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Parental controls

Controls that fit your family.

Set screen time, filter what your children see and manage their accounts from one place. About ten minutes to set up, and yours to adjust whenever life changes.

Set it up Talk to a person
Our approach

You stay in charge.

Good controls sit quietly in the background of family life. You decide what fits each child, the settings hold on their own, and you change them when you are ready. Nothing here nags you, and nothing locks you out of your own decisions.

What you can do

Four calm controls, one place.

Create the family group once, then reach for the piece you need.

Accounts

One family, every device

Create a family group once and manage every Calyraen device your child uses from a single place.

Filtering

Choose what they see

Safe search, blocked categories and allow lists, set for each child by age rather than one setting for everyone.

Limits

Set healthy limits

Daily time, quiet hours overnight and per app limits, with a request more flow you approve.

Over time

Ease off as they grow

These settings are not set and forget. Loosen them as your child matures, and bring them into the decisions.

Setting up

Set up in about ten minutes.

Do it once on a quiet evening. You can stop after any step and pick it up later.

  1. Create the family group

    Add yourself and each child once. Every Calyraen device they use joins the same group, so you manage it all from one screen.

  2. Set the pieces that matter today

    Turn on a filter, set a bedtime, or add a time limit. Start with one thing rather than every thing.

  3. Adjust whenever life changes

    A new school year, a birthday, a rainy weekend. Open the family group, make the change and close it again.

One place for the whole family

1 Family account for every device
Per child Tuned to each one, not everyone
Weekly Activity summary, if you want it
0 Ads served to your kids
A closer look

How each control works.

Imagery in production

Filtering, set by age not by fear

Safe search, category blocks and allow lists, tuned per child.

You pick what fits each child rather than one strict setting for the whole house. Turn on safe search, block the categories you would rather they did not meet yet, and add an allow list of sites they can always reach. As a child gets older you can open things up a category at a time, so the filter grows with them.

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Limits that bend when they should

Daily time, quiet hours and per app limits, with a way to ask for more.

Set a daily amount, mark the hours you would rather screens were off, and cap the apps that tend to run away with an afternoon. When a child wants a little more time they send a request, and you can say yes or no from your own phone. No standoff at the door, just a quick tap.

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You always have the final say

Nothing is locked away from you.

Every setting is yours to change, and you can see what is switched on at a glance. A weekly summary is there if you want it, and switched off if you do not. We never show your children ads, on any device in the family group.

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The point of it

Made to fade into family life.

The best controls are the ones you forget are there. Set them once, adjust them now and then, and let your family get on with the day.

Set it up
Questions parents ask

Asked and answered.

Do I need to be technical to set this up?

No. It is a few taps in plain language, and most families are done in about ten minutes. If you get stuck, a person on our support team will walk you through it.

Can my child turn the controls off?

No. The controls belong to the family group, and only the parent accounts can change them. Your child can ask for more time or access, and you decide from your own device.

Does this work across all their devices?

Yes. Once a device is in your family group, the same settings apply to it. Add a new tablet or laptop and it picks up the rules you already set.

What about ads and their data?

We never show your children ads. The activity summary is only for you, and it stays off unless you turn it on.

Will the settings get in the way as they grow up?

They do not have to. You can loosen any control as your child matures, one piece at a time, and bring them into the decision when it is time.

“Controls should protect a child without getting in the way of the parent. If a setting needs a manual, we have made it too hard.”
Our family safety principle
Ready when you are

Start with one small thing.

Create the family group, turn on a single filter, or set a bedtime. One change today beats a plan you never get round to.

Set it up Talk to a person
Family setup

Start here.

Create one family group, add a child, and manage every Calyraen device they use from a single place. Most families are done in about ten minutes.

Step by step

Set it up in six steps.

This is the first-time setup. You do it once as a parent. After this, everything about your child's devices lives in one place, and you can change it from your own phone or computer.

