Bark Technologies
Bark Technologies is a Charlotte, NC-based AI company that monitors children's digital communications across 30+ platforms and devices, detecting cyberbullying, self-harm, predators, and explicit content for parents, K-12 schools, behavioral health providers, and disability support organizations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersCharlotte, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Bark Technologies does
Bark Technologies, Inc. is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based software and hardware company founded in 2015 that builds AI-powered tools for monitoring children's online communications and physical location. The company's core product is a contextual AI engine trained for over a decade on children's digital behavior that scans texts, 30+ social media platforms, emails, images, videos, and audio across iOS, Android, Chromebook, and Amazon Fire devices, flagging more than 29 categories of risk including cyberbullying, suicidal ideation, online predators, sextortion, and explicit content. To address iOS restrictions, Bark has built Bark Sync, a smart charger that scans iPhones and iPads while they charge, and the company sells tamper-proof firmware-level parental controls via Samsung Galaxy-based Bark Phone and Bark Phone Pro devices, alongside the Bark Watch, the Bark App, and the network-level Bark Home filter.
Bark operates a hybrid consumer-plus-institutional business model. The direct-to-consumer motion is product-led, with monthly and annual app subscriptions (iOS from $20/month or $148/year; Android from $14/month or $99/year, with a 7-day free trial), hardware sold through bark.us and Amazon, and required wireless service tiers for Bark Phone users ($29-$79/month) plus optional AKKO device protection at $5/month. Hardware is financed over 24-month installment plans ($10-$25/month), creating a multi-year revenue lock-in. Institutional revenue comes from Bark for Schools+ and Connected Communities sold to K-12 districts, behavioral health providers such as Cascade Academy and Engage Life, disability support organizations, and (as of January 2026) Medicaid waiver-funded programs in Wisconsin. Bark also publishes annual research reports and operates PR-heavy thought leadership on child online safety, with media coverage spanning Bloomberg, CBS News, CNBC, CNN, Forbes, the New York Times, and the BBC.
The company has raised approximately $67 million across five disclosed rounds since 2015, with the most recent a $30 million Series C led by Kayne Partners in June 2022. It reports covering 7.3 million children across the United States, South Africa, and Australia, with 5.6 million severe self-harm situations and 8.8 million severe bullying situations detected historically. Headcount is in the 101-250 range, and the company holds compliance certifications including COPPA, FERPA, CCPA, the Australian Privacy Act, and Google API Limited Use. Recent strategic emphasis has shifted toward Medicaid-funded disability channels, premium hardware (Bark Phone Pro), and AI-driven account management via Bark Assistant.
Bark Technologies firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Bark Technologies
- Legal name
- Bark Technologies, Inc.
- Website
- https://bark.us
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Bark Technologies is a Charlotte, NC-based AI company that monitors children's digital communications across 30+ platforms and devices, detecting cyberbullying, self-harm, predators, and explicit content for parents, K-12 schools, behavioral health providers, and disability support organizations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Bark Technologies industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Child Safety and Parental Control Software
- NAICS
- Investigation and Security Services (5616)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Parental Controls, Content Filtering & Family Digital Safety for Smart Homes (HSAHAJAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Child Safety & Exploitation Prevention Operations (CSAM detection workflows, escalation) (BPAAALAK)
Keywords
Where Bark Technologies is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Charlotte
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Bark Technologies business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription Services: Monthly and annual subscription plans for Bark app providing content monitoring, screen time management, and location tracking across devices. Plans include family coverage with no limit on accounts, devices, or children. iOS plans from $20/month, Android from $14/month.
- Hardware Sales: Sale of Bark Phone and Bark Phone Pro devices with built-in monitoring software. Devices sold on 24-month installment plans ($10-25/month device payment) plus required wireless service plans ($29-79/month). Bark Watch sold similarly ($22/month total).
- Wireless Service Plans: Required cellular service for Bark Phone users including unlimited talk and text, with tiered data options from Wi-Fi only to unlimited data. Starter plan at $29/month, advanced plans from $39-79/month.
- Organizational/Institutional: Bark for Schools+ and Connected Communities programs sold to K-12 school districts, behavioral health providers, and disability support organizations. Includes 24/7 alert escalation, human escalation support, and training services.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Bark Phone Device - Samsung A16 |
| Subscription | Monthly | Bark Phone Pro Device - Samsung A37 |
| Subscription | Monthly | Bark Phone Starter Plan |
| Subscription | Monthly | Bark Phone Advanced Plans |
| Subscription | Monthly | Bark Watch |
| Subscription | Monthly | Bark App for iOS |
| Subscription | Monthly | Bark App for Android |
| Subscription | Monthly | Bark Sync (iOS Add-on) |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels9 records
Bark Technologies product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Bark Technologies builds an AI-powered child safety platform that monitors children's digital activity across texts, social media, email, images, video, and audio on 30+ platforms, alerting parents to issues in 29+ danger categories such as cyberbullying, self-harm, online predators, and explicit content. The company sells this monitoring capability through consumer hardware (Bark Phone, Bark Phone Pro, Bark Watch), software subscriptions (Bark App for iOS and Android, Bark Sync, Bark Home), and institutional offerings (Bark for Schools, Connected Communities program).
