The Ultimate Guide: Keeping Your Kids Safe Online This Summer

Summer brings sunshine, late bedtimes, and a lot more screen time, and with that comes the growing need for keeping your kids safe online.

As school wraps up and routines become more relaxed, kids often spend more time online across gaming platforms, messaging apps, and social media. That’s why keeping your kids safe online this summer becomes more important than ever. At Hunter Communications, we’re here to support your family, not only by delivering fast, secure internet, but also by offering Bark, a smart, easy-to-use parental control tool that helps monitor and manage your child’s digital world.

How Bark Helps Families Stay Connected, Informed, and Protected

Nothing is more important than keeping your family safe. That’s why Hunter Communications has partnered with Bark, the leading digital content monitoring service, to give you peace of mind. As part of our Hunter Shield suite of internet security tools, Bark helps families stay connected while protecting children from digital threats — all through your home internet connection.

What Is Bark?

Bark, an all-in-one online safety app, is a key part of Hunter Shield — our suite of internet security products designed to protect your household from online threats. Bark is a powerful parental tool that gives families insight and control over their children’s digital lives. Instead of monitoring every tap or scroll manually, Bark works in the background, alerting parents only when it detects something potentially concerning.

It provides insight, control, and confidence, helping you parent in the digital age. Add Bark to your Hunter Wi-Fi service for only $14 per month. Bark helps families maintain a healthy balance between independence and protection.

How Bark from Hunter Communications Works

When paired with your Hunter Communications internet, Bark offers full-network protection that covers mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and gaming consoles throughout your home.  

Here’s how Bark supports keeping your kids safe online this summer:

• Monitor online activity across texts, email, social media platforms, YouTube, and 30+ apps
• Sends real-time alerts for signs of cyberbullying, online predators, inappropriate content, or self-harm
• Filter websites and blocks apps from the network level
• Set screen time schedules so you can control when kids can access the internet
• Track location and lets you check in when your kids are away from home

The Bark app is seamlessly integrated for digital safety, giving parents peace of mind without hovering or invading their child’s privacy.

Why Summer Safety Starts With Awareness

When school’s out, structure fades, and screen time often spikes. That’s why it’s a great time to reassess your home’s digital landscape.

Have you done a device inventory?

Chances are, your kids are using more connected devices than you realize. Phones, tablets, smart TVs, laptops, or gaming consoles, they all add up. Before you set rules, filters, or screen time limits, there’s one smart first step in keeping your kids safe online this summer: do a device inventory.

You might be surprised at how many devices in your home connect to the internet — phones, tablets, gaming consoles, smart TVs, Chromebooks, and even hand-me-down devices tucked in drawers. Kids are curious (and resourceful), so knowing what they’re using is just as important as knowing how they’re using it.

Once you’ve got a clear picture of the devices in play, tools like Bark from Hunter Communications can help you take the next step: monitoring, filtering, and managing online activity across all of them.

A Quick Checklist for Summer Internet Safety

Use this list to kickstart your family’s summer digital safety strategy:

• Install the Bark app through the App Store or Google Play
• Talk to your kids about screen time limits and online behavior
• Review app privacy settings and keep profiles private
• Teach kids to avoid oversharing personal information
• Discuss how to recognize scams, phishing, and online predators
• Set boundaries around screen time and device use
• Create family rules and stick to them

Hunter + Bark = Smarter, Safer Connections

At Hunter Communications, we know that staying connected is about more than speed — it’s about trust, protection, and peace of mind. As part of Hunter Shield, Bark gives parents the tools they need to feel confident about what their kids are doing online, especially during high-activity seasons like summer.

Together, Hunter Communications and Bark help families stay informed, connected, and protected — no matter what summer brings.