  1. Sign in as the parent

    On any Calyraen device, open Settings and go to Family. Sign in with your own Calyraen account. If you do not have one yet, create it here. This account is the owner of the family group, so use an adult's account and keep the password to yourself.

  2. Create the family group

    Choose Create family group. Give it a name if you like, or keep the default. You can add a second parent or guardian now or later. A second guardian gets the same view and the same controls, which helps when two adults share the job.

  3. Add a child account

    Select Add child, then enter their name and date of birth. The birth date matters: it sets sensible starting limits for their age, which you can change straight away. Create a password for them, or let them set one that you can see and reset. Younger children usually do better when a parent holds the password.

  4. Add the child's devices

    Now connect the devices this child uses. On each Calyraen desktop, laptop, tablet, or console, sign that child into their own account. The device then shows up under their name in your family group. A child can have several devices, and each one keeps its own settings.

  5. Set your starting rules

    Before you finish, pick a starting point for web filtering and daily screen time. You do not need to get this exact today. The age-based defaults are a fair start, and you can adjust anything later from the other tabs.

  6. Check it from your own device

    Open Family on your own phone or computer and confirm the child and their devices are listed. This is the view you will use from now on. Changes you make here reach the child's devices within a minute or two when they are online.

## One account, every device

A family group is the single place your child's rules and history live. You are not setting up each laptop, tablet, or console on its own. You set rules once against the child, and Calyraen applies them wherever that child signs in.

- One family, many children. Add each child as their own account. Each has their own rules, their own limits, and their own history. - Two guardians, equal control. A second parent or guardian sees the same dashboard and can make the same changes. Nothing is locked to one adult. - The child owns their space. Each child signs into their own account on a shared or personal device, so their settings and files stay theirs.

Rules follow the child, not the machine. If you tighten web filtering today, it takes effect on the laptop, the tablet, and the console the next time each one is online.

## What works on-prem

Family controls run without a cloud subscription. The controls are part of CalyOS and your family group, not a paid add-on. This fits the Calyraen promise: the device is yours, and it keeps working on your own network.

- No forced cloud. Filtering and time limits are enforced on the device itself, so they hold even when a device is offline. - Reporting syncs when online. Activity reports gather on the device and reach your dashboard when the device next connects. - Supported for years. These controls receive updates for the seven-year support window, so the setup you build today keeps working.

If you manage devices for a home lab or a small on-prem setup, the same family group covers desktops, laptops, tablets, embedded screens, and consoles side by side.

Common questions.

No. Family controls are built into CalyOS and your family group. You create a free Calyraen account to be the parent owner, but there is no paid subscription and no forced cloud. Filtering and time limits are enforced on each device, so they work on your own network and even offline.

Sign that child into their own account on each device and it joins the family group under their name. A child can have as many devices as you like. Shared rules apply everywhere, and you can still set different behaviour per device from the Per device tab.

Yes. Add a second parent or guardian to the family group and they get the same dashboard and the same controls. Either adult can change rules, review reports, or approve a request. This is easier than sharing one login and keeps each adult's account separate.

Related topics.

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Web and content

Filter what they see.

Set safe search, block content categories, and choose an age rating for each child. The rules follow them to every Calyraen device they sign in to.

## What filtering can and cannot do

Filtering works in two places. On the device, CalyOS enforces safe search and category blocks even when a child switches browsers or apps. On the network, when the family devices are on your home connection, the same rules apply to smart TVs and guest gadgets that sign in.

- Safe search forces the strict mode built into major search engines and video sites, so explicit results are hidden. - Category blocking covers broad groups like adult content, gambling, and violence. You turn a whole group on or off rather than naming every site. - Ratings use published age bands from app and content stores, so a title rated for teens is hidden from a younger child automatically.

Filtering is a strong first line, not a wall. A determined older child can find gaps, and category lists are never perfect. Treat it as a floor you set, then adjust as you learn what your child actually runs into.

