DNS Filtering vs. Parental Control Apps: Why Families Choose ShomerDNS
Most parental control apps ask you to install software on every device, hand over a subscription fee, and trust a company with data about your children’s activity — and even then, they only protect the devices the app is actually installed on. ShomerDNS takes a different approach: filter the whole network at once, for free, with no app and no account — and if you want the same granular, per-person control those apps promise, you can have that too.
The Trouble With Parental Control Apps
- They cost money. Most charge an ongoing monthly or annual subscription per device or per family plan.
- They collect data. To function, they typically log app usage, browsing activity, location, and sometimes message content — on a company’s servers, not yours.
- They only cover what they’re installed on. A guest’s phone, a smart TV, a games console, or any device you can’t install software on is completely unprotected.
- They can be removed. Any tech-savvy family member can usually find and uninstall the app.
How ShomerDNS Solves It
Whole-Network Protection, Instantly
Change one setting per device — or route your whole home through it — and harmful content is blocked before it ever loads. No app to install, open, or maintain.
Nothing Logged, Nothing Sold
DNS queries are processed over encrypted DNS-over-TLS and never stored. There’s no dashboard of your family’s browsing history sitting on someone else’s server.
Completely Free
No subscription, no per-device fee, no premium tier. ShomerDNS is a non-commercial community service — every feature described here is free for everyone.
Built for Every Device
Phones, laptops, smart TVs, consoles — anything that can use a custom DNS setting or a WireGuard connection can be protected, including devices you could never install an app on.
Want Per-Person Control? You Can Have That Too.
The one thing parental control apps really do offer is granularity — different rules for different family members. ShomerDNS matches that, without an app: request an individual VPN configuration for each family member or device, and each one gets its own private, encrypted connection to ShomerDNS along with its own personalised Allow List and Block List that you control directly in your browser.
- Give your teenager a different block list than your younger children’s tablet
- Allow a specific site for one device without opening it up for the whole house
- Edit both lists any time in the List Editor, from any browser — changes apply within minutes
- Your personal lists always take priority over our defaults: your Allow List, then your Block List, then the ShomerDNS default block list
That’s the same per-person customisation a paid app sells you — run through your own private VPN configuration instead of a company’s tracking SDK.
Ready to Get Started?
Setup takes just a few minutes on any device — no software to install, no account required.
View Setup Instructions Request a Personal VPN & Lists