Understanding Filtering for Screen Accountability™

 

      

Covenant Eyes partners with CleanBrowsing, a filtering company, to provide website blocking. This means that if a Covenant Eyes member, who is using the Filter service, attempts to visit a pornographic website on any device, then CleanBrowsing will block the site.

Are there different blocking options?

Yes, there are two blocking levels available:

  • Adult Blocking (standard)

Blocks access to all adult, pornographic, and explicit websites. It does not block proxy or VPN domains. Mixed-content sites (like Reddit) are allowed. Google and Bing are set to use SafeSearch.

  • Family Blocking (blocks more)

Blocks access to all adult, pornographic, and explicit websites. It blocks some proxy and VPN domains. Some mixed-content sites (like Reddit) are blocked. Google, Bing and Yahoo are set to use SafeSearch. YouTube’s (moderate) Restricted Mode is put into action.

How do I change the blocking level?

The Filter Guardian, whether it’s you or someone else, is the person who can change the settings. To do so, sign into My Account, select “Manage Members,” and click on “Filtering.”

Select either the Adult Blocking Level (standard blocking) or the Family Blocking Level (increased blocking). Be sure to click the blue, “Save Settings” button.

What is the custom block list?

This is a tool for customizing Filter settings. It gives a Filter Guardian the ability to block sites that, while not explicit, are troublesome for the member. If our standard website blocker (powered by CleanBrowsing) doesn’t block troublesomesite.example and you want that site blocked, you will be able to add troublesomesite.example to the member’s custom block list and Covenant Eyes will block your access to troublesomesite.example.

For full details, read this article about the custom block list.

What about apps?

The current focus is using CleanBrowsing’s expertise to block known pornography sites. CleanBrowsing will block access to explicit sites in our app or other apps. If the blocking doesn’t occur, for whatever reason, our Screen Accountability™ service is ready to capture and report concerning screenshots in those apps. If blocking apps is important in your situation, then you’ll want to read about using Apple’s built-in tool for an iPhone® (Screen Time) or using our App Lock feature for Android™ devices.

What about social media?

With a few exceptions, most social media will be accessible/allowed. With the Screen Accountability service, we’re able to capture and report any concerning screenshots that would result from time spent on a social media site or in a social media app.

SafeSearch is a search engine’s optional, internal filter meant to limit explicit search and image results. When Covenant Eyes blocking is being used, it will automatically enable and enforce SafeSearch for popular search engines.

In My Account, you can select either the Adult Blocking Level or the Family Blocking Level:

  • Adult Blocking Level: enables and enforces SafeSearch for Google and Bing
  • Family Blocking Level: enables and enforces SafeSearch for Google, Bing, and Yahoo

What happened to the Allowed Sites List and to Blocked Times?

Covenant Eyes no longer offers the Allowed Sites List or Time Controls. Those features were subsets of our Filter service for Internet Accountability and challenging for members to set up and maintain. Blocking, powered by Clean Browsing, is the filter for our new program, Screen Accountability. It is simple, uniform, and consistent across all devices. In response to member feedback, we created the Custom Block List which allows someone to personalize their Filtering service. Additional feedback about any of these items is welcomed in our Community Forum.