## Allow-lists and block-lists

Categories handle the bulk. Lists handle the exceptions.

- Allow-list: name specific sites or apps that are always permitted, even if a blocked category would otherwise catch them. Useful for a school portal or a research site. - Block-list: name specific sites or apps that are always blocked, even if the category is allowed. Useful for one game or forum you would rather they skipped.

Lists always win over categories, so a site on the allow-list opens even when its category is off. Each child has their own lists, so a rule for your eldest does not touch the youngest.

Step by step

How to set web and content filters for a child

Filtering is set per child, so each one gets rules that fit their age. You do this once from the family account, and it applies on every Calyraen device they sign in to. Here is the order that works.

  1. Open the child's profile

    In the family account, open Family, then pick the child. Everything on this screen is theirs alone. Changes here do not affect other children or the adult accounts on the same devices.

  2. Turn on safe search

    Under Web and content, switch on safe search. This forces the strict setting on major search engines and video sites, so explicit results and thumbnails are hidden. It holds even if the child opens a different browser.

  3. Choose which categories to block

    Pick the content groups you want blocked, such as adult content, gambling, or violence. You are choosing whole groups, not individual sites, so you do not have to list every address yourself. Start broad; you can loosen it later.

  4. Set the content rating

    Choose an age band for apps, games, and media. Titles rated above that band are hidden in the store and will not open. Match the band to the child, not to what they ask for.

  5. Add your own exceptions

    Use the allow-list to name sites or apps that should always work, like a school portal. Use the block-list for anything you want stopped regardless of category. These named rules override the category settings.

  6. Save and check on their device

    Save the profile. Then, on a device the child uses, sign in as them and try a blocked category and an allowed one. This confirms the rules landed before they need them.

Questions

Good to know.

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Does filtering work in every browser, or only the built-in one?

Enforced by CalyOS on the device, so it holds across browsers.

Safe search and category blocking are enforced by CalyOS on the device, not by a single browser. That means the rules hold when a child opens a different browser or an app that shows web content. Some limits, like network-wide filtering for a smart TV, only apply while the device is on your home connection.

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What happens when a category and my own list disagree?

Your named lists always win over categories.

Your named lists always win. If you allow-list a site, it opens even when its category is blocked, and if you block-list a site, it stays blocked even when its category is allowed. This lets you keep broad category rules while making a few precise exceptions.

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Can I set different filters for two children who share a device?

Filtering follows each child's profile, not the device.

Yes. Filtering is tied to each child's profile, not to the device. When they sign in with their own account, their own safe search, categories, ratings, and lists apply. One child's rules never change what the other sees.

Related topics.

Time that balances.

Set how many hours a child gets each day, when the screen goes quiet at night, and how long single apps can run. When they hit a limit, they can ask for more and you decide.

Get started

## What each limit does

The three limits work together. A child can run out of one before the others, and the strictest one wins.

- Daily limit is the total for the day across the whole device. When it is used up, the device locks to the downtime screen. - Downtime is a fixed window, usually overnight. It ignores how much time is left. When the clock hits the start time, the screen goes quiet. - Per-app limits cap single apps. An app can stop while the rest of the device stays open, which is useful for one game or one video app.

Time counts only while the screen is on and in use. A locked or sleeping device does not burn the allowance, so leaving a tablet on the side does not cost anything.

## The request-more flow

When a child reaches a limit, they can ask for more time instead of just being stopped.

- The child taps Ask for more and can add a short note, such as finishing homework. - You get the request as an alert on your device. - You can grant a set amount, for example 30 minutes, grant it for today only, or decline. - Extra time you grant applies once. It does not change the standing limit, so tomorrow starts fresh.

You can also add time yourself at any point without waiting for a request, and pause all limits for a day when plans change.

## Where the rules apply

Limits belong to the child, not to one device. Set them once and they follow the child across their desktop, laptop, and tablet. If you want a different rule on one device, for example no limit on a shared family desktop, you set that under Per device. A per-device rule overrides the shared limit for that device only.

