How do I remove web browsers (like Safari) or block adult websites?

With Screenable, you can either remove web browsers entirely from your kid's device (some people call this "blocking the internet"), or just block adult content/websites.

How do I remove web browsers or block inappropriate websites?

  1. In the Screenable parent app, go to the Home tab and tap on your kid to go to their device settings.
  2. Tap Internet/web browsers and choose from the options.
    • In Dumb Phone mode, you are only able to control Safari's settings. In Screen Trainer mode, you are also able to remove the ~40 most popular browsers (such as Chrome/Google, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Brave, Aloha, DuckDuckGo, and Opera).
  3. If you're using Apple Screen Time, make sure to transfer control to Screenable so they don't conflict.

What settings do you recommend?

In most cases we recommend removing browsers entirely, except for older kids who are nearing device independence or otherwise need more regular access to web browsers on their devices. Otherwise just block adult content.

How does it work in Safari vs other browsers? What browser do you recommend?

We recommend enforcing the use of Safari even if your kids have other browser favorites. That's because Safari offers finer-grained controls to third-party apps like ours. Here's how it works:

When you select "Block adult content" for Safari, it also automatically restricts "private browsing" (AKA incognito mode). These settings are supposed to be honored by other browsers as well, but we can't guarantee it – it's up to those browsers to comply with Apple's settings. For instance, if you select "Block adult content" for Safari, Chrome will also honor that setting – but it still allows use of incognito mode. Other browsers will have their own custom behaviors.

What is private browsing? Can I block it?

Private browsing in Safari is sometimes known as "incognito mode", meaning any history of web searches and browsing will be deleted automatically when browsing is over. We block it automatically when adult content is blocked.