If you’re setting up a computer for a child, you want protection that works quietly in the background and can’t be undone with one click. The most reliable approach uses a few layers, starting at the device and working inwards.
This guide is honest about what each layer can and can’t do, including our own extension.
Layer 1: Use the parental controls built into the device
Operating systems now include solid family controls, and they’re harder for a child to switch off than anything inside the browser:
- Chromebooks and Android: Google Family Link lets you manage a child’s Google account, including filtering sites in Chrome.
- Windows: Microsoft Family Safety can filter websites for a child’s account.
- Mac, iPhone and iPad: Screen Time includes a setting to limit adult websites.
Give your child their own account on the device, with these controls turned on, rather than sharing an adult account.
Layer 2: Filter your home network
A family-filter DNS on your home router blocks known adult sites for every device on your Wi-Fi: computers, phones, tablets and consoles. Several providers offer free family filters; your router’s settings page is where you enter them. Check the provider’s own instructions for the current addresses.
Layer 3: Lock in SafeSearch
Turn on strict SafeSearch on Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo and Yahoo. Family Link and some routers can enforce it for you. Our guide to turning on SafeSearch has the steps.
Layer 4: A blocker in the browser
A browser extension adds page-level protection: it can catch adult pages that aren’t on any list, and hide explicit search results.
Safe View does this for free in Chrome. It blocks over 1,000 known adult sites and keywords, checks unknown pages before they’re shown, forces strict safe search, and hides adult results and thumbnails on search pages.
An honest limitation: Safe View doesn’t have a password or lock yet. Anyone using the computer can switch it off or remove it from Chrome’s extensions page. For a younger child, it works best on top of the device controls in layer 1, not instead of them. For an older teen who wants to stay away from adult content themselves, it can be a supportive tool they choose to use.
Don’t forget the gaps
- Incognito: Chrome turns extensions off in private windows by default. Allow your blocker in incognito, or use device controls that can disable private browsing.
- Other browsers: protect every browser installed, or remove the ones your child doesn’t need.
- Phones: a Chrome extension only works in Chrome on a computer. Phones need their own controls.
Technology is half the answer
No filter is perfect, and children will eventually see something online that confuses or upsets them. The strongest protection is a relationship where they feel able to tell you. Our guide to talking to your teen about online porn has practical ways to start that conversation.
