Wondering how to customize your Profile Filters for each family member? You're in the right place! We've included information below about our default Platforms, Hidden Platforms, Categories, and Privacy & Safety features.
Note: Need to Filter a new Platform like Fortnite? Check out our section on Filtering a Hidden Platform below! (Only available for Circle Home device users. Not available for Circle on NETGEAR.)
Need parental controls for devices inside and outside your home? Want the ability to ping your kiddo's location? Faster speeds? The latest management for popular apps and websites and updates? Learn more about our new product, Circle Parental Controls and Circle Home Plus, at our main website. You can find out about it improvements from our first generation product in this article.
For help filtering popular apps and websites using Circle Parental Controls and Circle Home Plus see here.
Platforms
Circle has included popular online platforms that help make filtering the content easy. The Platforms that are available for customization differ by Filter Level, with Pre-K being the most restrictive and Adult being the most expansive. Circle currently supports the following default Platforms across the various filter levels:
| Name | Category |
| Amazon | Online Shopping |
| Cartoon Network | Videos |
| Club Penguin Island | Online Games |
| Disney | Videos |
| Social Media | |
| FaceTime | Chat & Forums |
| HBO | Videos |
| Hulu | Videos |
| Social Media | |
| Minecraft | Online Games |
| Musical.ly (now TikTok) | Videos |
| Netflix | Videos |
| Nickelodeon | Videos |
| PBS Kids | Videos |
| Periscope | Videos |
| Social Media | |
| Chat & Forums | |
| Snapchat | Chat & Forums |
| Tumblr | Blogs & Personal |
| Social Media | |
|
YouTube |
Videos |
Hidden Platforms
Additionally, the Circle device watches many other platforms, but does not display them by default in the list. When they are visited by a device connected to your Circle device, they will automatically join the list. Currently, those "hidden" platforms are listed below.
| Name | Category |
| 4chan | Chat & Forums |
| 9gag | Photo |
| Apple Appstore & iTunes | App Store & Downloads |
| Apple Music | Music |
| Apple News | News |
| Apple Siri | Search & Reference |
| Ask.fm | Chat & Forums |
| Badoo | Dating |
| BBC | News |
| Bumble | Dating |
| Bungie Games | Online Games |
| Buzzfeed | News |
| Clash of Clans | Online Games |
| Clash Royale | Online Games |
| Craigslist | Shopping |
| DeviantArt | Arts & Entertainment |
| Distractify | News |
| eBaum's World | Arts & Entertainment |
| ESPN | Sports & Recreation |
| Flickr | Photo |
| Flipp | Online Shopping |
| Foursquare | Travel |
| Fortnite | Online Games |
| Game of War | Online Games |
| Google Classroom | Education |
| Google Drive | Business |
| Google Earth | Travel |
| Google Mail | |
| Google Play Music | App Store |
| Google Search | Search & Reference |
| Groupme | Chat & Forums |
| Groupon | Online Shopping |
| HouseParty | Videos |
| iHeartRadio | Music |
| Imgur | Photo |
| Khan Academy | Education |
| Kik | Chat & Forums |
| League Of Legends | Online Games |
| Social Media | |
| Live.Me | Videos |
| Madden NFL (Mobile) | Online Games |
| Marvel Contest of Champions | Online Games |
| Meetme | Chat & Forums |
| Mobile Strike | Online Games |
| Omegle | Chat & Forums |
| Omlet Chat | Chat & Forums |
| Pandora | Music |
| Playstation Network | Online Games |
| Pokémon GO | Online Games |
| Roblox | Online Games |
| Shazam | Music |
| Skout | Dating |
| SoundCloud | Music |
| Spotify | Music |
| Steam Games | Online Games |
| Super Mario Run | Online Games |
| The Student Room | Education |
| Timehop | Social Media |
| Tinder | Dating |
| Trivia Crack | Online Games |
| Twitch.tv | Social Media |
| UNILAD | News |
| Upworthy | News |
| Viber | Chat & Forums |
| Vimeo | Mature |
| Xbox Live | Online Games |
| Chat & Forums | |
| Yelp | Travel |
| Younow | Videos |
| Zoosk | Dating |
Custom Filters
Not seeing a Platform you want to Filter? Try creating a custom filter for it! You can read more about Custom Filters here.
Think we should add a Platform to defaults? Send us some feedback by contacting us using the buttons at the bottom of this article.
Filtering a Platform
To filter a platform and make sure a family member cannot reach it:
- Open the appropriate family member's profile.
- Tap Filter.
- Find the correct platform. You might need to scroll down.
- Switch the toggle for the platform to the Not Allowed position.
- Tap Save in the upper right-hand corner.
Note: Here you can also set Platforms to Allowed or Unmanaged.
Filtering a Hidden Platform
Some Platforms are not visible by default. Here's how to filter them:
- While using a device belonging to the profile that you want managing the Platform, access the website or service.
