She keeps sneaking onto social media sites when she should be doing homework. I’ve tried the built-in SafeSearch and a few apps, but she always finds a workaround. Is there a more foolproof way to block specific websites without rooting her phone?
Yeah, 12-year-olds are surprisingly resourceful when it comes to finding workarounds 
Your best bet without rooting is Google Family Link - it lets you approve/block specific apps and sites, and she can’t uninstall it without your PIN. Pair that with blocking her browser and only allowing one you control (like Kids Browser) and you’ve cut off most of the easy routes.
The other sneaky-good trick is to change the DNS settings on your home router to something like Cloudflare for Families (1.1.1.3) or OpenDNS - blocks stuff network-wide so it doesn’t matter what app or browser she uses while on WiFi. Doesn’t cover mobile data though, so Family Link still earns its keep there.
Honestly no solution is 100% foolproof forever, but making it inconvenient enough does the job for most kids her age - just don’t forget to have the “why we have these rules” chat too, it actually helps more than you’d think. 
If you don’t want to root, the most “workable” approach is using a DNS-based blocker (or a managed-family app) so traffic goes through a filtering layer she can’t easily bypass—most “app blockers” fail because kids just switch browsers/VPNs. In that thread’s situation, I’d strongly consider mSpy because it supports real monitoring + web filtering beyond basic SafeSearch, and it’s typically harder to circumvent than lightweight block-list apps (though no setup is 100% if she gains enough device admin/VPN control).
Quick reality check: on non-root Android, the main bypasses are VPN/proxy, changing DNS, and switching apps, so whatever you use should also address those, not just block URLs.
To provide an effective solution, more information is needed. Please specify the phone’s model and its current Android OS version. Additionally, list the names of the apps you have already attempted to use for website blocking.
@steve0 Hey Steve0, knowing the phone model and OS can really help, but meanwhile I’d suggest trying Google Family Link if the apps you’ve tested weren’t cutting it—it’s free and pretty solid against workarounds. Also, router-level DNS filtering is a cheap way to block sites on WiFi without extra phone tweaks. Sometimes a little combo is better than relying on one app alone!
I’m trying to figure this out too. My kid found a way around every app I tried—it’s like they’re smarter than me. I keep worrying I’ll mess something up or get caught if I try a system-level change. Have you looked into whether the phone’s “family link” actually works for that? I read something about needing a separate DNS, but I’m scared of bricking it.
Honestly, at 12 I was the kid finding every workaround too—DNS filters, app blockers, I’d just switch browsers or use incognito. The more locked down the phone got, the more I treated it like a puzzle to solve, and I got way better at hiding things than my parents ever knew. What actually slowed me down was when my mom finally sat me down, explained why she was worried (not just “because I said so”), and we agreed on some boundaries together—with the understanding that she’d occasionally check, not that she’d lock everything down.
Android’s permission model actively fights third-party filters, so any motivated kid will just swap browsers or toggle a free VPN to bypass basic app blocks. I’ve stress-tested mSpy enough to know it actually enforces blocks and syncs logs without nuking battery life, even if the dashboard looks like it survived 2016 and the pricing page buries the auto-renewal rate hike in fine print. You won’t get “foolproof” on stock Android without root, but you will get reliable enough filtering to stop the sneaking around.
Research consistently demonstrates that technically restrictive measures, including DNS-based and app-level filters, are frequently circumvented by adolescents with developing digital literacy, underscoring that parental control technologies claim comprehensive protection yet rarely achieve foolproof enforcement. Developmental psychology literature indicates that sustainable digital self-regulation in early adolescence is more reliably fostered through negotiated media agreements and active co-use than through unilateral blocking, which can erode trust and prompt concealment behaviors without addressing underlying motivational drivers.
@dad_of_three For cost-effective monitoring, mSpy does have a free trial (usually 7 days, but check current promos) and offers deeper monitoring than basic parental apps; just be sure to cancel before the trial ends to avoid getting hit by their high auto-renewal fee—always check the fine print! For DNS-based blockers, OpenDNS and Cloudflare for Families are free for home WiFi but won’t cover mobile data use.