Where most families *start*.

Questions

Common questions.

Does time on one device count against time on another?

Yes. The daily limit is a single pool for the child across all their devices. An hour on the laptop and an hour on the tablet together use two hours of the daily allowance. Per-app and per-device rules can change this if you set them.

What happens to a call or an alarm during downtime?

You choose. When you turn on downtime you can allow calls to come through and keep a short list of apps open, such as a clock or a messaging app. Anything not on that list locks until downtime ends.

Can a child get around a limit by changing the clock or reinstalling an app?

No. Limits are enforced by CalyOS under the family account, not by the app itself, so changing the device clock or reinstalling does not reset them. A limit can only be changed from the family account, which needs a parent sign in.

Related topics.

Per device controls

The same rules, everywhere.

The same family rules follow your child from a CalyOS desktop to a laptop, tablet, or console. What differs is only what each kind of device can do, and Family shows you exactly what applies where.

Step by step

One child, each device.

Your child probably uses more than one Calyraen device. Family lets you keep one shared set of rules and then adjust a few things per device, so a homework laptop and a living-room console can behave differently for the same child.

  1. Open the child's profile

    Sign in to Family on any Calyraen device and open the child you want to change. Under their name you will see every device they are signed in to, listed by the name you gave it during setup, such as "Ada laptop" or "Playroom console".

  2. Start from the shared rules

    By default, each device uses the child's shared rules for web filtering, screen time, and app limits. This is the row marked "Same as profile". Leave devices on this if you want one consistent set of limits everywhere.

  3. Switch a device to its own rules

    Pick a device and choose "Use device rules". This copies the shared rules as a starting point, then lets you change them for that device only. Changes here do not touch the other devices.

  4. Adjust what fits that device

    On a laptop you might allow schoolwork apps during study hours. On a console you might set a shorter daily limit and block online chat. Only the settings that device supports are shown, so you are never offered a control that does nothing.

  5. Check the summary before you leave

    Each device shows a short "What applies here" summary at the top. Read it to confirm the child sees what you intend. Save, and the device applies the new rules within a minute if it is online, or the next time it connects.

Under the hood

What changes between devices.

One account, different hardware

Family is one account that reaches every Calyraen device your child signs in to. The rules travel with the child, not the machine. When they move from the desktop to the tablet, their limits, filters, and schedule move with them.

What changes between devices is capability, not the account. Each type of device runs a different edition of CalyOS, and each edition can enforce a different set of controls:

  • CalyOS Desktop (desktops and most laptops): the full set. Web and content filtering, screen time, per-app limits, install approval, and activity reports.
  • CalyOS on tablets: the same as Desktop in most cases, with touch-friendly limits and per-app time.
  • CalyOS Embedded (consoles and edge devices): the controls that make sense for a fixed-purpose device, such as total daily time, content ratings, and blocking online features. It does not run general desktop apps, so app-install approval does not appear.

Why some settings are missing on a device

If a control is greyed out or absent, the device cannot enforce it. Family hides controls rather than pretending they work.

  • A console has no web browser to filter, so web filtering does not show.
  • An embedded device has no app store to approve installs from.
  • An offline-only device still enforces screen time and app limits locally, but activity reports only sync when it next connects.

Shared devices are handled by the person who signs in. A family desktop used by two children applies each child's own rules while they are signed in, then switches when the next child signs in. Nothing carries over between them.

Common questions.

Only if that device is set to "Same as profile". A device set to "Use device rules" keeps its own copy, so changing it there does not affect the others. To change every device at once, edit the child's shared profile rules instead of a single device.

Screen time and app limits are stored on the device and keep working with no internet connection. Any changes you make reach that device the next time it connects, and its activity reports upload then as well. Until it reconnects, you will not see fresh reports from it.

