Using Guardian-CORR With OS-Level Controls
Apple Screen Time, Google Family Link, and the gateway each solve a different problem. Here's how to run them together without conflicts.
Three tools, three jobs
- Guardian-CORR: content filtering, schedules, and pauses across every device on your home network — including ones OS tools can't touch (TVs, consoles).
- Apple Screen Time / Google Family Link: per-device limits — app time, app installation, device-level downtime, and off-network (cellular) coverage.
- Manufacturer family settings (console and TV accounts): age gates for in-app and in-game content.
None of these replaces another. The gateway is the only one covering every screen in the house; the OS tools are the only ones covering a phone on cellular.
Do they conflict?
No — they act at different layers. A bedtime schedule on the gateway and a device downtime on the phone will overlap (whichever is stricter wins at any moment), which is harmless. The one real overlap to watch: don't build duplicate content rules in both places. Keep content decisions at the gateway (they cover all devices and centralize your category matrix) and use OS tools for app time and installation control.
A practical split that works
- Gateway: category blocks, SafeSearch, bedtime and dinner schedules, per-site rules, activity visibility.
- Screen Time / Family Link: app limits for specific apps, app install approval, device passcode protection, and everything off your home network.
Set the gateway up first — it covers the most surface area in the least time — then add OS controls for the gaps, starting with the devices that leave the house.