This page helps you block bad websites and videos on your phone or computer. It's free, and it takes about 10 minutes. Pick your device and follow the steps, one at a time.
You'll do two things: 1) turn on a filter that blocks bad websites everywhere on the phone, and 2) install Word Guard, an app that watches for bad words in your browser and YouTube and backs you out.
Turn on the website filter
This makes every app on the phone skip bad websites. Do this step first, because Word Guard will lock this setting later.
Open Settings (the gear ⚙️).
Tap the search bar at the top and type Private DNS. Tap it.
Choose Private DNS provider hostname.
Type this exactly (or copy it), then tap Save:
adult-filter-dns.cleanbrowsing.org
On a Samsung it's in Settings → Connections → More connection settings → Private DNS.
When it finishes, tap the file to open it. If your phone says it can't install apps from here, tap Settings, turn on Allow from this source, then go back and tap Install.
If Google says the app is unknown or unsafe, that's only because it isn't in the Play Store. Tap More details → Install anyway.
Switch Word Guard on
Open Settings and search for Accessibility. Tap it.
Find Word Guard (sometimes under Installed apps or Downloaded apps) and turn it on. Tap Allow.
If it says Restricted setting: open Settings → Apps → Word Guard, tap the ⋮ in the top corner, tap Allow restricted settings, then try again.
Let a trusted person set the PIN
Open the Word Guard app. Hand the phone to a parent or friend you trust and let them pick a PIN that you don't know. The PIN is needed to change the word list or pause the app, so it keeps you honest.
Test it
Open Chrome and search for something on the blocked list, like "swimwear". The phone should jump back by itself. Try opening a New Incognito tab too; that's blocked as well.
🎉 That's it. Your phone is protected.
iPhones don't let apps watch other apps, so Word Guard can't run here. Instead you'll use two things Apple and CleanBrowsing give you for free: a website filter that works in every app, and Apple's own Screen Time lock.
If it asks "allow this download?", tap Allow, then Close.
Install it
Open Settings. Near the top you'll see Profile Downloaded. Tap it. Don't see it? Go to Settings → General → VPN & Device Management.
Tap Install (top right), type your phone's passcode, then tap Install again.
It will say "Not Signed". That's normal for a homemade profile.
Turn on Apple's adult-website block
Open Settings → Screen Time. If it's off, turn it on and choose This is My iPhone.
Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions and switch it on.
Tap App Store, Media, Web & Games (it may be called Store, Web, Siri & Game Center Content).
Tap Web Content → choose Limit Adult Websites.
This also switches off Private Browsing in Safari.
Let a trusted person lock it
Go back to Screen Time and tap Lock Screen Time Settings. Let a parent or friend type a passcode you don't know. Now the settings can't be undone without them.
Want to be extra safe? In Screen Time, use App Limits or Always Allowed to block the YouTube app and other browsers, so everything goes through Safari, which has the filter.
🎉 That's it. Your iPhone is protected.
You'll do two things: 1) turn on a filter that blocks bad websites for the whole computer, and 2) add Word Guard to your browser, so it hides bad YouTube videos and blocks pages with bad words.
Turn on the website filter
Press the Windows key, type Settings, and press Enter.
Click Network & internet, then Wi-Fi (or Ethernet if you use a cable), then Hardware properties.
Next to DNS server assignment, click Edit and change it to Manual.
Turn on IPv4. In Preferred DNS type:
185.228.168.10
Set DNS over HTTPS to On (manual template) and paste this into the template box:
https://doh.cleanbrowsing.org/doh/adult-filter/
Do the same for Alternate DNS with 185.228.169.11 and the same template. Click Save.
This needs Windows 11. On Windows 10, type the two numbers and skip the "DNS over HTTPS" part.
Open your Downloads folder, right-click the file and choose Extract All → Extract. Move the new word-guard-extension folder into Documents, and don't delete it, because the browser needs it to stay there.
Add it to the browser
In the address bar, type chrome://extensions and press Enter. (Edge: edge://extensions, Brave: brave://extensions.)
Turn on Developer mode (a switch in a corner of the page).
Click Load unpacked and pick the word-guard-extension folder in Documents.
You'll see Word Guard appear. Done!
Test it
Search for "swimwear". You should see a Blocked page instead of results.
Heads up: anyone can switch the browser part off on the extensions page. The website filter from step 1 still keeps working. For a full lock, ask the person who sent you this page.
🎉 That's it. Your computer is protected.
You'll do three things: 1) install a filter that blocks bad websites for the whole Mac, 2) add Word Guard to Chrome, Edge or Brave, and 3) turn on Apple's adult-website block for Safari.
Safari usually unzips it by itself. If not, double-click the file in Downloads. Drag the word-guard-extension folder into Documents, and don't delete it.
Add it to Chrome, Edge or Brave
In the address bar, type chrome://extensions and press Return. (Edge: edge://extensions, Brave: brave://extensions.)
Turn on Developer mode (top right).
Click Load unpacked and pick the word-guard-extension folder in Documents.
Word Guard doesn't work inside Safari. Safari gets step 4 instead.
Turn on Apple's adult-website block
Open System Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy, and switch it on.
Click Store, Web, Siri & Game Center Content.
Set Access to Web Content to Limit Adult Websites.
Back in Screen Time, turn on Lock Screen Time Settings and let a trusted person pick the passcode.
Test it
In Chrome, search for "swimwear". You should see a Blocked page.
🎉 That's it. Your Mac is protected.
What do these things do?
The website filter is run by CleanBrowsing, a free service. When any app tries to visit a website, the filter checks the address first and stops it if it's a bad site.
Word Guard is a small free app and browser add-on. It reads what's on the screen in your browser and in YouTube, and if it sees a word from its list, it backs you out. It doesn't send anything anywhere; everything stays on your device.
Using Linux, or want to see how it works? Everything is open source on GitHub.