How to:Block adult content on smartphone

Pornography is printed or visual materials that contain an explicit description or demonstration of genitalia or sexual activities; these materials are intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic feelings or emotions.

The problem is that porn is omnipresent on the Internet, so it is extremely difficult to completely stay clear from it. However, most parents want to know what measures they can take to prevent their children from seeing adult content when using digital devices.

Safe Google Search

Set Google as your default search engine.

Check all the browsers your children use (Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.) and make sure that Google is used as the default search engine in them. On iPhone, go to your phone's settings, scroll down and click on Safari, and then select Google in 'Search engine' section.

Turn on SafeSearch

On mobile devices, open Google app (download it, if necessary). Tap the gear icon, scroll down and click Search Settings button, then click "Filter Explicit Results" in Safe Search Filters section. On desktops and laptops, go to www.google.com and click on the "Settings" button in the lower right corner; Click "Search Settings", and click "Turn on SafeSearch", and then "Lock SafeSearch".

Check all devices periodically

Follow the first and second steps for all the devices your children use. Check your Google app and settings section regularly to make sure SafeSearch is not disabled.

Important note

Using Google SafeSearch is free, but not error-free. SafeSearch only filters search results – it does not block access to porn sites if the URL is entered directly into the browser.

Blocking adult content using secure DNS services

How Domain Name System (DNS) Works

DNS can be compared to a digital phone book for the Internet. People go to sites by typing the domain name of the site into the address bar of the browser, for example "example.com" (also called "host name"), while computers use IP addresses (a number of numbers) for communication, for example 127.0.0.1. DNS translates domain names into IP addresses, so that your computer can then go to that address and request the information. DNS servers are located all over the world and host databases of public IP addresses and host names associated with them.

How DNS Blocking Works

From this information, it is clear that you can use DNS servers to categorize and filter IP addresses to restrict access to certain categories of sites. It means that if you instruct a device to use a specific DNS server, the database of which does not contain addresses of certain sites, it will be impossible to access these sites from that particular device.

How to block access to pornographic content using DNS

Any device uses DNS to connect to the Internet. Names of the settings responsible for DNS may differ, depending on the device, version of the operating system, language, etc. Therefore, you may not find on your device items that exactly match the example below. However, don't be upset: all you need to do is open the device's Settings and look for Network Settings or Wi-Fi Settings, which should contain items that allow you to change DNS servers (also called NameServers) to the IP address, provided by the secure DNS service.

Let's look at an example, where the free CleanBrowsing service is used:

For Mac and Linux computers: go to Settings-> Network-> Wi-fi-> Advanced and change the DNS servers to IP address 185.228.168.168

For ChromeBook: go to Settings-> Network-> Wifi and configure custom NameServers, stating the following IP addresses there: 185.228.168.168 and 185.228.169.168

For Windows 10: click Start -> Settings -> Network & Internet -> Ethernet or Wi-Fi (depending on your connection) -> select the network connection-> under the "IP settings" section, click the Edit button, from the drop-down menu select Manual option, turn on the IPv4 toggle switch and type 185.228.168.168 and 185.228.169.168 into the "Preferred DNS" and "Alternate DNS" fields.

For iPhone, Android, and iPad: go to Settings -> Wi-Fi Settings and configure Name Server by specifying the IP address 185.228.168.168 in it.

For your home router and complete home protection: Log in to your router, find "Settings" or "DNS Settings" and change the Nameserver, specifying the IP address 185.228.168.168 in it.

If possible, configure DNS on your home router, so that all devices in your home will be protected. This applies to Internet-connected TVs, game consoles (xBox, Playstation, Nintendo Wii), computers or mobile devices.

Block adult content using built-in protection in iOS and Android

How to block porn content on iOS devices

Use the Screen Time app on iPhone and iPad

First you should decide how exactly you want to use the blocking feature: you can set restrictions directly on your child's device by applying password protection, or you can control the device remotely using "Family Sharing" function.

How to block access to insecure content on an iOS device

Open settings on your child's device. Scroll down and tap "Screen time." Select "Content & Privacy Restrictions" and enable this feature. Review all the settings and determine what you want to allow and what to restrict. To block access to porn, go to "Content Restrictions" section and disable all explicit content for everything, including web content.

Protecting the settings with a password.

In "Settings/Screen Time" menu, click "Use Screen Time Passcode". Enter a four-digit code that your child does not know and which he cannot guess.

Setting up remote control for your iOS device using Family Sharing feature

Open "Settings", click on the name of your account, scroll down and click on "Family Sharing". Follow the instructions to add a new family member. After all the items are configured, you will be able to control all the functions of "Screen Time" on this d iOS device, including all restrictions on content and privacy, from your phone.

How to block porn content on Android

Use Google Family Link app

Make sure your device is compatible with Family Link. (https://families.google.com/familylink/device-compatibility/).

Do download the Family Link app to your Android device from Google Play Store. Do the same on the Android device, from which you want to control your child's device. Next, follow the instructions to configure the application on both devices. After that, you can change your child's Android device settings remotely.

Attention! The Google Family Link application itself does not block anything, but it allows you to control the child's device from your device. For example, you can set up a secure Google search, blocking unwanted content via DNS or using specialized software with parental controls.

Use special applications for parental control

For Android operating system, there is a large number of applications with parental control functions, so you can choose the one, which meets your needs. We recommend that you take a look at Hoverwatch - here is a detailed review of Hoverwatch app.