Children search for everything online, including adult websites. But they often also search for content that isn’t meant for them, especially teenagers.
Adult websites can be harmful to children’s mental development, and it’s always hard to talk to your children about these websites.
So, in this article, we’ll go over ways to block adult websites on a child’s phone, ultimately protecting your little ones.
Why is it Important to Block Adult Websites on Your Child’s Phone
Studies by UNICEF have shown that exposure to adult websites can harm children’s perspective of love and intimacy.
Also, adult content is highly addictive, so your children can easily get addicted to the worst kind of content. This addiction can later lead to isolation, social anxiety, depression, and lower communicative skills.
All of these things collectively take a toll on children’s mental and physical well-being and development.
Studies show that about 54% of young children have been exposed to inappropriate content. That’s an alarming rate!
How To Block Adult Websites on Your Child’s Android Phone
Firstly, you can set up parental controls on the Play Store app. Just follow the next few steps:
- Open Google Play;
- Tap the icon of your profile;
- Tap Settings;
- Tap Family;
- Turn on Parental Controls and restrict inappropriate content;
Moreover, you can turn on the Google SafeSearch option on your children’s Android by following these steps:
- Open Google;
- Tap your profile icon;
- Tap Settings;
- Tap SafeSearch and turn it on;
Lastly, there are always third-party parental control apps, such as FamiSafe, Google Family Link, Qustodio, and others.
How To Block Adult Websites on Your Child’s iPhone
You can also easily set adult websites blocks on your children’s iPhones, just follow these steps:
- Open Settings;
- Open Screen Time;
- Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions and turn them on;
You can also turn on safe searching options in Safari. To do this, follow these steps:
- Open Settings;
- Open Screen Time;
- Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions and turn them on;
- Tap Content Restrictions;
- Tap Web Content and limit set limits according to your liking;
There are also many third-party parental control apps, such as Qustodio, Net Nanny, Kaspersky Safe, and others that can block inappropriate websites.
How to Implement Content Filtering on Wi-Fi Networks
With modern technology, there are many other ways to limit content, such as router-level blocking or DNS filtering.
In the following paragraphs, we’ll quickly cover these ways of blocking your children’s access to adult websites.
· DNS Filtering
The concept of DNS filtering is rather simple. It restricts access to specific websites you don’t want your child entering.
So, DNS filtering is perfect for restricting access to adult websites. Many programs, such as Malwarebytes, DNSFilter, and CloudFlare enable DNS filtering.
Keep in mind that this software is paid for. But hey, if a few dollars save you from countless embarrassing conversations, so be it!
· Router-Level Blocking
You can also restrict access to adult websites from your home router by following these steps:
- Enter the IP address of your router in your search engine and log in;
- Find the parental control or content restriction options;
- Select which sites you want to restrict;
Can my Internet Service Provider (ISP) Help in Blocking Adult Websites?
Your Internet Services Provider can also help you block adult websites. ISPs offer the same features the other blocking option offer.
To activate ISP blockers, you have to contact your provider and follow the instruction given by the operator. And don’t worry, that is not taking it too far. Your children’s safety is priceless, remember that!
ALSO READ: How to Block Google Search for Kids
