Circle Go was made with kiddos in mind. If Circle Go is disabled or removed, you'll get a notification from the Circle app warning you that the device may have intentionally disabled Circle Go. This means the device hasn't been able to check in with our servers, which is due to one of two possibilities: it hasn't connected to the internet in a while, or the management profile was removed.
Why can't you lock this down?
Circle Go is built to go wherever your kid and their mobile devices go. It’s not designed to be locked down, because frankly kids will always find a way to disable it if they want to, the device makers simply don’t give us that kind of control to stop them. But we actually think it makes the most sense that way, because anytime your kid disables Circle Go, deletes the VPN, or turns it off at all… we let you know. That notification let’s you have a conversation with your kid and keep them on the same page. So try and think of Circle Go as an agreement between you and your kid that’s enforced by you always being in the know.
Mobile device management is something that a number of parental control companies struggle with. We've looked into a number of our competitors and all of them have the same problem: locking down parental control profiles on a mobile device is very tough to do. We think we've worked out a better solution: make sure that the profile is as sticky as possible, and that parents know when it has been removed or tampered with.
What can I do if I keep getting notifications that Circle Go has been disabled or removed?
This can be frustrating, especially after you've tried re-installing Circle Go for the device. First, confirm that the device management profile is still present (follow these instructions for iOS, or these for Android). If it keeps disappearing after a few hours in your kids' hands, it's likely that your child might be continuously removing it. Otherwise, try fully removing the device management profile, and remove the device from Circle Home entirely (instructions for iOS, or for Android). Make sure you get a notification that says the device has been removed from Circle go, and give the setup one more go.
Note: There are rare circumstances where the Circle Go VPN may not connect in a timely manner when switching network or data connections. If this occurs and remains disconnected for over an hour you may get a notification that the device needs attention. This does not mean the Circle Go VPN or MDM was intentionally removed. Check to make sure the VPN/MDM profile are still installed correctly (see here for more on iOS) or that the device administrator is still checking for MyCircle (see here for more on Android).
If you're still struggling, feel free to reach out to us with the contact links below.
Can I lock Circle Go down using device controls or other apps?
We sometimes are asked if Circle Go can be locked down using MDM profile management like Apple Configurator 2, or on Android a watchdog app. These uses are not supported by Circle. Our team cannot assist with configuring your device in this way, and we do not test Circle Go for this type of usage.
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