Managing your Content Policy
Control and Restrict content on your Devices by creating Content Policy Rules
A Content Policy allows you to specify what should be blocked, when it should be blocked, and who it should be blocked for.
A Content Policy is a list of rules that you use to block, allow, or enforce SafeSearch and YouTube restricted modes.
Rule Actions
Each rule in your Content Policy will have an associated action.
- Allow: Unblock a website or app that is blocked in another rule.
- Block: Deny access to a website or app.
- SafeSearch: Search engines usually have a SafeSearch feature, which provides filtered search results. You can automatically turn on the SafeSearch feature with this action.
- Yt Restricted: YouTube has their own content filter, which you can enable by specifying this action.
Note
Rule Order
On the content policy page, you can edit the order of rules. The order is incredibly important.
In the following scenario, there is an allow rule and a block rule that both have the "Music" category selected:
- Allow: Music Category
- Block: Music Category
The music category will be allowed since the allow rule is above the block rule.
If the order were to change as follows:
- Block: Music Category
- Allow: Music Category
The music category would be blocked since the block rule is above the allow rule.
You can use this approach to exclude specific apps or websites from a block:
- Allow: Spotify App (in the music category)
- Block: Music Category
In this scenario, all music websites and apps are blocked with the exception of Spotify. This is called a default-deny approach where an entire category is blocked by default and exceptions are added.
Scoping a Rule
By default, a Content Policy rule will be enabled always, for everyone on your account, all the time.
However, you can customize the scope of a rule.
Scoping by Content
You can configure what kind of content a Rule applies to. This is true for all Rule Actions.
Configure Policy
Configure Rule Content Selection
Choose whether a rule applies to an app, website, category, and more.
Scoping by Audience
Rules can be assigned to profiles who've joined your account.
Scoping by Schedule
You can set a recurring, weekly schedule for when a rule should apply.
Change History
View past changes to a Rule on your Content Policy, including what was changed and by whom.
Create Rule Presets
Get started quickly with common Rule Presets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Now that we’re familiar with creating a Content Policy rule, let's answer some of the most common questions.
How do I disable, delete, or turn off a Rule?
There are several ways to remove a rule from your content policy:
- You can delete a rule on the Content Policy, which shows a list of rules. Select the
Editbutton and then click the trashcan icon that appears next to the rule you want to delete. - In your Content Policy, open the rule you want to turn off and toggle off the "Enable Rule" option.
- Specify a schedule or audience for the rule to exclude certain devices where you don't want the rule to apply.
I'm not able to remove a rule
If you aren't able to do disable, delete, or turn off a rule, there are a few things to check:
- Is your profile locked? When your profile is locked, some actions are disallowed, like turning off certain types of rules. You might need to unlock your profile.
- There might be an issue with your account. Please contact us to troubleshoot further.
How do I exclude content from being blocked?
If you create a block rule that selects multiple categories, it's possible that a website or app you want to access is blocked in the process.
The best way to do handle this is to create an Allow rule and add it to that rule to exclude it from being blocked. This will override an overlapping block rule.
How do I block and prevent an App from being opened?
When you create a rule in your Content Policy, you can use the App selector to specify an app that you want to block.
It's important to note that blocking an app using your DNS Content Policy may not prevent you from downloading the app on to your device, but it will prevent that app from communicating with the internet, effectively disabling it.
If you want to prevent an app from being installed in the first place or opened on your device, please see our dedicated guide for blocking apps.
Block Apps
How To Effectively Block Apps on Smartphones
Learn about how to block apps on the different smartphones, such as iPhone and Android.
How do I filter URLs or limit parts of an App?
If you want the ability to block specific webpages as opposed to the domain (for example, block a specific YouTube channel instead of YouTube altogether), this isn't possible with a DNS Content Policy alone.
Instead, you can use URL and domain keyword filtering on your device. Please see our dedicated guide about filtering website keywords:
Block Website Keywords
How to Block Websites based on Keywords
Content Blockers allow you to block specific websites, categories, and apps. What if you want to block a website that uses a word in it's URL?
For specific apps, we have several guides related to limiting or blocking social media:
Social Media
How to Effectively Block Social Media (Updated for 2024)
Social Media apps need to be handled differently than other apps, since they are so prevalent.
I set up my content policy, but I'm still able to access blocked content
Once you create your Content Policy, you need to make sure you connect your devices. If you've connected your devices but are still able to access content that should be blocked, use our troubleshooting section to narrow down the issue.
Next Up
Customize a rule's schedule.
Configure Policy
Configure Rule Content Selection
Choose whether a rule applies to an app, website, category, and more.