Qustodio Advance (Tamper Protection) doesn't work on iOS 27 - Who is affected and possible workarounds
We rigorously tested Qustodio Advance's Tamper Protection on iOS 27 and discovered that it likely won't work on new devices. Luckily, there are workarounds and not everyone is affected.
The latest iOS 27 update impacted the Qustodio app's ability to prevent itself from being bypassed. Through our testing, we discovered that Tamper Protection (Qustodio Advance) in particular didn't enforce Qustodio's MDM profile as it did on iOS 26. If you are considering upgrading your iPhone/iPad and rely on Qustodio, you should be aware that enforcement may not work properly. Some people on iOS 27 will be affected while others won't be.
Fortunately, there are alternatives to Qustodio for iOS that use a similar tamper protection technique that continue to work and be effective on iOS 27.
iOS 27 impacts parental control apps that use Mobile Device Management
Qustodio and some other well-known parental control apps use Mobile Device Management to enforce a VPN connection, access information a standalone app can't typically access, and manage apps.
In iPhone Settings > General > VPN & Device Management, you'll likely see Qustodio's device management profile installed.
Qustodio also adds a VPN configuration to block websites on the device. To prevent bypass, the VPN configuration must be enforced so a child can't simply toggle it off in settings.
Qustodio's Device Management profile helps to lock down this VPN configuration (and some other restrictions).
But there's a serious loophole: on a normally configured device, it's possible for a child to tap into this MDM profile and Remove Management.
Previously, Qustodio's "tamper protection" computer software used to be able to lock down the Remove Management button so that it didn't do anything when pressed.
Now here's the problem: iOS 27 made changes to device management that closed down the technique Qustodio used with their tamper-resistant software. For an Apple device on iOS 27 that is being set up with Qustodio for the first time, tamper resistance simply doesn't work. A child can press Remove Management in settings, and it actually disconnects the MDM.
Alternatives with Effective Tamper Resistance on iOS 27
Parental control apps on iOS have limited effectiveness without the use of Mobile Device Management and Supervised Mode . The loss of tamper resistance is a serious downgrade for some Qustodio users.
There are alternatives to Qustodio that use similar device management techniques to go further with blocking and bypass prevention compared to a typical app.
Tech Lockdown
Tech Lockdown uses an approach that doesn't depend on an app to be effective: Apple configs combined with Supervised Mode, a special restrictive mode on iOS that is similar to Qustodio's use of Mobile Device Management.
Tech Lockdown can be used to enable Supervised Mode on an iOS device, then get access to restrictions normally not possible using an app. Restrictions can be applied to a device and prevented from being bypassed using the config editor.
Tech Lockdown is used to thoroughly block which apps can be used on the device, protect content filtering VPN and DNS settings, and disable certain features like Internet Results in Spotlight Search .
LivingRoom
LivingRoom is an iOS app that records the screen while the device is in use, sending periodic screenshots of activity to a parent's dashboard for review.
It will detect explicit content on the screen, no matter what app is used, and shield the screen while also notifying a parent with a screenshot trail for context.
Unlike typical parental control apps, LivingRoom uses an effective approach for preventing itself from being bypassed. Similar to Qustodio and Tech Lockdown, LivingRoom uses Supervised Mode combined with the app to prevent itself from being bypassed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Qustodio fix tamper resistance so it works on iOS 27?
Given that we know the exact technique Qustodio uses to lock down MDM using their tamper protection software, we do not think they can fix this issue. The most likely scenario is that iOS 27 support will be dropped for tamper protection in it's current form. They will likely need to rework MDM tamper resistance entirely.
What if the iPhone Upgrades to iOS 27 after enabling Tamper Protection while on an older version of iOS?
Tamper protection should carry over from an upgrade to iOS 26->27. We tested this ourselves. Devices running iOS 26 or an earlier iOS version can still use tamper protection to lock down MDM on the device that uses Qustodio.
The main gap is on devices that are already on iOS 27 configuring Qustodio + tamper protection for the first time.