Protecting iPhones and iPads
Apple devices are the most common first assignment in a Guardian household. Here's what network protection covers on them and where Screen Time fits.
What the network covers
Once an iPhone or iPad joins your Guardian Wi-Fi, the gateway filters everything the device does on that connection: Safari and Chrome, apps, ads, in-app browsers, and background traffic. Category blocks, SafeSearch, and bedtime schedules all apply, with nothing installed on the device — which is exactly why it works on an iOS device a child controls, where any app-based control could be deleted or worked around.
What network filtering can't see
On cellular data, the device is off your network and outside the gateway's reach. And per-app iOS features — app limits, app deletion rules — belong to Apple's own Screen Time. Many families run both: the gateway for content and schedule, Screen Time for app-level limits.
Two iOS-specific settings to check
- Private Wi-Fi Address: iOS randomizes its MAC per network by default, which can make the device reappear as unknown hardware. Our randomized-MAC article shows the fix.
- Restrictions on changing networks: if your child can toggle to a neighbor's or a mobile hotspot's Wi-Fi, remember those paths are unfiltered — the conversation matters as much as the configuration.
Best practice
Rename and assign the iPad to your child's profile the day it joins, and set the bedtime schedule before handing it over — habits form around whatever rules are there on day one.