Circle With Disney Review: Internet Filter for Families
Circle With Disney Review (1st Gen)
This Circle With Disney Review contains affiliate links. The Circle was purchased by me.
We bought the Circle With Disney (1st Gen) shortly after they came out on the market in 2016 and we have been using it ever since. The Circle enables me to control every device that hooks up to our wifi, which includes our guests.
I set up a profile for each of the kids and when they have their friends over, I automatically set it to the same filter as my child. For instance, if Avi has a friend over and they hook up to our wifi, I automatically add Avi’s filter. This is done with the touch of a button.
“Circle allows your family to manage all of your home’s wi-fi connected devices. With Circle, parents can now filter online content and limit online screen time as well as set an Internet bedtime for every connected device in the home. Circle can even Pause the Internet and share what kids are up to online.”
For $99 (no subscription fee) I am able to control each device in our house. Unfortunately, each device is registered to only one person, but I have gotten around this by assigning several of the devices to Kids. I have the filters on these sets really high. They cannot access Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, to name a few sites. I also have the internet blocked from 7 PM to 8 AM.
To test this out whether or not it was blocking adult content, I took our iPad and googled “n*aked lady” and “s*x”. What popped were stock images which made me vaguely uncomfortable (a couple in bed, under covers) but not showing anything. Typing s*x brought up a lot of diagrams and such, but no pornography or actual n*ked images.
The other thing I love about Circle is it gives me concise reports on what each person has been doing on the internet. The picture on the left is Tilly’s activity. As you can see, I can quickly view where she has been and what she is doing online. No need to search through a long history. At 17, Tilly has the most freedom on her device. I have the default settings of “teen” and she is able to access Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Her internet turns off at 10 o’clock at night (so she isn’t tempted to stay up late).
I am absolutely loving this device! The other awesome thing? If anyone tries to unplug the device or remove it from the home, I get an alert on my phone. The Circle with Disney has given me the confidence to have the luxury of wi-fi in our home!
Update June 2016
We are still loving our Circle with Disney! In fact, I love it more now than when I wrote this post. One of my favorite things is something I didn’t realize at first, but I can control and filter any device that hooks up to our wifi. When my kids’ friends come over and hook up to wifi, I get immediate notification on my phone. In less than a minute, I am able to apply filters to their devices! I routinely block YouTube and a few other sites when the kids’ friends come over. This has been a lifesaver for us.
UPDATED DECEMBER 2017
I didn’t think it was possible, but I love Circle with Disney even more than when we purchased it. The main draws?
- We had one child HIDE the Circle. Guess what? It still works when unplugged so the joke was on him.
- No matter how far away I am, I am still controlling the Circle with my phone. I am currently in New Zealand visiting my daughter and guess what? I am still controlling the Circle. This thing is brilliant.
What do you use to monitor internet usage in your home? Have you heard of Circle with Disney?