Setting Up Web Safety in 5 Minutes

Short answer: there is no setup. Pick your child's age when you add them, and the harmful categories — adult content, gambling, violence, drugs, dating — are blocked from that moment.

This guide explains what's running underneath, and the two settings worth checking once.

Set it up in 2 minutes →

The problem with every filter you've tried before

Most web filtering fails the same way: it protects one browser, or one network, or one search engine. Your child opens a second browser, taps a link in WhatsApp, or turns off Wi-Fi, and the filter simply isn't there.

ParentalEdge filters on the device, as the page opens. That's the whole difference — and it's why there's nothing for you to configure per browser or per network.

What's blocked the moment you add your child

Websites are sorted into 31 categories. Choosing an age profile blocks the right ones.

Always blocked, at every age — 14 categories:

Adult Content, Mature Content, Profanity, Violence & Weapons, Illegal Activities, Substance Abuse, Gambling, Dating, Hate Speech, Proxies & Loopholes, browser Games, plus Social Media, Private Messaging and Forums for under-16s.

That last group is the only thing that moves with age:

Everything else — educational sites, news, streaming, sports, shopping — stays open. You are not building a whitelist.

Safe Search your child can't switch off

Safe Search is forced on all five engines a child is likely to reach:

Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo and Yandex.

It holds in incognito, because the enforcement happens as the request leaves the device rather than inside the browser's settings. And if your child turns Safe Search off in the search page's own preferences, it goes straight back on.

The two settings worth checking once

Block Unsupported Browsers (Rules → Web Rules → Settings). Some browsers can't be filtered properly, and a child who wants around a filter downloads one of those specifically. With this on, a browser we can't filter simply won't open. Leave it enabled.

Proxies & Loopholes is already blocked by default and covers VPN and anonymiser sites. Between those two, the usual bypass routes are closed.

Changing what's blocked

The defaults suit most families. When they don't:

• Allow one site inside a blocked category — Rules → Web Rules → Add Website → enter the address → Allow. Useful for a school platform caught by a category.
• Block one site inside an allowed category — same screen, set Block.
• Get told instead of blocking — open a category and set it to notify, and you'll get an alert when your child visits rather than a block page.

Changes reach the device in seconds.

When your child hits a block

They see a block page and a Request Access button. Tapping it sends you a notification you can approve or refuse from your phone.

That button is deliberate. A block your child can't respond to becomes a bypass attempt; a block they can ask about becomes a conversation. Most parents find the requests tell them more about their child's week than the activity list does.

Three things worth doing in your first fortnight

Whitelist the learning platforms first. Khan Academy, BYJU'S, Vedantu, Google Classroom — add anything your child needs for school before they hit a block during homework.

Read the blocked attempts, not the allowed ones. What your child tried and couldn't reach tells you whether the filter is doing anything, and whether it's catching something legitimate.

Don't tighten in week one. Start with the age defaults. Over-blocking is the fastest way to turn your child into someone who researches workarounds.

Frequently asked questions

Does this work off my home Wi-Fi?
Yes. Mobile data, school Wi-Fi, a friend's house — the rules live on the device, not the network.

Can my child bypass it with a VPN?
VPN and proxy sites are in a blocked category, and VPN apps are blocked as apps. Combined with Block Unsupported Browsers, there's no easy route left.

What if a site is miscategorised?
Add it to your allow or block list by hand and it takes effect immediately. We use industry-standard category data, but no database is perfect.

Does filtering slow the phone down?
No. The check happens locally as the address is read, and adds no noticeable delay.

Does this work on iPhone?
Yes — web filtering and Safe Search are at full parity on iOS and macOS, using the same category database. App usage reporting is Android-only, because Apple doesn't allow it.

Is my child told it's there?
Yes. There's no hidden mode. They see the block page and they know the filter exists — which is the point.

Block harmful sites on your child's phone →

Next: App Controls That Just Work covers the same ground for the apps on the phone.