The short answer: most internet filters are not beaten head-on. They are walked around: a VPN app, switching to mobile data, borrowing a friend’s hotspot, resetting the phone, or changing a setting most adults have never heard of. A children’s home closes these one by one, on the Wi-Fi and on the phone.
The workarounds, and how each is closed
1. VPN and proxy apps
How it works: a VPN app hides where a device is going online, so the filter cannot see it to block it. Free VPNs are a single search away.
How it is stopped: VPN and proxy apps are blocked on every young person’s network we manage. On our locked-down phones, the young person cannot install apps that are not approved, and setting up a VPN is blocked too.
2. Encrypted DNS (Private DNS)
How it works: a setting on phones and laptops sends website look-ups somewhere the filter cannot see. It is less well known than VPNs, which is exactly why it gets used.
How it is stopped: homes built to our full standard block the encrypted DNS route on the Wi-Fi, and we are bringing every home up to that standard. On our locked-down phones, changing this setting leaves the phone with no internet at all, rather than unfiltered internet. We tested that on our own phones before the first one went to a home.
3. Switching to mobile data
How it works: the home’s Wi-Fi filter only covers the home’s Wi-Fi. The moment a phone switches to 4G or 5G, it is on someone else’s network.
How it is stopped: on our locked-down phones, the protection is on the phone itself, so it applies on mobile data and on any Wi-Fi. One home told us the young person was annoyed that he could not reach what he wanted over his SIM, which is the point.
4. A hotspot, theirs or a friend’s
How it works: one unfiltered phone shares its connection with everything else.
How it is stopped: turning on a hotspot is blocked on our locked-down phones. A friend’s hotspot is just another Wi-Fi network, and the phone’s own protection still applies on it.
5. Resetting the phone
How it works: a factory reset wipes the phone back to how it came out of the box, removing whatever was set up on it.
How it is stopped: factory reset is switched off on our locked-down phones, and the protection cannot be uninstalled or switched off.
6. Changing the clock
How it works: if internet times are set on the phone, moving the clock forward can end the curfew early.
How it is stopped: the clock cannot be changed on our locked-down phones.
7. A second account
How it works: adding a personal app store or email account brings in apps the home has not agreed.
How it is stopped: on our locked-down phones, the young person cannot add their own accounts, and only the apps the placement plan allows are installed.
What no filter can do
Filtering is one layer. It controls which apps and websites can be used, not what is said inside an app the home has allowed, and it is not a replacement for staff supervision, honest conversations and a good online safety policy. A young person who wants to get round a filter badly enough may find another device. That is why the home’s arrangements, the young person’s placement plan and the technology need to point the same way.
Questions we are asked
Is blocking VPNs enough on its own?
No. VPNs are the best-known route, but mobile data, hotspots and encrypted DNS settings get round a Wi-Fi-only filter without any app at all. The phone needs its own protection.
Will the young person know the filter is there?
Yes, and they should. Being clear about what is filtered and why is part of helping them understand online safety.
Find out more
Read about our locked-down phones for young people, secure Wi-Fi for children’s homes, or talk to us.
