Okay so this is actually a great question and I wish someone had told me this stuff earlier lol. So basically the apps you are looking for are called “device admin” apps. On Android, when you give an app Device Administrator rights, it literally cannot be uninstalled unless you revoke those rights first. Kids cannot do that without the parent password. Google Family Link is probably the best free one out there. You set it up on your phone, link your kid account, and boom you can see what apps they use, set daily screen time limits, and approve or block app downloads. The cool part is if your kid tries to uninstall it, they just cant. It says something like contact your parent. It works best on Android devices that your kid uses with a Google account. For iPhones, Screen Time built right into iOS settings is the go to. Go to Settings then Screen Time then Use Screen Time Passcode. Lock it with a code your kid does not know and they are stuck. They cannot turn it off, they cannot change settings. Works great honestly. So yes, free options do exist and they do work. You just gotta set them up right 