A console runs CalyOS Embedded, which is a fixed-purpose system with no general apps or web browser. Family only shows controls the device can actually enforce, such as daily time limits and content ratings. Desktop-only controls like app-install approval are hidden because there is nothing for them to act on.

Related topics.

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Reports and alerts

A weekly summary.

Once a week you get a plain summary of how each child used their Calyraen devices. You can also switch on alerts for the few things worth knowing sooner, and there is a clear line on what you can and cannot see.

The point of reports is to give you enough to parent well, and no more. You should not need a spreadsheet of every tap, and your child should not feel watched over their shoulder. The weekly summary and a short list of alerts cover almost every real need.

## What the summary shows

The weekly summary is a grouped view, not a raw log. For each child you see:

- Total time on screens for the week, with the day-by-day shape. - By device, so you can tell the laptop from the tablet from the shared family machine. - By category, such as learning, games, video, or social, rather than a full app-by-app diary. - Limits and requests, meaning which limits were reached and what is waiting for your answer.

It is designed to be read in a minute. The detail is there if you tap into it, but the top line is the point.

## Keeping alerts useful

Alerts stop being useful the moment there are too many. Turn on the two or three that matter for your family and leave the rest as dashboard notices you check when you like. You can change this at any point, and muting for a holiday or a trip does not reset anything.

Where we hold the line

What you can, and can't, see.

What a parent can and cannot see

This is where we hold a firm line, and it changes as a child grows.

  • You can see time, app and category use, sites that were blocked, install activity, and location if you turned that on.
  • You cannot see the content of messages, the inside of accounts a child signs into, private browsing history beyond what the filter acted on, or a keystroke record. Calyraen does not build one.
  • The line moves with age. For younger children the summary is fuller. As a child moves into the teen settings, the report narrows to time and safety signals and drops the fine detail. See Growing with them for exactly where each line sits.
Step by step

How to read the weekly summary and set up alerts

The weekly summary arrives on its own. Alerts are optional and off until you turn them on. Here is how to set both up and read them properly.

  1. Open the family dashboard

    Sign in to your family account on any Calyraen device or at the family web page. Pick the child you want to look at. Each child has their own card with the current week at the top and past weeks below it. Nothing here is shared with the child unless you choose to share it.

  2. Read the weekly summary

    The summary lands every Monday for the week just gone. It shows total screen time, the split across devices, the apps and categories used most, and any limits that were hit or requests that are waiting. Numbers are rounded and grouped by category, not logged minute by minute.

  3. Choose your alerts

    Open Alerts for that child. Turn on only what you want. Common ones are: a limit reached, a new app installed, a blocked-site request waiting, and a sign-in on a new device. Leave the rest off. Fewer alerts means the ones you keep actually mean something.

  4. Pick how alerts reach you

    Set a delivery method for each alert: a notice in the dashboard, an email, or a push to your own phone. You can send different alerts to different places. Time-sensitive ones like a waiting request work well as push; the rest can sit in the dashboard.

  5. Handle a request from the summary

    If a child asked for more time or for a blocked site, it shows in the summary and, if you turned it on, as an alert. Open it, read what was asked, and approve or decline in one tap. Your answer reaches their device right away.

  6. Adjust and mute

    If a summary shows a pattern you want to change, jump straight to Screen time and app limits or Web and content filtering from the same screen. You can also mute alerts for a set period, for a holiday for example, without losing your settings.

Questions

Common questions.

Can I see every website my child visited?

No. The report shows sites the filter blocked and the categories your child spent time in, not a full history of every page. For younger children the view is fuller and for teens it narrows to time and safety signals. This is deliberate, so the tool stays useful without becoming surveillance.

Does Calyraen read my child's messages?

No. We do not read, store, or show the content of messages, and there is no keystroke log. Reports cover time, apps, categories, blocked sites, and requests. What happens inside an app a child signs into stays private to that app.

Will my child know what is in the report?

