Mobicip
Written by Heather Leister
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This past week I had an email asking for a recommendation on how to filter Safari use on the iPhone and it got me thinking that there are probably quite a few parents in the same boat. Maybe your children received a new iDevices for Christmas and you’re discovering it’s not as easy to shut down Safari and YouTube as you thought it would be. Yes, you can shut them down completely (Settings -> General -> Restrictions) and that’s probably preferred for younger children. But what do you do if you have older ones, say those who use their iPod Touch or iPad to search Safari for research projects? The built in iOS restrictions don’t allow you to filter out specific websites or content so how do you draw the line?
For my older children my preference is to use a filtering app, something that lets them continue to use Safari and YouTube but only within the limits I’ve set. The best app I’ve found to date is Mobicip. You can read the original review I did back in 2009 here. That was several years ago and since then they have changed their pricing model and the features included in the app vs. those in the premium service. They’ve also added the ability to filter YouTube. I understand the need to change and adapt but I am sad to see the whitelisting/blacklisting feature go to strictly the premium service.
You can read more about how Mobicip works on their website but the general idea is that they filter internet content based on the Family Online Safety Institute’s ratings for Internet content. You install the app on your iDevice (or Android) and then turn off Safari, YouTube and the App Store. I can’t even begin to understand (or explain) how the filtering and categorization works but they do it in a way that doesn’t affect browsing speed. The app download comes with three pre-defined filtering levels, elementary school, middle school and high school. Each level blocks a different amount of content with high school being the least restrictive. If you purchase the premium service you have the ability to block specific categories and whitelist or blacklist websites. You can also receive activity reports showing you what your child is doing on the internet with their iDevice.
My personal feeling is you can never be too careful when it comes to children and the internet. We have a rule in our house that the kids can’t have computers in their bedrooms. We also have a rule that we have access to all passwords. Call me overprotective but that’s my job. If I have these rules when it comes to the computer then I also have to establish rules when it comes to their new iPod Touches. When you think about it, they are not that far removed from a personal computer so putting a filtering app on the kids’ devices is a non-decision for me. Whether they like it or not. Now if I could just find something to filter out all of the “Talking Tom” apps they manage to download! What about you? Do you use an internet filter or do you shut everything down? What are your recommendations?
See the Mobicip Safe Browser in the App Store
Price: $2.99 for the app & $9.99 a year for the premium service
By Julie on Jan 16, 2012
I’m super-vigilant about this, too. An ipod touch is like allowing a mini computer in the kids’ room. I have completely disabled Safari on my kids’ ipod touches, and I’m not sure I would completely rely on filtering software–I feel like the kids are smarter than the software and will find ways to circumvent its restrictions. Another thing I have learned, even if Safari and YouTube is completely disabled, many apps have in-app browsers that allow one to bypass completely these restrictions. Any search apps, or apps like Appzilla, which my kids love, allows the user to have open access to the internet and YouTube, despite parental controls on the ipod itself. Many parents don’t realize this. Sorry to go on about this, but I have a tech-savvy kid that is bound and determined to watch youtube and browse the internet on her touch, but her tech-savvy mom knows what’s out there, and can’t allow it!
By Robert on Feb 9, 2012
I recently learned from my ex wife that my son has been visiting some sites that unhealthy for him (porn).
I have talked about this with him before, and I believe he understands the danger to himself and harm to society and others intellectually, but when you are a 15 y.o. with raging hormones and your friends are using this stuff, it is easy to see how it he might get a “What’s the harm in it..everyone else is.” Couple that with hormones and this can be the beginning of a life long habit. The poor kid is on his way to destroying his sexuality even before he has had a change to develop it. Mobicip is being installed tonight.
You mention the premium service as if it is some insurmountable cost. At $10/year per device, this is less than the sales tax on an iPhone for the life of the product.
http://www.mobicip.com/pricing
Now, if only they had it for my son’s laptop. I guess they figure why compete with parental controls, but parental controls on OSX prohibit connecting via https, which rules out nearly every site that requires user login. Really???
By Tony on Apr 3, 2012
You could always configure your router for your wifi to use OpenDNS and then use that to filter content at the point at which the web is accessed in your home. That way all devices connected to the web on your wifi will be filtered. You can block sites etc easily. Unless your tech savvy kid can hack your router you are safe, and if they can hack your router then you have one genius kid. You can also add exceptions, meaning your PC or Mac or whatever would not be restricted whereas your kids would be. I did this at home and it was easier than I thought.