Let’s face the fact: Sooner or later, you’ll have to hand your kid their first smartphone. One of the most important ways to ensure they use their handset responsibly is to know how to block inappropriate websites on phone.
Kids are quite adventurous and curious. When surfing the Internet, they can be exposed to a wide range of contents, some of which are appropriate, while many others are indecorous.
To monitor your child’s device, you need to know to block inappropriate websites on your phone. These websites can contain adult content and malicious ideas.
While surfing the net, your child can encounter cyberbullies, cyber-criminals, and other threats.
Hence, it’s crucial for you as a parent or guardian to monitor how your kid uses their Android device and restrict their access to certain sites.
Two Ways to Deny Access to Inappropriate Content
Let’s discuss two of the several methods you can use to restrict access to bad online content.
How to Block Inappropriate Websites on Phone With Browser Add-Ons
On many smartphones, the Google Chrome Android browser is a preloaded app. However, it doesn’t allow users to block websites in a breeze.
Fortunately, a handful of browsers like Mozilla Firefox do, offering you a simple way to deny access to certain websites with an add-on.
To get started, download and install the Mozilla Firefox app from Google Play Store if you don’t have it on your device already. Launch the browser to download the LeechBlock add-on.
Locate the three vertical dots (the menu icon) at the bottom-right corner and tap on them. Then, click on Add-ons.
Find LeechBlock NG and press the plus icon from the recommended browser extensions. The extension is located in the Mozilla section for add-ons.
To start adding websites you intend to block, press Settings. You can also uninstall or disable other browser apps on your child’s device in Settings > App management > App settings.
How to Block Inappropriate Websites on Phone by Restricting Play Store
If you notice your kid makes use of the Google Play Store regularly to download mobile apps, then there’s a good chance they’ll come across mature content sooner or later.
To deny them access to such sites for adults, restrict the Play Store app on their phones. One of the most effective ways to do this is to set up parental control on the app:
- Launch the Play Store app and tap the three horizontal lines or hit the profile icon (choose the specific option available in your phone) at the top-right corner
- Press Settings > Parental control
- Turn on the Parental Controls feature at the top-right corner
- Create a security PIN so your kid won’t be able to change the settings without your consent
- Tap OK
- Press Apps & games
- Enter the restriction setting depending on your child’s age
- Press Save
Once you complete this procedure, you’ll now be able to block inappropriate content on your kid’s smartphone, and they can’t gain access to adult sites.
How to Block Inappropriate Websites on Android Without an App
There are apps specially designed to block inappropriate websites on Android. Some of them include Internet Blocker — Freedom; Famisafe; Anti-Social, and many others.
But it’s also possible to block adult websites and other malicious content on Android without using these apps.
Enable Safe Search to Block Inappropriate Sites in Google Chrome
Most websites (if not all) have a feature in settings for blocking inappropriate content for operating systems like Android and iOS. Once you launch the app, you can turn on safe searching.
Here’s how to enable safe search in Google Chrome:
- Launch Chrome in your Android phone’s app drawer (ensure you’ve signed into your Google account)
- Go to Settings and tap on Privacy > Safe Browsing
- Enable the Safe Browser or Enhanced protection feature
With this procedure, your ward won’t be able to open some links to malicious sites got from search engines.
Note: The Safe Browser option is different from Safe Mode.
How to Block Inappropriate Websites on Android for Free
There are different ways to block websites on Android for free. We examine one of these methods below:
Implement OpenDNS
With the OpenDNS tool, you can easily block any site containing inappropriate web content. Any time you make use of the Internet, it works with the Domain Name System (DNS) of your Internet Service Provider (ISP).
But replacing that same DNS with OpenDNS, all of the Internet traffic gets filtered through their servers, effectively blocking inappropriate sites.
These are the IP addresses for OpenDNS Family Shield: 208.67.220.123 and 208.67.222.123.
This tool will block pornographic web content in categories like Pornography, Tasteless, and others.
How Do I Permanently Block Inappropriate Sites?
One of the best tools for achieving this objective is Google Family Link. It blocks sites permanently, lets you keep an eye on your child’s online activity, and protects your child from inappropriate web content.
Available on the Play Store, this app not only helps you block sites on Google Chrome but also allows you to set limited access to some apps and adult web content on the Play Store.
Setting Screen Limit
- Download and install Google Family Link from Google Play on both your smartphone and your kid’s
On Your Phone
- Launch Family Link and select your kid
- Navigate to the Daily limit card, press Set up or Edit limit
- Follow the instructions given next
On Your Child’s Android
- Go to Settings > Google > Parental controls
- Press the Daily limit to go through the current settings
- To make changes to Daily limit settings, log in or make use of your Parent Access Code to confirm that you’re a parent
Allowing/Blocking Apps
- Launch Family Link
- Select your kid
- Press More in the Apps installed section
- Enable Allow app
Final Thoughts
Having read this guide on how to block inappropriate websites on your phone, we hope you can now effectively monitor your child’s use of their smartphone and deny them access to adult sites and other malicious content online.
