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Manage the Contacts on their Bark Phone

Updated
Paola Rivera

Set Up Contact Approval

If your kid is on the Bark Phone Starter Plan, contact approval is always enabled. If you're on other Bark Phone plans, you can adjust this setting from your dashboard — just tap the Bark Phone tile and then on Contacts.

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Types of contacts

✅ Approved Contacts — Allows calls and texts to and from this number (unless blocked by your routines).

 asterisk-solid.svg  Emergency Contacts — Always allows calls and texts to and from this number (unless the text app is blocked).

🚫 Unapproved Contacts — Blocks calls and texts to and from this number.

Schedule what types of contacts can call with routines

  1. On your Bark parent app / dashboard, tap the Screen Time tile.
  2. Tap Schedule.
  3. Tap the day of the routine you'd like to edit.
  4. Tap Rules under that routine.
  5. Tap Device Settings.
  6. Scroll down to "Who can your kid contact when using this routine?" to make your changes.
    • Tap Emergency Contacts Only if you only want your kid to be able to text and call emergency contacts during this current routine.
    • Tap All approved contacts if you want your kid to be able to text and call any approved contacts during this current routine.
  7. Repeat for any other routines you've scheduled.

When an unapproved contact reaches out:

  • Text messages from them won't show up for your child.
  • If an unapproved contact is part of a group chat, the entire conversation is hidden from your child.
  • Their calls to your child will go straight to voicemail (if voicemail is enabled). 
  • Your child will be able to see their phone number(s) and request approval.

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Don't want your kid to send you contact requests at all? You can turn them off in your parent app / dashboard. Tap Bark Phone > Contacts > Make sure "Require contact approval" is set to YES and "Allow contact requests" is set to NO.

When your child requests approval:

  • You will get a notification.
  • A task for you to review the contact request(s) will appear under the child's name.
  • Texts sent or received while the contact(s) was unapproved are not saved.

contact_approval_task_bark_phone.png

When you approve a contact request...

  • Your kid can now send and receive texts and calls from that contact (unless blocked by the routine).
  • Your kid will get a push notification.
  • Your kid will see an option to add the contact.
    push_contact_approval_kid_view.png
    Kid doesn't see the option to add the contact? That's okay! They can just add the contact manually via the Contacts app. 

How you can proactively block or allow numbers

Prefer not to wait for a contact request? You can allow or block contacts on your parent app at any time.

  1. On your parent app, tap the Bark Phone tile.
  2. Tap Contacts.
  3. If you haven't already, enable Contact Approval.
  4. Tap +Add contact.
  5. Enter in the phone number you'd like to allow or block.
  6. That's it! It may take a few minutes for changes to take effect on your kid's Bark Phone.
    Kid doesn't see the option to add the contact? That's okay! They can just add the contact manually via the Contacts app. 

How your kid can block numbers themselves

If your child wishes to block phone calls and texts from a specific individual, they have the ability to do so directly from their Phone app, Contacts app, and/or Messages app. It's important to note that this action is independent of the settings within your Bark dashboard for Contact Approval. These built-in tools are designed to empower your child in managing unwanted calls and texts on their own.

How your kid can block a number from the phone app

If the number you'd like to block called the phone, your kid can follow these steps to block future calls and texts from them:

  1. On the Bark Phone, open the Phone app.
  2. Tap Recents on the bottom.
  3. Find the recent caller and tap on the number.
  4. Tap (ℹ) information.
  5. Tap 🚫 Block.
  6. (optional) tap 📝 Report to submit a report about whether that number is spam, not spam, telemarketing, or similar.
  7. That's it! When the number is blocked in this way, it automatically hides any text conversations between your kid and that particular number.
How your kid can block a number from the texting app

If the number you'd like to block texted the phone, your kid can follow these steps to block future texts and calls from them:

  1. On the Bark Phone, open the Messages app.
  2. Tap the conversation with that number.
  3. Tap the three dots on the top right.
  4. Tap Block number.
  5. That's it! When the number is blocked in this way, it automatically hides any text conversations between your kid and that particular number.
How your kid can block a number from the contacts app

If the number you'd like to block is already a contact on the phone, your kid can follow these steps to block future texts and calls from them:

  1. On the Bark Phone, open the Contacts app.
  2. Find the contact and tap on it.
  3. Tap (ℹ) information.
  4. Tap More on the bottom right.
  5. Tap Block contact.
  6. That's it! When the number is blocked in this way, it automatically hides any text conversations between your kid and that particular number.
How to stop blocking a number

If your kid blocked a number by mistake, they can undo it with these steps:

  1. On the Bark Phone, open the Messages app.
  2. Tap on the ⚙ Settings on the top right.
  3. Tap Manage blocked numbers.
  4. Find the number in question and tap the three dots next to it.
  5. Tap Delete.
  6. All done. Texts that were sent by the number while they were blocked will not re-appear, but texts going forward should appear in the Messages app!

How your kid can block spam themselves

Not only can you use contact approval to block or allow contacts your kid can call or text, your kid also can also block spam calls and texts by following this guide:

Block spam on your kid's devices