Plucky does not work on iPhones and iPads

Filtering on iOS is notoriously difficult – some would say impossible – because of how the system is designed by Apple. Apple has historically made it somewhere between difficult and impossible for something like Plucky to be useful on iOS.

In the mobile space, we are prioritizing Android because on Android there is at present at least a prayer that Plucky might be made to work as intended on some devices. On iOS, we have little hope that we can integrate deeply enough for the filter to be enforceable. But who knows? Perhaps some day Apple will change their policies and architecture.

If you’ve got ideas on how we can ship an enforceable filter on iOS, please feel free to let us know.

If you’re looking to use Plucky on android, windows, macos, or linux, see those pages instead.

Other options

Before we share our suggestions below, you might be interested in checking out the guides shared by TechSafe and ProtectYoungEyes as they go into much more detail than we do. A common character of guides describing iOS protections (including this one) will point out that multiple layers of solutions are needed in order to achieve a strong level of protection.

1. Apple Screen Time (+ safe browsers)

A free native filtering option implemented into iOS through the settings app. It is a bit limited in terms of filtering compared to other options but can still be quite powerful, and can be used in combination with more advanced filters below. We recommend using Apple Screen Time as a gatekeeper to simply locking in better filtering options, such as a safe browser and blocking the App Store.

How to set it up for a child

See ProtectYoungEyes’ guide for a full walkthrough of setting up Family Sharing.

How to set it up for yourself (with an accountability partner)

Download either SPIN browser or Purity browser (see below for comparisons)

Turn on Screen Time in Settings > Screen Time, making sure to select This is my child’s iPhone and letting your accountability partner fill in the details

It’s important that while filling in the details you make sure the accountability partner’s own email address is used, not yours. You don’t want the email to be sent to an address you have access to if you request a pin reset.

Open Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > App Installations & Purchases, then set Installing Apps to Don’t Allow

Go back one screen and into Allowed Apps & Features, and set Safari to off

OPTIONAL: Go to Content & Privacy Restrictions > App Store, Media, Web & Games > Web Content and choose a preferred setting.

Click for more info on what each setting does

  • Unrestricted is the default and leaves all web filtering to your chosen safe browser (SPIN, Purity, etc.)

  • Limit Adult Websites will apply some very inconsistent but perhaps sometimes useful website filtering from Apple. The more useful purpose here could be adding your own personal blocked sites to the Never Allowed list.

  • Only Approved Websites allows you to set a list of websites which are the only accessible websites allowed on any browser the device uses. If setting this, it may not be necessary to disable Safari or use an alternative safe browser.

SPIN Browser (safe and easy)

SPIN is a very safe browser because of its conservative database. It puts grey sites (normally good but can sometimes include sexual content) into a category called “Prone to Bad Content” and blocks this category by default. This means things like Instagram and Twitter are blocked by default. Grey sites that allow for enforceable filtering, however, are allowed by SPIN with their filters forced-on, like Google and YouTube.

Key features:

  • Free (or $2/month to unlock password protection and custom allow/block lists)
  • Great default protections make for a simple setup
  • Supports no-images browsing (but can’t lock the feature with the passcode1)

Recommended for: Parents

Purity Browser (Plucky-like features)

Purity Browser is more Plucky-like in its featureset. It doesn’t have as strict of a filtering database as SPIN (grey sites are allowed by default) but has a default failsafe mechanism where it attempts to detect suspicious browsing/searches and blocks them in real-time (while also alerting your accountability partner if you’ve registered one).

Key features:

  • 3 day free trial, then $5/month
  • Good default protections, allows for more customization
  • Supports no-image browsing that can be locked behind passcode
  • Supports keyword blocking that can be locked behind passcode
  • Similar to Plucky in how changes are processed (more restrictive is immediate, less restrictive requires partner approval)
  • Accountability support
  • Easily add anything to block list while you browse with quick-access menu at bottom-middle of screen

Recommended for: Plucky users

2. OurPact

https://www.ourpact.com/

Features:

  • Schedule-Based App Rules
  • Screen Time Allowance
  • Family Locator
  • View (real-time screen monitoring)
  • Dashboard to Block Apps

3. Gertrude

https://gertrude.app/

Features:

  • Plug holes in Screen Time, including #images GIF search.
  • Block album artwork in Spotify
  • Remove images from Apple Maps
  • Closes multiple other loopholes

4. LivingRoom

https://livingroomapp.com/

Features:

  • Full device screen monitoring including in incognito/private browser tabs
  • Captures screenshots of Roblox, Snapchat, and other games/social media apps
  • Monitor text and iMessage chats
  • Warns Snapchat partners that the chat is being monitored so everyone stays on their best behaviour
  • Captures snapshots of YouTube activity
  • Monitors AI chatbots, ChatGPT, etc.

  1. When we tested it back in 2022 ↩︎

Last updated: 2026-02-20