As the internet becomes more accessible, fast, and cheap, teenagers (and even adults) are getting easy access to the web. They are using this opportunity to browse all sorts of content — good, bad, and adult. As a parent or guardian, you are worried and rightly so. The question then becomes how do you block adult content on Android and prevent kids from getting the wrong idea and notions?

Studies have confirmed a positive correlation between children’s exposure to pornography and aggressive behavior. Websites don’t enforce strict rules to block such content for children. So, it all comes down to parents. Although you can’t stop them from using a smartphone, you can take certain measures to block adult content on their Android smartphone and tablet.

We don’t encourage spying on your children. That’s not cool. But, if your child is not old enough to have a mature conversation, then it’s better to block all adult content on their phone.

Block Adult Content on Android

1. Play Store Settings

You need to take measures to make sure that the kids don’t accidentally discover adult content while browsing the Play Store. Thankfully, Google has an option to setup up parental controls there.

To do that, open Play Store, tap on the menu icon and select Parental controls under Settings. Create a PIN here to prevent your kids from accessing apps that have adult content in nature.

Once you have set up a PIN, you will see three different categories Apps & games, Movies, and Music. Tap each one to restrict content based on the age and maturity of your kids.

Also Read: Block Adult Videos on YouTube App And Make it Safe for Kids

2. Block Adult Content in Chrome

You can also enable safe search in the Chrome browser app for Android. This will block explicit images, videos, and websites from Google Search results. Safe Search is also available in other Chromium browsers like Brave and non-Chromium browsers like Opera and Firefox. Open Settings to find it.

3. Use OpenDNS to Block Adult Content

Adult content not only includes porn but also violent content, swearing, bullying, disturbing images with dead bodies and blood, and even content that’s politically and religiously incorrect. You don’t want your kids to grow up hating one religion or sector of society.

One of the ways to block adult content on Android is by using OpenDNS. Though do keep in mind, Open DNS settings don’t work, if the data saver option is enabled in the Android phone settings. OpenDNS is an open-source and free app that comes with a list of IP addresses and sites that will block adult content and ads across the phone.

By default, we use our ISP’s DNS Server. But if we replace it with OpenDNS servers, every request has to pass through the OpenDNS server. And if it’s found inappropriate, OpenDNS will block the request and your kid won’t be able to open the particular website.

To set OpenDNS as your default DNS server, go to Android Settings and then tap on “Network and Internet”. Next, tap on WiFi and then on the gear icon beside your home’s WiFi. You will now see an edit button at the top-right corner – tap on it. In order to set the DNS IP Address, we would need to change IP settings from DHCP to Static. Post that, you need to enter the IP Address and DNS 1, DNS 2 address as follows.

IP Address: 192.168.1.105 DNS 1: 208.67.222.123 DNS 2: 208.67.220.123

You can also use the WiFi Setting app to directly change the DNS Server address.

Advantages of using OpenDNS

This service is maintained by a large organization that constantly keeps on updating the OpenDNS filter list. Moreover, you can create a free account in OpenDNS and choose your filter level from low to high.

You can also add OpenDNS Server to your router and block adult content on every device connected to your WiFi.

Disadvantages

OpenDNS can be easily bypassed using a VPN app. So if you think your child is smart enough to do that then make sure you block access to Play Store and your device settings (more on that later).

Another caveat is that the phone is not always connected to the home WiFi. For instance, when your kids are out and about, they may use some other WiFi or access the internet via mobile data. In such cases, OpenDNS is not useful.

4. Use BlockSite app

If OpenDNS doesn’t suit your needs or you require a simple way to implement DNS blocking, then you should try BlockSite. It works on the same principle of using DNS server to block adult content throughout. The app is quite intuitive and easy to use.

Also Read: Disable Incognito Mode in Google Chrome for Android

To get started, simply download the app and restart your WiFi or phone to flush out old DNS. Next, open the app and move to the Adult Block tab and enable the block option.

