Are there any benefits to using the Safe Surfer app instead of Wi-Fi-based filtering?
Safe Surfer started providing filtering services in 2016, and our first product for families and individuals was a Wi-Fi-based solution. In fact, we still provide these today to some customers in Australia and New Zealand. Wi-Fi filtering is highly convenient and effective, especially for younger families. Wi-Fi filtering also provides the ability to provide some protection for tricker devices (where it's not practical or possible to develop an app, such as smart TVs and video game consoles). But there are a couple of reasons as to why Safe Surfer has moved its primary focus to developing and supporting app-based solutions:
Wi-Fi routers are difficult for us to support outside of Oceania.
Getting the custom blocking and monitoring features working through Wi-Fi DNS filtering is sometimes tricky.
Tech-savvy kids and individuals can sometimes find ways to bypass Wi-Fi filtering, whereas the Safe Surfer apps usually make this considerably more difficult to achieve.
Here are some things we can do for each kind of device when compared with Wi-Fi-based filtering:
Provide custom blocking and device monitoring over an encrypted link for device protection on the go.
Prevent uninstallation, especially on Samsung devices.
Block apps themselves (including the blocking of VPN and anti-censorship apps), which also improves the user's screentime experience.
Monitor social media notifications.
Detect nudity within apps.
Provide custom blocking and device monitoring over an encrypted link for device protection on the go. We're providing a good protection experience as of early 2024, but we're looking to provide a more rigourous protection experience in the near future.
Provide custom blocking and device monitoring over an encrypted link for device protection on the go.
Enforce blocking unfilterable Microsoft News content when opening the Microsoft Edge web browser (along with blocking some other minor Windows features where this content can also be found).
Enforce blocking VPN and proxy web browser extensions in most web browser apps (such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Firefox).
Enforce blocking the VPN and Tor features in the Brave web browser app.
Provide custom blocking and device monitoring over an encrypted link for device protection on the go.
Enforce blocking unfilterable Microsoft News content in the Microsoft Edge web browser.
Enforce blocking the VPN and Tor features in the Brave web browser app.
Wi-Fi routers are difficult for us to support outside of Oceania.
Getting the custom blocking and monitoring features working through Wi-Fi DNS filtering is sometimes tricky.
Tech-savvy kids and individuals can sometimes find ways to bypass Wi-Fi filtering, whereas the Safe Surfer apps usually make this considerably more difficult to achieve.
Here are some things we can do for each kind of device when compared with Wi-Fi-based filtering:
Android
Provide custom blocking and device monitoring over an encrypted link for device protection on the go.
Prevent uninstallation, especially on Samsung devices.
Block apps themselves (including the blocking of VPN and anti-censorship apps), which also improves the user's screentime experience.
Monitor social media notifications.
Detect nudity within apps.
iPhones and iPads
Provide custom blocking and device monitoring over an encrypted link for device protection on the go. We're providing a good protection experience as of early 2024, but we're looking to provide a more rigourous protection experience in the near future.
Windows
Provide custom blocking and device monitoring over an encrypted link for device protection on the go.
Enforce blocking unfilterable Microsoft News content when opening the Microsoft Edge web browser (along with blocking some other minor Windows features where this content can also be found).
Enforce blocking VPN and proxy web browser extensions in most web browser apps (such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Firefox).
Enforce blocking the VPN and Tor features in the Brave web browser app.
macOS
Provide custom blocking and device monitoring over an encrypted link for device protection on the go.
Enforce blocking unfilterable Microsoft News content in the Microsoft Edge web browser.
Enforce blocking the VPN and Tor features in the Brave web browser app.
Updated on: 30/04/2024
Thank you!