Circle is a $99 device that acts as a web filter, a time manager and Internet OFF switch. It does this by hacking your network and standing between your router and all the devices you connect to your home network. It does NOT replace your router or firewall, but is a wired or wireless device that connect to your network. It is then managed from your iOS device with a very simple to use interface. Each device is assigned to a family member who is then assigned a filtering level.
- Filter levels are general – Kids, Teens, Adult and none
- Blocking – Is customized by app/site*, category and specific domain.
- Time restrictions – Set by user and app/site*. These get individual daily limits. Restriction times are set by weekday and weekend.
- Off Switch – You can pause your entire Internet, a user or device.
- Reporting – A very general report by day, week or month shows the time spent by app/site* category and url.
Circle Go – is a $10 monthly subscription service that can be added to Circle. That allows the filtering to work on devices off your network. Remember if you give your kids a cell phone they are off the home network as soon as they turn of WiFi. So this service is needed unless you disable cellular data for apps that access the internet.
*List of apps or sites that can be individually blocked or time limited:
- Amazon
- Disney
- FaceTime
- HBO
- Hulu
- Minecraft PE
- Musical.ly
- Netflix
- Periscope
- Snapchat
- Tumblr
- YouTube
The interface
