How to Block Adult Websites on Your Phone Permanently: Free Methods for Android & iPhone
Nowadays, it seems like every child and adult owns a smartphone, and with it comes exposure to various forms of online content whether appropriate or inappropriate. This makes it important to take active measures to ensure a safe and secure browsing, especially on devices used by children or in work environments.
If you have been wondering how do I block adult websites permanently on my phone? You have come to the right place. This guide explains the various methods and tools you can use to block adult content permanently on your phone.
Part 1. Why Is It Essential to Block Adults Websites on Mobile Phones
Adult sites have various risks and disadvantages attached to them and in a world where safety and privacy are important, it is important for everyone to learn how to block inappropriate content:
- Privacy and security
It is no news that adult sites have various security risks such as malwares and may leak the data you share on them.
- Mental health
Exposure to adult content can lead to addiction, lack of confidence in one's body image and unrealistic expectations from partners. All these could affect a person's mental wellbeing.
- Productivity
A lot of people spend so much time daily on viewing adult content while they could be making better use of their time. This leads to lack of focus and low productivity.
Part 2. How to Block Adults Websites on My Phone Permanently
There are various methods which you can use to block adult content permanently on your phone and each of these will be explained in this guide.
Method 1. Enable Google SafeSearch
Step 1. Go to the Google homepage on your phone.
Step 2. Click on "Settings" on the bottom right corner.
Step 3. Select "Privacy and Safety", then click on "Safesearch".
Step 4. Select "filter" to filter out explicitly.
Method 2. Set up Google Play Restrictions
Step 1. Open the Google Play Store app.
Step 2. Tap the menu icon in the top right corner.
Step 3. Scroll down and click "Settings."
Step 4. Click on Family and select Parental Control
Step 5. Toggle on "Parental controls" and set a PIN.
Step 6. Customize settings to restrict the type of content you don't want to see.
Method 3. Use Chrome Extensions
Step 1. Open Google Chrome on your mobile phone.
Step 2. Go to the Chrome Web Store and search for a content filtering extension.
Step 3. Install the extension and follow the setup instructions.
Step 4. Set the extension to block adult websites.
Method 4. Open Chrome Enhanced Protection
Step 1. Open Google Chrome on your phone.
Step 2. Click the menu icon in the top right corner.
Step 3. Click "Settings" and then select "Privacy and security."
Step 4. Scroll down and select "Safe Browsing"
Step 5. Click on "Enhanced Protection" to enable it.
Method 5. Utilize a safe browser
Step 1. Install a safe browser app like Opera, Firefox or Brave from the Google Play Store or App Store if you use an iPhone.
Step 2. Open the app and follow the setup instructions.
Step 3. Go to settings and block adult content.
Step 4. Set the safe browser as your phone's default browser.
Method 6. Change router settings
Step 1. Open a web browser on a device connected to your home Wi-Fi network.
Step 2. Enter your router's IP address in the address bar and press Enter.
Step 3. Log in to your router's admin panel using the username and password.
Step 4. Go to the parental controls or content filtering section.
Step 5. Configure settings to block adult websites.
Step 6. Save changes and restart the router if necessary.
Method 7. Set up OpenDNS on your phone
Step 1. Open your phone settings.
Step 2. Go to “Network and Internet" and click on "Wi-Fi"
Step 3. Click on the settings icon for the Wi-Fi whose DNS you're changing.
Step 4. Select "Advanced" or "Modify Network" depending on the type of phone you use.
Step 5. Go to IP settings and switch to "Static."
Step 6. Enter the OpenDNS IP address "208.67.222.222" in the DNS 1 text field then enter "208.67.220.220" in the DNS 2 text field
Step 7. Save settings and reconnect to the Wi-Fi network.
Method 8. Try A Parental Control Tool-Msafely
Msafely is an app that allows you to keep track of other people's online activities. It can be used as a parental control tool for parents who want to know what their children are doing online.
Msafely allows you to remotely monitor SMS, call logs, photos, videos, installed software, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, etc. on other people's mobile phones.
