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How to set parental controls with Sky Broadband Shield and WiFi Max
Sky Broadband Shield is automatically active but you can customise access to content and more. For screen time support, Sky’s WiFi Max is available as an add-on.
Setting up parental controls
Setting up parental controls
Sky broadband comes automatically equipped with Broadband Shield, which lets you set restrictions for web content. You can also pay for the WiFi Max add-on, which lets you set profiles for your family members to pause WiFi on chosen devices at specific times a day.
Your Broadband Shield will filter out certain content automatically and you can see further below how to customise content restrictions.
To set up parental controls on WiFi Max:
Step 1 – Login to your My Sky app with the ID your broadband is connected to. Select Broadband at the bottom of the screen.
Step 2 – Scroll down to Parental Controls and tap Create a profile > Create your first profile.
Step 3 – Choose a name and avatar for the profile (e.g. ‘Kids’ or your child’s name). Tap Next.
Step 4 – Select the devices you want connected to that profile. These are the devices you can add WiFi downtimes to.
💡Top tip
If you have children of different ages with their own devices, create separate profiles for each of them so that you can assign their device to their profile. Create a separate profile for devices shared between your child.
How to restrict web content
How to restrict web content
With Sky Broadband Shield, you can set custom or standard content restrictions across web services. This means that any device connected to your WiFi will benefit from these restrictions.
To customise content restrictions:
Step 1 – From the Broadband tab in your My Sky app, scroll down and tap Product Settings.
Step 2 – Select Broadband Shield and choose a content category.
- Custom: You can decide which content you want to block.
- Suitable for all ages: Any content which is not suitable for everyone will be blocked.
- Suitable for teens and older: Content which is not suitable for teens will be blocked, but content unsuitable for younger children will be visible.
- Suitable for adults only: Only content which is suitable for adults will be blocked. Content not suitable for younger children or teens will still be visible.
Step 3 – If applicable, tap Manage exceptions to add websites which fall into a restricted category but which you’re still happy for you family to access.
For example, if you block ‘Online games’, there might be specific sites with online games that you’re okay with your child accessing. Add this to the exception list.
How to set downtimes
How to set downtimes
With Sky Broadband Shield, you can customise when your content restrictions are active. However, to set downtimes where a device cannot connect to WiFi, you need to add WiFi Max to your broadband. See how to add WiFi Max to your broadband.
To set active times on Broadband Shield:
Step 1 – Access Broadband Shield under Product Settings in your My Sky app. You can also access these settings at Sky.com.
Step 2 – Scroll down to Choose when Sky Broadband Shield should be active.
Step 3 – Choose Always Active to keep content restrictions in place at all times.
Or customise times when you want it active. This might be helpful if you don’t want it active when your child is at school. Just remember to customise it if they’re home during school holidays or if they’re poorly.
To set downtimes with WiFi Max:
Step 1 – From the Broadband menu in your My Sky app, select the profile you wish to set downtimes for.
Step 2 – Select Create a downtime schedule.
Step 3 – Tap Create your first schedule and choose a name and icon for the schedule. Tap Next.
Step 4 – Select the days and times you’d like downtime to start and end. Tap Create schedule.
💡Top tip
You can create multiple schedules to disconnect devices from WiFi. Think about bedtime schedules as well as homework schedules or times where you want your child doing offline activities, such as at points during the weekend.
Pausing WiFi access on devices
Pausing WiFi access on devices
If you’d prefer to not have a downtime schedule, you can also pause devices within a profile using WiFi Max.
To pause devices:
Step 1 – From the Broadband menu in your My Sky app, tap the profile you want to pause WiFi access for.
Step 2 – Tap Pause all devices.
Step 3 – Choose how long you’d like to pause devices for or select Until I wake it up and tap Pause devices.
Step 4 – If you choose to manually turn the pause off, repeat Step 1 and tap Wake up.
💡Top tip
Avoid using screen time as a reward or taking it away as punishment, particularly if your child might need internet access for school. Consider using device controls like Apple Family Sharing or Google Family Link to block specific apps rather than whole devices.
How to set parental controls with Sky Broadband Shield and WiFi Max
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