The summary goes to you and is not shown to the child by default. What the child can see are the limits and rules you set, and any request they made and your answer to it. If you want to talk through a report together you can, but nothing is shared automatically.

Related topics.

Ease off as they grow.

Controls should ease off as a child gets older. Here is how to loosen limits step by step, hand over management when the time comes, and keep talking as you go.

Get started
The big picture

Work yourself out of a job.

The point is to work yourself out of a job

Parental controls are training wheels. A good outcome is a teenager who has practised making their own choices while the stakes were still low, not one who hits eighteen with no experience because the limits held until the last day.

Because Calyraen controls live in one family account, you can adjust the level for each child independently. An older sibling can be almost unrestricted while a younger one still has firm limits, all managed from the same place.

A rough shape by age, though every child is different:

  • Younger children: tight filtering, short screen time, activity visible to you.
  • Pre-teens: lighter filtering, longer limits, reports you both can see.
  • Teenagers: minimal blocking, limits only where you have both agreed, reports off.
  • Nearly adult: full handover to their own account.
Step by step

Ease off in stages.

Parental controls are meant to shrink over time, not stay fixed. The goal is a young adult who can manage their own device before they leave home. You can do this gradually from the family account, and you do not have to change everything at once.

  1. Review what is still needed

    Open the family account and look at each child's current settings. Some limits made sense at nine and no longer fit at fourteen. Note which rules cause daily friction and which ones your child no longer tries to get around. Those are the first ones to relax.

  2. Widen filtering before you remove it

    Move from a strict age band to a lighter one rather than switching filtering off in one go. A teenager can usually handle general web access with only a few blocked categories left in place. Watch how it goes for a week or two before the next change.

  3. Loosen screen time in stages

    Add time gradually rather than lifting the cap outright. You might extend the daily limit, then remove the bedtime cut-off, then stop enforcing limits on their main device while keeping them on shared devices. Each stage is easy to reverse if it is too much too soon.

  4. Turn down the reporting

    Activity reports that helped with a younger child can feel like surveillance to an older one. Switch from a weekly summary to alerts only, then turn reports off. Tell your child when you do this so it lands as trust, not something they discover later.

  5. Hand over management

    When your child is ready, move them from a supervised member to a standard adult account. This gives them full control of their own device and settings. Do it as a planned handover, ideally before they move out or start managing their own money and accounts.

## Talk about it, do not just change the setting

A quiet change to a setting reads as a rule. A conversation reads as trust. When you loosen something, say what you changed and why, and say what you are watching for. That makes it a shared agreement rather than a hidden dial.

- Explain the trade. More freedom comes with more responsibility for the outcome. Name both halves. - Agree the reset. If something goes wrong, tighten a specific setting for a set time rather than clamping down everywhere. - Let them ask. A child who can request more time or a site unblocked, and sometimes get it, has less reason to route around the controls.

The handover to a standard account is worth marking as a moment. It is the point where the device is fully theirs and the settings are theirs to run.

Questions

Common questions.

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When should I hand over full control?

No fixed age, but usually the mid to late teens.

There is no fixed age, but many families do it in the mid to late teens, and before a child moves out or starts managing their own money and accounts. The signal is that your child rarely tries to get around the limits and handles the freedom they already have. You can always start with a lighter setup and a supervised account, then move them to a standard adult account when you are both ready.

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Can I loosen controls for one child but not another?

Each child has their own settings in one account.

Yes. Each child is a separate member of the family account with their own settings, so an older sibling can have almost no restrictions while a younger one keeps firm limits. Nothing you change for one affects the other. This is all managed from the same family account, so you do not need separate logins to run different levels.

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What if I ease off and it goes badly?

Every change is reversible.

Every change is reversible. If more freedom turns out to be too much too soon, tighten the specific setting that caused the problem rather than resetting everything. It usually works better to agree a short, defined step back with your child than to clamp down across the board, since the point is still to build toward them managing it themselves.

Related topics.

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