Advantages

Easy to set up with a dedicated app

Works on both data and WiFi

Compatible with every Android browser

Works even with proxy apps and VPN

Download BlockSite: Android

5. Blokada

If you are not happy with openDNS and other IP solutions mentioned above, simply get Blokada. It’s an open-source app that uses custom or pre-set DNS IPs to block ads, websites, and adult content on Android phones. The best thing is that you don’t have to mess around with settings a lot. Download and sideload the app using the link below. It is not available on the Play Store but safe to use. Blokada is the best way to block adult content on Android smartphones.

There list of hosts that you can use to block specific kinds of content like spam, ads, porn, crypto mining scripts, and more. Just tap on a host list to read what it does blocks and enable it. You can enable more than one host list but don’t overdo it. If you think the block is too aggressive, choose a different list.

You can also add your own sites and IP addresses to a list or whitelist certain websites that you believe were blocked by mistake. This gives you complete control over the block which works across the smartphone and all apps installed.

You can also configure DNS automatically and there are, again, a number of options to choose from. I am using Google Public DNS but you can choose any including openDNS we mentioned above. Just enable an option and you are done. It will protect you against spam, adult content, and protect your data.

Finally, there is a paid feature called VPN. You can use it to further safeguard your data and protect your children from harm. Check it out.

Another app that functions similarly to how Blokada works is DNS66.

Download Blokada: Android

6. Google Family Link

Google recently launched Family Link, a parental control app that acts like Apple’s screentime. You can control which apps kids have access to, for how long, and what happens when their time is up. You can lock certain apps that you don’t want the kids to access and other apps will have a timer for the day.

You can also create a new Google account for your kids and allow them to access a curated list of apps from teachers and top institutes. Once everything is set up, you will receive daily reports on your kids’ activities and what they were up to during the day. You can also restrict new app downloads and in-app purchases so you know they are not downloading and then deleting adult content themed apps without your knowledge.

Download Google Family Link: Android

6. Norton Family parental control

Long before Google offered its own custom solution, there was Norton. You can also block sites based on 40+ filters like pornography, gambling, social networking, violence, etc. There is also an option to get a detailed report of your children’s internet activity straight to your mailbox.

Download NortonParental Control: Android

7. PornAway (Root only)

PornAway is a modded version of the famed Adaway app (the app that blocks ads on your Android). However, PornAway is tailored to block adult sites instead of ads. Unlike other apps that block adult content on Android in this list, PornAway blocks adult content through your entire Andriod. No matter which app or browser you use, PornAway will block adult websites everywhere. Although, you’ll need a rooted Android device to use PornAway. Here is how it works.

Make sure installation from unknown sources is allowed on your Android Download PornAway APK and install it Grant it ROOT access Tap on “Enable porn blocking”

Once the app updates your host file, you can go ahead and uninstall PornAway or even unroot your Android. The block will still work. But, if you want to disable porn block in the future, then you’ll need to use the same app and need root access.

Advantages

Free

Works with every app

Blocks all kind of porn

Disadvantages

Require Root access

Download PornAway: Android

8. Cover

Cover will help you hide NSFW and adult content on your phone. The app uses AI to automatically filter out downloaded content on your phone. You can hide images, GIFs, and videos in your gallery with this app. The app is centered around people who get themselves in embarrassing situations by not deleting explicit content and handing their phone to their children who swipe up after looking at the cute dog picture you’re trying to show them.

Once your gallery is cleaned, you can activate a service that constantly monitors and hides any NSFW content that you may “accidentally” download.

Although Cover does a pretty good job of detecting NSFW content automatically, it misses out on a few barely NSFW content. But, you can still hide those images and videos manually by tapping the share button.

Advantages

Automatically sweeps your gallery for any potential NSFW content

Constantly monitors and hides NSFW content from the gallery

Mutes saved videos automatically on the phone

Disadvantages

The filtering technique isn’t refined and doesn’t work for barely NSFW content

The service running in the background consumes a lot of resources resulting in battery drain

Download Cover

Block Adult Content on Android

I would recommend Blokada for your Android phone whether you are using mobile data or WiFi. I would also recommend Google Family Link for everyone to monitor phone usage. If you are an adult and want to get rid of this habit, then check out this subreddit. This is a great community to share your thoughts and get moral support.

Also Read: How to block porn on Windows