Product overview
Bark Technologies offers a comprehensive suite of parental control and child safety products designed to protect children online and in real life. The portfolio centers on the Bark Phone and Bark Phone Pro (custom Samsung-based smartphones with built-in monitoring), the Bark Watch (GPS-enabled smartwatch), and the Bark App (which adds monitoring to existing iOS and Android devices). Additional products include Bark Sync (smart charger for iOS monitoring), Bark Home (network-level filtering), and Bark for Schools (institutional monitoring platform). The Bark Assistant provides AI-powered conversational account management. All products share a common AI-powered content monitoring engine that scans texts, social media, images, videos, and audio across 30+ platforms and apps for over 29 categories of potential dangers including bullying, predators, self-harm, and sexual content. The Connected Communities program provides supplementary digital citizenship education. The ecosystem serves families directly as well as K-12 schools, behavioral health providers, and disability support organizations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Bark Phone: A smartphone with built-in parental controls and content monitoring for children
- Bark Phone Pro
- Bark Watch
- Bark App
- Bark Home
- Bark Sync
- Connected Communities
- Bark for Schools
Products and services
- Bark Phone
Quantifiable outcome
- 5.6 million severe self-harm situations detected
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Bark Technologies
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Bark Technologies technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
AI capability9 records
Feature6 records
Bark Technologies partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Wisconsin Children's Long-Term Support Waiver ProgramcoreWisconsin CLTS approved Bark's online safety software and devices for purchase through I/DD Medicaid waiver dollars, making it one of the first technology providers specifically designed for child safety to be funded through this program. Enables families with children who have intellectual or developmental disabilities to access Bark devices at reduced costs.
- AKKOminorAKKO provides optional device protection plans for Bark Phone covering cracked screens, water damage, loss, and more at $5/month. Available as add-on during phone ordering.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Bark Technologies competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Google Family Link: Native Android and ChromeOS parental control product from Google; free built-in alternative to Bark App and Bark Home for Android households.
- Norton Family (Gen Digital): Long-standing parental control offering from Gen Digital bundled with broader Norton 360 security suite, competing with Bark App in family digital safety.
- Apple Screen Time: Native iOS feature offering app limits, content restrictions, and communication controls for free; the dominant built-in alternative that Bark App must differentiate against.
Direct peers
- Qustodio: Direct competitor offering cross-platform parental control and content monitoring software for families, with similar subscription pricing, screen time, and web/app filtering features to Bark App.
- Aura: Digital safety subscription combining parental controls with identity/cyber protection for families; competes with Bark across content monitoring, screen time, and location features.
- Gabb Wireless: Sells kid-safe smartphones and watches with built-in content filtering and no social media/browser—directly comparable to Bark Phone, Bark Phone Pro, and Bark Watch hardware.
- Pinwheel: Provides parent-managed smartphones with curated app stores and remote parental controls, directly competing with Bark Phone in the safe-smartphone category.
- Kaspersky Safe Kids: Cross-platform parental control app with content filtering, screen time, and location tracking, directly overlapping with Bark App's feature set for international consumers.
- Mobicip: Parental control app for iOS, Android, Chromebook, and Kindle offering screen time, app blocking, and web filtering—comparable subscription product to Bark App.
- Securly: K-12 student safety and web filtering platform with AI-based content monitoring for school districts—directly competes with Bark for Schools in the institutional channel.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Bark Technologies social profiles
Digital presenceBark Technologies compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance6 records
Bark Technologies financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Bark Technologies leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Bark Technologies funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors20 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Bark Technologies M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Bark Technologies
What does Bark Technologies do?
Bark Technologies builds an AI-powered child safety platform that monitors children's digital activity across texts, social media, email, images, video, and audio on 30+ platforms, alerting parents to issues in 29+ danger categories such as cyberbullying, self-harm, online predators, and explicit content. The company sells this monitoring capability through consumer hardware (Bark Phone, Bark Phone Pro, Bark Watch), software subscriptions (Bark App for iOS and Android, Bark Sync, Bark Home), and institutional offerings (Bark for Schools, Connected Communities program).
Is Bark Technologies a public or private company?
Bark Technologies is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Bark Technologies founded?
Bark Technologies was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Bark Technologies based?
Bark Technologies is headquartered in Charlotte, United States, in the North America region.
How does Bark Technologies make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Subscription Services are the primary driver. The others are hardware Sales, wireless Service Plans and organizational/Institutional.
Who are Bark Technologies's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Google Family Link, Norton Family (Gen Digital) and Apple Screen Time. Direct peers are Qustodio, Aura, Gabb Wireless, Pinwheel, Kaspersky Safe Kids, Mobicip and Securly.
Does Bark Technologies have an API?
No public API is recorded for Bark Technologies.
What industry is Bark Technologies in?
Bark Technologies's product category is Child Safety and Parental Control Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSAHAJAG, Parental Controls, Content Filtering & Family Digital Safety for Smart Homes, with a secondary code of BPAAALAK, Child Safety & Exploitation Prevention Operations (CSAM detection workflows, escalation). Its NAICS code is 5616 and its SIC code is 7371.