How to Block Adult Websites on Phone Permanently [Guide for Android]

You can block adult websites on a phone permanently by using Safe Search, setting up parental controls, and adding site-blocking extensions.

With adult content a click away, learning how to block adult websites on your phone or your child’s phone is imperative.

The Common Sense Media report, “Teens and Pornography”, found that the average age reported for first viewing pornography is 12, with 15% of teen respondents saying they first saw online pornography at age 10 or younger. Half of them (58%) indicated they had encountered pornography accidentally.

I know the frustration of finding a permanent solution for adult websites. They can appear out of normal searches as your child researches their homework or as you work on social media. The truth is that adult content is habit-forming, and frequent exposure to explicit content can affect your family’s mental well-being.

If you’re looking for a lasting solution, read on. We have found the best ways to block porn on your phone or kid’s device.

How to block 18+ content with Safe Search

An ambiguous and perhaps innocent search can accidentally turn up explicit content. I noticed that some words double as slang terms in adult content. Thus, a simple search with words like peach or beaver could turn up adult websites on my phone.

The Safe Search feature on browsers and search engines is doing a good job at filtering explicit content. With this option, it’s possible to filter nudity, graphic sex acts, sexually explicit content, and violent websites on mobile phones.

Thus, according to my tests, Safe Search is the simplest way to block adult websites on my phone permanently for free.

I used my Samsung A33 and Galaxy S21 Ultra phone to apply these instructions to block websites on Android.

How to Set Up Safe Search on Google App

1. Open the Google app, and click on your profile icon in the top-right corner.
   
2. Tap on SafeSearch, and choose Filter. This option filters out explicit images, texts, and links.
   

How to Apply Safe Search on Chrome browser on Android

1. Open the Chrome browser and click the three dots in the top-right corner.
   
2. Tap on Settings > Privacy and security.
   
3. Scroll down to Security and tap Safe Browsing.
4. Choose the Enhanced Protection option. This feature does not explicitly block adult content, but the Chrome browser will offer protection against dangerous sites, downloads, and extensions.
   

How to Manage Safe Search on the Bing App

1. Open the Bing app and click on the three dots in the top-right corner.
   
2. Tap on Search Settings > Safe Search and choose Strict.
   

You can also set up Safe Search on the Bing search engine itself, in any browser. Open bing.com, tap the burger menu in the upper-right corner and choose SafeSearch > Strict.

How to Set Up Safe Search on the Microsoft Account

1. Open the Bing app and tap the profile icon in the upper-left corner.
   
2. Go to Settings > Search > Safe search and choose Strict.
   

Limitations of Safe Search:

Safe Search is not 100% guaranteed to filter results. The effect varies depending on the search engine. Additionally, content may be misclassified and slip through the filter.

On the other hand, some content may be inaccessible even though it’s not harmful. This can limit access to useful search results.

Use Parental Control to Block Adult Content for Kids

Android phones have a Digital Wellbeing feature that offers parental controls to block specific websites. Blocking websites can create a safe browsing experience as you can limit adult websites, porn, age-restricted websites, adult chat forums, and others. Still, that means you must list every possible 18+ site, which is impossible.

Family Link for Android

Family Link is a Google parental control app that can manage a kid’s phone activities. It provides tools for blocking 18+ sites on a phone. In addition, it comes with parental control app management for Google apps, so you can approve which apps they can download from the Google Play Store.

To use Family Link to block specific adult websites:

You need to first set up Family Link by connecting your child’s device to Family Link. Then set up and use all the Family Link features.

1. On the Family Link app and click on Controls on the bottom menu.
2. Choose Google Chrome and Web, then select the Try to block explicit sites option.
   
3. Under Manage sites, click on blocked sites.
   
4. Click Add a website, enter the URL, and click Add. This method will block inappropriate websites permanently on your child’s Android phone.
   
5. Go back to Controls, choose Google Search, then click on Filter. Again, Safe Search will try to filter inappropriate websites and adult content.
   

Limitations:

Google Family Link filters results in Google Search. As such, it cannot prevent access to pornographic websites searched on other search engines.

