BlockMyself

Exact steps for stronger digital guardrails.

Start with built-in controls. Add DNS and browser friction. Use a trusted person when you need real lockout. The goal is not perfection; it is making the bypass hard enough that you do not casually do it.

Start here: four things tonight Find your device All guides
BlockMyself

Choose a level

Start with the lowest level that could work. Add stronger layers only where the weaker setup fails.

Level 1

Guardrails

Built-in controls first: Screen Time, Family Link, Microsoft Family Safety, Chromebook sign-in limits, and basic app install controls.

Open Guardrails Level 2

Friction

DNS filters, router settings, browser secure-DNS controls, hosts-file blocking, standard-user accounts, and policy tools.

Open Friction Level 3

Lockout

Trusted-person handoff, separated admin accounts, recovery keys kept off-device, device management, and network enforcement.

Open Lockout

Platforms

Use the device page first. Then add the network and lockout layers that apply to your situation.

iPhone / iPad

Screen Time, web content restrictions, app install limits, account-change locks, and supervised-device options.

Android

Chrome filters, SafeSearch, Play approval, Private DNS, and app-install control. Family Link where the account is eligible; it supervises accounts under 18 only.

Chromebook / ChromeOS

Family Link, guest browsing off, sign-in restrictions, child-account web settings, and enterprise management options.

Windows

Microsoft Family Safety, standard-user daily accounts, Edge filtering, browser policy, AppLocker, and BitLocker notes.

Mac

Screen Time, content restrictions, standard daily account, separate admin, FileVault, and profile/MDM options.

Linux

DNS, hosts files, firewall rules, immutable files, browser policy, and sudo/root separation.

Router / gateway

Whole-home DNS filtering, DNS interception, DoT/DoH considerations, Pi-hole, AdGuard Home, NextDNS, and guest network cleanup.

Trusted person

Exactly what to hand off: passcodes, admin passwords, recovery emails, router logins, and recovery keys.

More step-by-step guides

Use these when the basic device pages are not enough, or when you want a concrete recipe instead of building your own setup from scratch.

Something got through

Already set something up and got round it? Pick the line that sounds like what happened and go straight to the fix.

Asked to hold a passcode?

Written for the other person. What you are agreeing to, what to refuse, and what to do when they ask for it back.

Start here

New to this? Four steps, about twenty minutes, and explicit permission to ignore everything else for now.

Allowlist mode

The strongest built-in block: nothing loads unless it is on the list, including inside other apps.

Accountability

Why browser history is an incomplete record, and how to keep one your trusted person actually holds.

Set up filtered DNS

Step by step for iPhone, Mac, Android and Windows, including the options that quietly defeat it.

Shrink the window

Change when and where the device is available, not just what it can reach. Often easier than another filter.

Lock the DNS profile

A DNS profile is four taps from being switched off. What it takes to stop that on iPhone, Mac, Android and Windows.

Test your setup

Browser, app install, DNS, mobile data, account recovery, and reset-path tests.

Setup recipes

Direct paths for iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, technical users, and whole-home setups.

Recovery audit

Find the passwords, recovery codes, router logins, and reset paths that can undo the block.

Browser policy

Chrome, Edge, and Firefox policy examples for DoH, URL blocks, extensions, and guest/private modes.

Mobile data and hotspots

Close cellular, Private DNS, VPN, hotspot, and carrier-account gaps.

Apps and platforms

Search, YouTube, social apps, chat apps, stores, TVs, consoles, and in-app browsers.

Router recipes

UniFi, OpenWrt, pfSense, OPNsense, consumer routers, Pi-hole, and AdGuard Home checklists.

Urge plan

A practical plan for the moment when you want to bypass your own setup.

Trusted handoff worksheet

A printable inventory for passcodes, admin passwords, recovery paths, and refusal rules.

Glossary

Plain-language definitions for DNS, DoH, VPNs, MDM, recovery keys, and other technical terms.

What to do first

  1. Pick the device you actually use when you bypass.
  2. Complete the built-in guide for that device in Guardrails.
  3. Test the block in every browser and account that still exists with Test your setup.
  4. Add the DNS, router, and policy steps in Friction.
  5. Move passcodes, admin credentials, recovery keys, and router logins to the trusted person when you need Lockout.