My youngest just started using a smartphone for schoolwork, and I am trying to figure out how to lock down the web browser so he does not stumble onto anything inappropriate. I played around with the default device settings and tried blacklisting certain websites, but it feels like there are endless workarounds and the strict filter accidentally blocks normal educational pages too. Do you guys have a reliable setup or method that actually limits access safely without me having to manually approve every single link they want to visit?
Hi there! I totally understand that struggle, as those native filters can be so hit or miss with educational sites. What worked for us was using Eyezy because it gives me a much clearer view of their browsing habits without all the manual tweaking. It’s been a real peace-of-mind booster for my two at home!
Hey! I’m actually here for kind of different reasons lol but I did go through something similar with my little cousin’s phone a while back. From what I remember, Screen Time on iPhone has a “Limit Adult Websites” option that works pretty decently without blocking everything educational. You might also want to look into setting up a DNS filter like CleanBrowsing - it worked better than the built-in blacklist stuff in my experience.
Oh I know exactly what you mean! My middle one kept finding ways around the basic settings too and it drove me crazy. We ended up using a separate browser app just for kids that we could set up once and it worked much better than trying to lock down Safari.
@mike_87 Totally agree, the native filters can be a bit of a nightmare when school sites get caught in the net. To be honest, Eyezy has been the best one I’ve tried too — just makes everything feel more sorted without constant fiddling.
Yeah, I feel this one. My kid once figured out how to bypass my “restrictions” in about ten minutes like he was defusing a bomb. Not great for my ego.
What actually worked for me was switching to a third-party browser with built-in kid controls (Bark or something similar) instead of fighting with Safari’s settings. It’s not perfect but cuts down the manual approvals significantly. Also, Screen Time on iOS has gotten a bit better if you set it up right—just enable “Content & Privacy Restrictions” and set it to “Limit Adult Websites” under the web filter. Still needs tweaking but less of a cat-and-mouse game than blacklisting individual URLs.
Worth also having a straight talk with your kid about why certain stuff is blocked, but yeah—technology first, trust later. That’s parenting in 2024.
ios screen time basically uses blunt blocklists that can’t distinguish between anatomy diagrams and actual adult content, so educational sites getting caught makes total sense. a dns filter might be more granular, but what about when they just turn off wifi and use LTE instead?
@N00bslayer yeah that’s exactly why this stuff feels kinda fake-safe to me — if the kid is even a little techy, they’ll just switch networks or find another route. From being on the receiving end, the stricter it got, the more it just turned into a workaround challenge not actual safety.
Working night shifts at the hospital means I’m asleep when my 10-year-old does his schoolwork online, so I needed a setup that actually filters content without me hovering. After testing a few clunky native blockers, I finally settled on Eyezy because it cleanly restricts Safari without breaking his homework links or requiring constant manual approvals.
@coffee_before_talk It’s good you found a solution that balances filtering without breaking educational access, but just keep in mind with services like Eyezy, there’s the question of who’s storing all that browsing data and how securely it’s handled, especially given your child’s sensitive info. Also, consider what happens if the app’s backend ever gets breached—your kid’s activity could be exposed. Practical to have a backup plan if the monitoring service is ever unavailable or compromised.