How kids get around parental controls (and how to stop it)

1. VPN apps

A VPN app tunnels around any filter. Fix: Sheepdog Filter blocks known VPN and proxy services by default (the "Filter bypass" protection). Also turn on app approvals so a VPN can't be installed without you: Ask to Buy on iPhone, Family Link on Android. On iPhone, set Screen Time › Content & Privacy Restrictions › VPN & Device Management to Don't Allow.

2. "Unblocked games" and proxy sites

Kids share links to websites that load blocked games or sites through another address. Fix: Sheepdog Filter blocks these by name pattern and from community lists, and learns new ones every hour.

3. Switching to mobile data

If you only set up your home Wi‑Fi, a phone on mobile data skips it. Fix: set Sheepdog Filter up on the phone itself as well. On iPhone and Android it works on mobile data too.

4. Changing the DNS setting

An older child may find the setting and change it back. Fix: lock it. iPhone: the VPN & Device Management restriction above stops profiles being removed. Android: Family Link stops Private DNS being changed. Windows and Mac: give your child a Standard account, not an administrator. On Windows, a child who has typed in a different DNS (like 8.8.8.8) skips your router too: the optional browser lock closes that. And if a protected device goes quiet for 12 hours, Sheepdog Filter emails you.

5. iCloud Private Relay and "secure DNS" in browsers

These can send lookups around your router's filter. Fix: turn off Private Relay on your child's iPhone (Settings › their name › iCloud › Private Relay) and set Sheepdog Filter up on the device itself. Sheepdog Filter also blocks the well-known encrypted DNS services that browsers switch to, so they can't skip your router.

6. A different Wi‑Fi

A neighbor's Wi‑Fi or a friend's hotspot skips your router. Fix: device-level setup travels with the device.

7. Factory reset or a second device

A reset wipes everything, and an old phone in a drawer has no settings. Fix: your router setup catches any device at home, and app approvals and a child account keep a reset phone limited. Keep old devices somewhere you control.

The real fix

Tell your child the filter exists and why. Kids who feel they can ask for an exception are much less likely to hunt for a workaround. Sheepdog Filter has an Ask to unblock page for exactly that: your child asks, you get an email, you tap yes or no.