Guides for parents who want to understand online safety without becoming internet-safety experts. Learn what parental controls can do, where their limits are, how to set sensible boundaries, and when a conversation matters more than another setting. Written to be useful even if you never use OathSafe.
Start here · Parent education · 6 min read
Start with the relationship, not the settings. Regular, calm conversations help children understand risks, ask for help and gradually take more responsibility for their own online choices.
DNS filtering · 4 min read
DNS stands for Domain Name System. Think of it as the internet’s address book: it helps a phone find the online services it is trying to reach.
Parent education · Privacy · 7 min read
Online activity can reveal useful patterns without revealing private conversations. Learn what traffic signals can tell you, what they cannot prove, and how to turn an insight into a calm conversation rather than an accusation.
Monitoring · 4 min read
Most tools focus on blocking websites. Parents also need a way to notice when that protection is no longer active.
VPNs · 4 min read
VPNs can sidestep DNS-based rules in some situations. Layered protection is more honest than promising that bypass is impossible.
DNS filtering · 4 min read
DNS filtering decides which domain names a device may look up. It is powerful for everyday web use and honest about what it cannot see.
Parent education · 5 min read
Parents can reduce exposure to harmful content without turning a child’s phone into a surveillance device. DNS filtering, operating-system safeguards, clear rules and regular conversations can work together.
Parent education · 6 min read
Curious kids test boundaries. The strongest response is not tighter surveillance alone: clear family rules, age-appropriate trust, OS safeguards and a way to notice when protection can no longer be verified work better together.
App blocking · 4 min read
You can block or heavily restrict Snapchat with operating-system controls and DNS filtering. Using both gives better coverage than relying on one setting alone.
App blocking · 4 min read
Use the phone’s parental controls to manage TikTok as an app, then add DNS filtering if you also want a DNS block that follows the device.
Web filtering · 4 min read
Built-in phone controls can restrict adult websites, while device-level DNS filtering adds category blocking that can follow the child across Wi-Fi and cellular networks.
App blocking · 6 min read
Treat YouTube as both an app and a website. Use the phone’s parental controls for installs and time limits, then add DNS filtering if you want a DNS stop that can follow the device.
App blocking · 6 min read
Roblox is a platform of games plus chat. Use the phone’s parental controls to manage the app, Roblox’s own account tools for in-game chat, and DNS filtering if you also want a DNS stop on this phone.
App blocking · 5 min read
Discord is a chat and voice platform, not a simple website. Restrict the app on the phone, then add DNS filtering if you want the account to stop connecting from that device.
App blocking · 5 min read
Instagram is an app, a website, and part of a wider Meta set of products. Restrict the app on the phone, then add DNS filtering if you also want the service to stop loading in a browser.
App blocking · 5 min read
WhatsApp is a phone-number messaging app. Restrict it on the device, then add DNS filtering if this handset should not be able to connect — knowing that chats themselves stay private.
App blocking · 4 min read
Facebook is a website, an app, and part of a wider Meta set. Restrict the Facebook app, then add DNS filtering if facebook.com should be disrupted too — without treating Messenger as automatically included.
App blocking · 4 min read
Fortnite is an Epic account that can live on a phone, a console, or a PC. Restrict the mobile app, add DNS filtering for that handset, and treat other screens as separate jobs.
App blocking · 4 min read
Minecraft can be a local sandbox or an online server game. Use the phone’s parental controls for the app, then DNS filtering if online Realms and multiplayer should not connect from that device.
App blocking · 4 min read
Reddit is an app and a set of websites. Restrict the app, add DNS filtering for this phone, and remember that a new account on another device is a separate problem.
App blocking · 4 min read
X is still the Twitter app and website for most families. Restrict the app, add DNS filtering so x.com and twitter.com fail on this phone, and treat it as a connection rule rather than a timeline monitor.
App blocking · 4 min read
Telegram can run on a username without behaving like SMS. Restrict the app on the phone, add DNS filtering if this handset should not connect, and remember desktop and extra devices.
App blocking · 4 min read
Netflix is a household account as much as a phone app. Restrict the mobile app, add DNS filtering for this handset, and use Netflix profile PIN tools if the TV is still in scope.
App blocking · 4 min read
Twitch is live video plus chat. Restrict the app, add DNS filtering so this phone cannot stream, and treat Discord as a separate voice path.
App blocking · 4 min read
Messenger is a chat app that can survive a Facebook-app block. Restrict Messenger itself, add DNS filtering for this phone, and treat Messenger Kids as a different product.