Surf Balance

My kids use my iPhone almost as much as I do. Some days even more. Right now they’re sticking with my apps but I know it’s only a matter of time before my oldest discovers Safari. We’ve talked to her about internet safety and have restrictions set up on our home computer but Safari is going to be a whole new can of worms. With that in mind, I was excited when the folks behind Surf Balance gave me a heads up about their iPhone app.

Surf Balance is a kid-friendly “browser” app. Your kids use it to access the internet, on your iPhone, and it allows you to set up filters that block which sites they can view. Surf Balance provides you with a list of categories and websites that are safe for kids. You can add and delete from this list. It’s like a giant collection of bookmarked sites for kids and they can tap on a link and visit the different sites. When you want to surf the internet through the app, depending on the level of filter you’ve set up, certain sites will be blocked. For example, I tried to visit match.com and eharmony.com. (Didn’t want to try anything racier than that, thank you very much.) Up popped a warning message saying I was trying to visit a suspicious site. It asked me if I’d like to request permission to view it later. Choosing yes would put that site on a list I could review later and either approve or deny as acceptable. I noticed as I was using the app that this message popped up at times I wasn’t trying to view questionable websites. Hopefully this is just a minor bug that future versions will fix.

On the parents screen you can customize how you want the app to work. You can set limits on the number of minutes a day your child can use Surf Balance. You can tweak the filter strength and also request email usage reports.

This is a pretty pricey app but a great way to take control of what your child can access on Safari. And really in the long run, isn’t the money worth it if you can keep your kids away from that dark, nasty side of the internet?

*A note- To ensure that Surf Balance is the only way to access the internet on your phone you’ll have to visit the Settings/Restrictions and turn off Safari. If my kids had their own iTouch (I’d be the BEST mom EVER) I would absolutely have Surf Balance on and Safari off.

Price when Reviewed: $14.99

See the app at iTunes

Seller: AgaveApps