- Open the Circle app and navigate to the appropriate profile.
- Tap Usage and locate the platform in the list. If it does not appear, make sure you have spent a few minutes actively using it before checking.
- Once found, tap the Platform and choose "Add to Platforms". You can also set a Time Limit from here or set it to be Not Allowed or Unmanaged. All options will add this Platform to your list of Platforms under the Filters section of this profile.
- In the future, you can now manage this platform from the Filter section as you would a default Platform.
Categories
Circle's filter categories give you a simple way to adjust what your Family Members see online. Here are the current filter categories for Circle:
- App Stores & Downloads
Sites that are dedicated to the purchase or free download of apps and other software, primarily those for mobile platforms, such as the Apple App Store and Google Play. - Arts & Entertainment
Sites related to artistic expression, specifically visual arts and movies, as well as dedicated venues like museums. Joke and humor sites are also included. - Blogs & Personal Sites
Blogs that are hosted by major blogging platforms like Tumblr, Typepad, Blogger, and Wordpress, as well as personal sites with content curated by the individual(s) managing the site. - Business
Business related sites across several industries, including goods & services and finance, as well as sites related to employment, job postings, etc. - Chat & Forums
Sites dedicated to multimedia messaging services (MMS), online chat, bulletin boards, and forums. NOTE: Circle does not manage SMS messaging. - Dating
Sites dedicated to online dating, match-making, and so on. - Education
Sites related to instructional content, teaching, educational institutions, and career prep. - Email
Online email providers. - Explicit Content
Sites that host adult content of an extreme or sexually-explicit nature. - Gambling
Sites that provide access to online gambling, lotteries, casinos, and other gambling establishments, such as racetracks. - Government & Politics
Governmental sites, as well as those connected generally to politics, lobbying, and military. - Health
Health related sites including personal health, medicine, and fitness as well as sites related to sex education. NOTE: This category also includes sites related to abortion. - Home & Family
Sites related to home care, DIY, and food or drink. Many sites whose main focus is alcohol will be located in the Mature category due to the nature of that content. - Issues & Lifestyles
Sites related to specific social issues, lifestyles, philosophies, and religion. - Mature
Sites that host a significant volume of mature content that is not sexually explicit, but are still generally considered inappropriate for children. This includes content related to 18+ or 21+ activities such as alcohol and tobacco consumption or content with an elevated level of violence or profanity. Peer-to-peer services and unlicensed content distribution hubs are also included here. - Music
Sites related to musicians as well as audio downloading or streaming. - News
News and news-related sites. - Online Games
Sites dedicated to games like video games, board games, card games, or puzzles. Some sites that include games within a platform (i.e., Facebook) will be controlled by that platform. - Online Shopping
Sites dedicated as points-of-sale, auctions, or classified services (i.e. Craigslist). This category also includes intimate apparel and swimwear. - Photo
Sites for photography related activities as well as many sites displaying photos. - Science & Technology
Sites related to physical and social sciences as well as technologies like computers and artificial intelligence. - Search & Reference
This category includes all search engines and reference sites. - Social Media
Sites that host social networking, whether professional, personal, or photo/art sharing such as Facebook, Flickr, or Twitter. - Sports & Rec
Sites that are sports-related, including professional teams, clubs, and sports media providers, as well as sites related to hobbies and other recreation, such as automobiles and model building. - Travel
Sites related to travel and tourism. - Video
Sites that host and stream video on demand. - VPNs & Proxies
Includes major known VPN and proxy providers. VPNs and proxies are technologies (both hardware and software) that act as go-betweens to provide security for online activity, protect user identity, and guard sensitive information related to their time online using the Internet. Because these technologies are employed to hide online activity, Circle will be unable to filter content while a user employs a VPN or proxy.
Filtering a Category
To filter a Category and make sure a family member cannot reach it:
- Open the appropriate family member's profile.
- Tap Filter.
- Find the correct Category. You might need to scroll down.
- Tap the toggle for the category to set it as Not Allowed.
- Tap Save in the upper right-hand corner.
Privacy & Safety
Circle's filter settings also come equipped with a few Privacy & Safety tools that you can use in your home. Here is what they are.
- Safe Search
Safe Search eliminates sexually explicit content from search results. Circle currently supports Google, DuckDuckGo, and Bing Safe Search, and when Safe Search is enabled, access to Yahoo will be disabled. See here for more info. - YouTube Restricted Mode
Enabling YouTube Restricted mode enforces Google's content restrictions embedded in the site. Currently, Circle cannot enforce Restricted Mode for the YouTube mobile app. Note: Circle is only capable of enforcing YouTube's most limiting version of Restricted Mode.
Turning on Safety Features
- Open the appropriate family member's profile.
- Tap Filter.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page.
- Press the button next to the appropriate Safety Feature to turn it from "Off" to "On".
- Tap Save in the upper right-hand corner.