Limit Adult Websites doesn't work

[pullman]

A couple of options I've tried that have worked ok.

Truple.io have a free filtering app on Android though I think their filter on iOS is a paid for service.

CleanBrowsing.org free DNS filtering is another one. Again, my experience is with Android but have found the adult filter DNS settings work pretty well.

Worth noting though that DNS settings can be changed if you know that's where the filter is, so simple manual settings may not work unless you can ensure access to settings is blocked. If it's a dedicated app doing the filtering you will probably find it has some kind of password protection to stop deletion. If using manual settings it may be you'll need to find an app locker app in order to block settings access - if the phone you're using doesn't have this function in parental controls.

Thank you for these suggestions, I wasn't aware of Truple or CleanBrowsing and will look into them.

Until now I have used Cloudflare's option but today I discovered that our 12-yearold could access for instance "xvideos". How that is possible I just don't understand. I have:

the Cloudflare app set to to activate adult filtering (1.1.1.3 etc)
and
Screen Time set to limit adult sites
and
Screen Time's age limit of apps set to "9+"

I have also noticed that even if I prohibit YouTube's various addresses they still can be accessed.

This is incessantly frustrating.

I am seriously considering revoking phone privileges here and give our child a dumb phone.

 

[BigBlur]

Thank you for these suggestions, I wasn't aware of Truple or CleanBrowsing and will look into them.

Until now I have used Cloudflare's option but today I discovered that our 12-yearold could access for instance "xvideos". How that is possible I just don't understand. I have:

the Cloudflare app set to to activate adult filtering (1.1.1.3 etc)
and
Screen Time set to limit adult sites
and
Screen Time's age limit of apps set to "9+"

I have also noticed that even if I prohibit YouTube's various addresses they still can be accessed.

This is incessantly frustrating.

I am seriously considering revoking phone privileges here and give our child a dumb phone.

Something doesn't seem right here. I just set this up myself to test it out, and it's working for me.

Couple of notes... 1.1.1.3 (or any other DNS filtering service) will not work in Safari if you have iCloud Private Relay turned on. The private relay bypasses whatever DNS you're using. (Third-party browsers do not use iCloud Private Relay, so aren't affected by this.)

In your scenario, if you have iCloud Private Relay turned off, Cloudflare should be blocking the site; if you have it turned on, it bypasses Cloudflare, and Screen Time should end up blocking the site.

So to me, it appears that you may have iCloud Private Relay turned on and Screen Time isn't working for some reason (either misconfigured or some sort of bug). Perhaps try turning off iCloud Private Relay and see if Cloudflare will block it then. If Cloudflare still isn't blocking it, then your DNS settings aren't set up correctly.

 

[pullman]

Something doesn't seem right here. I just set this up myself to test it out, and it's working for me.

Couple of notes... 1.1.1.3 (or any other DNS filtering service) will not work in Safari if you have iCloud Private Relay turned on. The private relay bypasses whatever DNS you're using. (Third-party browsers do not use iCloud Private Relay, so aren't affected by this.)

In your scenario, if you have iCloud Private Relay turned off, Cloudflare should be blocking the site; if you have it turned on, it bypasses Cloudflare, and Screen Time should end up blocking the site.

So to me, it appears that you may have iCloud Private Relay turned on and Screen Time isn't working for some reason (either misconfigured or some sort of bug). Perhaps try turning off iCloud Private Relay and see if Cloudflare will block it then. If Cloudflare still isn't blocking it, then your DNS settings aren't set up correctly.

Thank you for pointing this out. I hadn't looked at that setting for a while. It has actually been set to OFF all the time which should mean that 1.1.1.3 ought to have filtered most adult sites.

This afternoon, when I noticed that several adult sites had been accessed, I added those specific sites to the prohibited sites under Limit Adult Sites. They therefore can't be accessed now. Still, they shouldn't have been accessible before I added them.

 

[BrianBaughn]

They say "a picture is worth a thousand words" but when it comes to kids and internet exposure I'm more concerned with words than pictures…but both are worrying.

 

[Adora]

Thank you for pointing this out. I hadn't looked at that setting for a while. It has actually been set to OFF all the time which should mean that 1.1.1.3 ought to have filtered most adult sites.

This afternoon, when I noticed that several adult sites had been accessed, I added those specific sites to the prohibited sites under Limit Adult Sites. They therefore can't be accessed now. Still, they shouldn't have been accessible before I added them.

Maybe you need to add the IPv6 addresses and the alternative IPv4 address too.

I turned off IPv6 in my router but added them because if on mobile data it can't be turned off in iOS I think. Not sure if the app you are using is doing this anyway.

IPv4	IPv6
1.1.1.3 1.0.0.3	2606:4700:4700::1113 2606:4700:4700::1003

IP addresses

Get IPv4 and IPv6 addresses for Cloudflare DNS resolvers, 1.1.1.1 and 1.1.1.1 for Families.

developers.cloudflare.com

I don't need blocking because it's in my VPN and Adguard. If you add :853 at the end of each address it should also use encrypted DNS over TLS.
I am using this configuration on all my devices and also in the router just to prevent using my providers DNS in any case.
Not sure what "Search Domains" is, I always replace what's in there with "local" because someone told me, but it's not really important to change it at all I think.

 

[Adora]

You could try the same with Adguard DNS too. There is a profile for iOS and macOS or you can just enter it also manually. The addresses arelisted in the Linux configuration. It's everything for free in Option 2, then you don't need to purchase Adguard.

AdGuard DNS — ad-blocking DNS server

Create your ad-blocking DNS server that will protect your personal data, prevent tracking and allow you to control access to specific content on the Internet.

adguard-dns.io

Family protection servers
AdGuard DNS will block ads, trackers, adult content, and enable Safe Search and Safe Mode, where possible.
IPv4:
94.140.14.15
94.140.15.16
IPv6:
2a10:50c0::bad1:ff
2a10:50c0::bad2:ff

Adding :853 should use the TLS encryption here too. It's also all listed there at the bottom.