However, while Msafely can help you remotely monitor activity on someone's phone, it can't help you remotely shut down a adult website or app. For example, Msafely can help you monitor that your child may be browsing an adult website, but it can't help you remotely shut down that adult website on your child's phone.
Steps to monitor someone's phone activities via Msafely:
Step 1. sign up for an account.
Step 2. Grant necessary permissions to the app and add the phone you want to monitor.
Step 3. Start monitoring someone's phone secretly.
Part 3. How to Block Adults Websites on My iPhones
iPhones have a built-in feature called "Screen Time" which allows you to set up various restrictions on the type of content you can access based on your preferences. If you're an iPhone user looking to block adult content on your device, you can do so by following these simple steps.
Step 1. Go to "Settings" on your iPhone and click "Screen Time".
Step 2. Toggle on "Turn on Screen Time" to enable the feature.
Step 3. Two options asking if the phone is yours or your child's will be displayed. Select the appropriate one.
Step 4. Select "Turn on Restrictions" and create a screen time passcode.
Step 5. Click on "Content and Privacy Restrictions" then turn it on.
Step 6. Select "Content Restrictions".
Step 7. Click "Web Content" and finally, select "Limit adult websites".
Part 4. How to Block Adults Websites on My Android phone
Making use of the inbuilt parental controls on your android device is an effective way to control what type of content you or your child can view. This guide will give you an insight on how to block adult websites on your android phone.
Step 1. Go to your phone settings
Step 2. Click on "Google" among the options provided
Step 3. Select "Parental Controls"
Step 4. You'll be provided with two options which are "Child or Teen" and "Parent" select the appropriate one and proceed.
Step 5. You'll be redirected to the Family link app or taken to Google Play store to install it.
Step 6. Open the app and sign in with your Gmail account.
Step 7. Click on "Controls"
Step 8. Select "Content Restrictions" then click on "Google Chrome".
Step 9. Select "Try to block explicit sites".
Part 5. Bonus: How to Block Websites on My Phone Using an Internet Browser
Not all phones come with built-in settings that allow users to block adult content, but there are other ways which you can block access to websites on your mobile phone and one of them is through the use of internet browsers. This guide will give you an insight on how to go about this.
5.1. How to block adults websites on Safari permanently
Step 1. Go to Settings and click on "Screen Time".
Step 2. If it’s not enabled, tap "Turn On Screen Time".
Step 3. Tap "Content & Privacy Restrictions" and turn it on.
Step 4. Tap "Content Restrictions", then "Web Content". Choose "Limit Adult Websites". You can add specific websites to the "Never Allow" list by tapping "Add Website" under "Never Allow".
5.2. How to block adults websites on Firefox permanently
Step 1. Open the Firefox Browser on your phone.
Step 2. Click on the menu button on the top right corner and select "Settings".
Step 3. Go to "Privacy and Security" and click on "Cookies and Site Data"
Step 4. Click on "Manage Exceptions"
Step 5. Enter the website you want to block in the text field and click Block.
Part 6. FAQs about Blocking Adults Websites on My Phone Permanently
Q1. Can I block adult websites without installing more apps?
If you don't want to go through the trouble of installing new apps on your phone, you can use the built-in settings or apps on your phone to block adult content.
Q2. Are there any risks to blocking adult websites on my phone?
Blocking adult content on your phone may prevent you from gaining access to some websites which may be useful or important.
Q3. Can I make the block settings work on all apps on my phone?
Yes, you can do this if you use a third-party app such as Blocksite.
Q4. Can I still disable block Settings later?
Blocking websites on your phone is a flexible activity and it can be disabled just as easily as it was set.
Q5. Is network speed affected by blocking websites?
Restricting access to websites has no significant effect on network speed.
Part 7. Summary
It is important to take proactive measures to stay in control of the kind of information that we and our families are exposed to in a world where a lot of data and information can be easily accessed online.
Parents should make use of parental control tools such as Msafely and Google Family Link to protect their children from stumbling on inappropriate content while making use of their phones.