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Leader in Online Safety Partners with GTA and Comtrend to Offer Screen Time Scheduling, Blocking, and Location Sharing to All Customers
ATLANTA, February 25, 2022 — Online safety company Bark Technologies today announced the expansion of its parental control app to Guam through a partnership with GTA, a leading mobile communications and internet service provider in the unincorporated U.S. territory.
The partnership will feature Bark’s award-winning web filtering and screen time management software – known as Bark Jr – offered to customers at no extra charge. Bark Jr also features a proprietary location-sharing tool that lets families keep up with kids on the move. Families will have the option to upgrade to Bark Premium, which monitors online activities in children’s texts, emails, and more than 30 of the most popular social media platforms and apps.
In addition, via a mutual partnership with Comtrend, many of GTA’s router gateways will integrate with Bark and enable parents to manage internet-connected devices in the home, including gaming consoles, smart TVs, and more. "With a partnership spanning over a decade, Comtrend continues to bring innovative solutions and partners to GTA," said John DiFrenna, Comtrend's vice president of sales and marketing. “Bark gives our customers best-in-class parental control services to protect their kids inside and outside the home.”
Since launching in 2015, Bark has used its innovative and industry-leading software service to protect nearly 6 million children across the U.S. To date, Bark has detected 465,000 severe self-harm situations and flagged more than 2.5 million severe bullying instances.
“We’re proud to work with an innovative and trusted company like GTA to introduce this free and much-needed parental control tool for families in Guam” said Skylar Walker, director of business development at Bark. “Together, we will be able to protect more children from online dangers and raise the bar for safety standards in the world of telecom.”
The enduring COVID-19 pandemic and continued periods of virtual and remote learning have heightened awareness of the perils of online dangers for children, making this partnership a timely opportunity for families in Guam to get greater peace of mind — especially the large number of families of American service members stationed in the territory. Recently, Bark published their 2021 annual report that analyzed over 3.4 billion texts, emails, and 30+ apps and social media platforms. The study reported high percentages of tweens and teenagers exposed to violence, depression, anxiety, online bullying, drugs and alcohol, self-harm, suicidal ideation, and more.
“The internet is a powerful tool that gives our children the resources to learn and grow. But while it brings access to a wealth of knowledge, it also presents potential dangers,” said Nathan Denight, vice president of marketing at GTA. “Bark Jr lets parents set healthy limits on how and when their children can use their mobile devices. We are pleased to partner with Bark to provide our subscribers with a safe and secure platform so our kids can effectively learn and excel.”
Visit HERE for more information about the Bark/GTA partnership.
