Filters the web
The child’s devices reach the internet through a WireGuard VPN to the home Firewalla. A filter there blocks whole sites or single pages, on a schedule or all the time, and logs every page opened. Web filter →
Family Filter
A web filter on the home router, a record of every page the child's devices open, and two parent apps to read it and set the rules, at home and away.
What it does
Section titled “What it does”Keeps the history
History Sync, on the child’s Mac, sends Safari and Chrome history to the Firewalla and a shared folder. Family Filter for Mac shows it as charts, categories and a timeline. Family Filter for Mac →
Focus Mode
Block sets that switch on during school, homework or bedtime, time limits, daily allowances, and “I’m done with my work” for the child to ask for a break. Focus Mode →
Tells you when it matters
Alerts on the Mac and pushes to the parents’ iPhones: the VPN off, the certificate removed, history deleted, the filter down, or the child saying they’re done with their work. Alerts →
The pieces
Section titled “The pieces”| Piece | Where it runs | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| URL filter | The Firewalla | mitmproxy with an add-on: rules, Focus Mode, the log and an API |
| History service | The Firewalla | Keeps the history History Sync sends, append-only |
| Notifier | The Firewalla | Pushes alerts to the parents’ iPhones |
| History Sync | The child’s Mac | Sends Safari and Chrome history every 15 minutes |
| Family Filter for Mac | A parent’s Mac | Reads the history and runs the filter |
| Family Filter for iPhone | A parent’s iPhone | Alerts, the off switches and Focus, and history, away from home too |
Start with How it fits together, or go straight to setting it up.