iOS content filtering runs through Apple’s Screen Time and not Bitdefender’s own engine. Parents have to create a child account through Apple ID, then Bitdefender’s app hooks into Apple’s Screen Time restrictions rather than doing its own independent content filtering.
However, the setup is pretty simple. You just have to download the app on your child’s own device. Unlike other parental control applications, you can’t download the app on your child’s phone remotely – you’ll need physical access to the device to do so.
One thing worth noticing is that, after the 2025 overhaul, parental control is no longer configured within the Bitdefender Central mobile app, but from the Bitdefender Central web dashboard, which can still be accessed through the mobile application.
(Image credit: Bitdefender)Once you’re on this dashboard, day-to-day use is genuinely easy. Bitdefender’s Activity Dashboard is filled with several graphs and charts, which allow you to check your child’s phone activity at just a glance.
For example, there’s a bar chart showing their daily internet time over the past few days, as well as a pie chart showing their current day’s internet usage along with their remaining time. The dashboard also gives parents visibility into what’s actually being blocked and when.
(Image credit: Bitdefender)The Prevented Content Access panel is a running log of every link blocked on the child’s device over the past 7 or 30 days. This allows you to see whether your filtering settings are actually able to catch anything, or whether your child is repeatedly trying to search for restricted websites on their device.
Bitdefender parental control review: SupportBitdefender offers one of the most extensive support options we’ve seen across the industry. For starters, there are hundreds of articles, blogs, and how-to explainers on its website, neatly categorized based on different products.
If that doesn’t solve your problem, you can contact Bitdefender support using 24/7 live chat, phone, or email. However, to do so, you’ll first have to go through a few selections, such as the exact help you need, the type of issue you’re facing, and the product you need help with.
The support section features various phone numbers for different regions. The email support requires you to enter your own email address along with the problem you’re facing and doesn’t hand out direct email addresses to the consumer.
Beyond all this, Bitdefender also has an active expert community where you can get answers and solutions from other users across the world. Overall, Bitdefender’s support infrastructure is pretty solid, and you’ll never be left wanting for answers.
Bitdefender parental control review: The competitionBitdefender is billed as a complete security suite and not a standalone parental control app, which is why it does lack a few advanced, dedicated parental control features.
For instance, Parentaler offers social media monitoring, allowing you to view your child’s WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok accounts, and see what they’re posting or with whom they’re chatting.
There’s also text and call monitoring with Parentaler, allowing you to read your child’s incoming and outgoing texts, including deleted messages. We also like its keyword alert function, where you can get instant notifications if your child uses certain controversial words or slang in their conversations.
Another notable feature missing from Bitdefender is geofencing. While it allows you to check your child’s location, it doesn’t offer alerts based on allowed or restricted zones on a map.
If you’re looking for a more comprehensive all-in-one package, Aura is another strong option. It combines parental controls with identity protection, antivirus, VPN, and a password manager, making it more of a complete digital security solution than a standalone parental control app.
If you still need a standalone parental control app but need something more affordable, try Google Family Link, which is entirely free to use and offers comparable features such as screen-time management and content filtering.
Or, you could try FamilyTime, starting at just $2.41 per single device per month. In addition to screen-time scheduling and internet schedules, you can also block apps or games on a child’s device that you don’t approve of.
It also comes with an SOS panic button that your child can use during an emergency. It’s also a great choice for households with several children, thanks to its affordable family plans that can cover up to five devices.
Bitdefender parental control review: Final verdictBitdefender’s family packages are ideal for parents looking for all-round security protection for their children rather than a dedicated, comprehensive parental control app.
But there’s still lots to like. You get robust screen-time management and internet-time management features, along with predefined age-appropriate filtering categories and location tracking. That’s all in combination with an antivirus with real-time protection, a password manager, an unlimited VPN, and identity theft protection, depending on the plan you choose.
The pricing is pretty affordable too, with the monthly cost working out to around $1.33 per member on the entry-level plan. However, if you’re looking for more advanced features, such as social media monitoring, keyword alerts, or geofencing, options like Parentaler or mSpy are more suitable.
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