Besides, Family Link cannot enforce restrictions on apps from different companies, such as social media apps like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram.

Professional App for Parental Monitoring

Free methods for blocking porn are indeed not foolproof and tech-savvy kids can figure out how to bypass or remove them. That’s why it’s better to use a professional app for parental controls. Such apps work in the background and can effectively block porn on Android.

We’ve researched various professional apps that can block access to inappropriate websites on Android phones. The best porn blocker is mSpy as you can input the specific URL to block. A teen is unlikely to figure out how to unblock adult websites. Moreover, you can use it to monitor the websites that a kid visits.

To use mSpy to block 18+ sites on a phone permanently:

1. Go to mspy.com and create an account. You will get access to an online dashboard that syncs the phone’s activities.
2. On the control panel, click on Block Websites on the left pane. It will open a page where you can add the websites you want to block.
3. Enter the URLs of known porn websites in the space provided and click Block. mSpy will prevent access to these websites on the tracked phone.

mSpy can track the websites that a child visits, which is great for discovering new websites that contain adult content. Therefore, you can add as many adult websites as you want in the Block section.

Try mSpy

In addition, mSpy has a keylogger to view typed words and a keyword tracker to track specific keywords. This way, you can discover slang for adult content using the keylogger and use the keyword tracker to find out how they are used.

mSpy can help you limit a child’s exposure to explicit material, especially for teens who are more tech-savvy and can easily circumvent the Safe Search feature on browsers and Google.

Limitations:

mSpy cannot filter what a child searches. It can only block direct access to the websites you’ve input using the Block Websites feature on mSpy. Thus, you have to actively know which websites a kid visits and consequently block them.

How to Use DNS Filter to Block Adult Sites

A DNS filter blocks adult sites at the DNS level. DNS stands for Domain Name System. All websites have IP addresses, which are held under the Domain Name System (DNS). When you use a DNS filter, you can filter unwanted content by cross-checking its category before it’s displayed.

By default, your Android phone uses the DNS provided by your mobile carrier or Wi-Fi network. But you can change it to the private one.

To set up a DNS filter on Android:

1. Go to the Settings and click Connections.
2. Click More connection settings.
   
3. Tap on Private DNS.
4. Select Private DNS provider hostname. There are various private DNS providers; for family Androids, the best are CleanBrowsing or AdGuard.
5. Enter the DNS provider hostname: family-filter-dns.cleanbrowsing.org OR dns-family.adguard.com in the space provided and click Save.
   

Limitations:

One can bypass a private DNS using a VPN, so even if you find it important to block adult websites on mobile, it can be rendered useless with a VPN. If websites are not categorized regularly, the filter may fail to block 18+ sites on the target phone.

Use Browser Extensions to Block Porn on Android

You can block porn content using browser extensions. These are apps that filter content and limit adult websites on phone browsers. There are free and paid options that work equally for creating a healthier digital environment.

If you’ve noticed signs of porn usage in a teenager, or you want one for yourself, porn blocker extensions can provide content restrictions on a browser like Chrome.

Blocker X

Blocker X is a powerful inappropriate content blocker for Android browsers. It can block porn websites for Android users via keywords and specific websites. Once you install the app, you will be taken through an onboarding process and then have the ability to enter the words and websites to block on most Android browsers.

Limitations:

Using free browser extensions comes with the freedom to uninstall the app. If you plan to use it for your teen child, it’s better to go for a paid plan, since it will notify you when a teen tries to uninstall the app. Therefore, you can use it to block adult websites on the phone permanently.

Conclusion

It’s crucial to block adult websites on your phone permanently for your mental well-being and to ensure a healthy digital environment for kids. After researching the best methods for applying filters, I found that browser extensions work best for blocking inappropriate websites across all browsers.

Google Family Link is the best for blocking specific websites on a young child’s phone. It is a reliable option for kids who use Google products like the Chrome browser, YouTube, and Google Play.

For teens’ parents, I recommend mSpy. This app is difficult to uninstall, and it can permanently block adult content and inappropriate websites.

Thus, the best is to combine the SafeSearch filter with additional tools. Start doing it now!