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Action News Jax Investigates: 3 apps to help you monitor your child's online activity

New tools are giving parents unparalleled power to track what their children are doing on their smartphones.

Three new spy apps let parents see and block everything. But how far is too far?

Most children are glued to their phones – texting, talking, browsing the web and watching videos, and parents really have no idea what they are doing on those phones.

"We can't know everything that's going on," mother Andrea Picerno said.

But can you? There are three new apps that you can download to your child's phone that allow you to see everything your children are doing.

"As a parent, you have to know yourself and whether you can handle the truth or not," said Dr. Lynn Wadelton of First Coast Therapy Group.

The first app is Net Nanny. It allows you to block entire websites and tells you what terms your child is searching for.

Parents can set up filters, letting the good stuff in and keeping the bad stuff out.

Next up: Secure Teen. This app allows you to see everyone your teen is talking to and you can even read your child's texts.

Teen App goes even further, giving you your child's exact location at any given time.

There's more. If you don't like what they are looking at, you can lock your child out of their phone.

While some parents would welcome this covert surveillance, others cringe at the thought of spying on their children.

"We kind of deserve our privacy," teen Amanda Gondeck said.

So how much spying is too much? While Wadelton said monitoring your children’s social interactions is a good thing, how much you do it depends on your family.

"A family by family decision," Wadelton said.

She suggests talking to your children ahead of time about why you’re doing it.

"Monitoring with a ‘Caught ya. You're in trouble’ mindset destroys the parent-teen trust in a relationship," Wadelton said.

And parents, don't get obsessed.

"’What am I really looking for?’ and make it that you stick to that," Wadelton said.

"It's for their good, and we want what's best for them," Picerno said.