Understanding Covenant Eyes Blocking

Covenant Eyes recently partnered with a company, CleanBrowsing, to add a domain blocking service to our software. This means if a Covenant Eyes member attempts to visit a pornographic website on any device, CleanBrowsing will block the site. CleanBrowsing’s domain blocking will replace the traditional Covenant Eyes Filter across all platforms.

Why did you make this change?

While our Filtering solution was helpful, it was challenging to set up. You likely used our Filter because you wanted to stay away from pornography. Our new blocking feature is simple and does exactly that: it automatically blocks known pornography domains, provides SafeSearch on Google and Bing, and can enforce YouTube’s Restricted Mode.

How do Covenant Eyes and CleanBrowsing work together?

The Covenant Eyes software will enforce CleanBrowsing’s domain blocking settings. These domain blocking settings will function with Covenant Eyes Screen Accountability™. This means all members will have a uniform and consistent blocking experience across all devices.

What are the CleanBrowsing blocking levels?

CleanBrowsing has two blocking levels available, which can be managed through My Account on the Covenant Eyes website:

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.

FAQ:

How can I change the Blocking settings for a member?

The Filter Guardian can change the settings by signing into My Account, selecting “Manage Members,” and clicking on “Blocking” below the person’s name.

What happened to the Block and Allow List/Blocked Times?

With Covenant Eyes’ recent partnership with CleanBrowsing, changes were made to My Account and settings related directly to our Filter settings. Since the Covenant Eyes software is no longer providing a filtering service directly, members do not have access to customizing the settings. In its place we do provide basic blocking settings for managing CleanBrowsing.

What about social media?

With a few exceptions, most social media websites and applications will be allowed through our blocking feature. With the Screen Accountability service, we’ll be able to capture and report any concerning screenshots from from time spent on any social media sites or apps.

What about apps?

Similar to social media websites and apps, most applications will be allowed through the CleanBrowsing filter. Covenant Eyes Screen Accountability will capture and report any concerning screenshots.

SafeSearch is a search engine’s optional, internal filter. When enabled, this feature limits explicit search and image results. Our blocking, powered by CleanBrowsing, automatically enables and enforces SafeSearch for popular search engines. To protect our members, Covenant Eyes keeps SafeSearch permanently turned on, and will not allow it to be turned off.

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