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Circle Review

Saturday, September 14th

2024 Internet Filter Reviews

Top Consumer Reviews Best-In-Class Blue Ribbon Award Circle Review 5 Star Rating

Circle

5 Star Rating
  • Free 2-day shipping
  • 30-day satisfaction guarantee
  • Free 14-day trial
  • In-depth, customizable features
  • Cancel anytime
Top Consumer Reviews Best-In-Class Blue Ribbon Award

Circle is devoted to helping people thrive with technology. They help families find balance, set healthy limits, and build good habits with their digital experience. The company was acquired in 2021 by Aura, a digital security firm with an "A+” rating from the Better Business Bureau. Circle has been highlighted by TechCrunch, Forbes, NPR, GMA, Today, Chicago Tribune, and USA Today for their impressive service.

9 core features

In addition to managing screen time, Circle is able to monitor not just some but all apps and websites. Their core features include:

  • Filter: The ability to choose a level of filtering based on a child's age and interest. Parents can block specific apps and websites, decide what platforms do and don't count against screen time, and more.
  • Time limits: Customize time limits for each family member's profile. Specify how long a certain app or site is available to run and track internet usage.
  • Pause: Temporarily shut the internet off of your family's devices for things like homework time, family dinner, and getting outside.
  • Bedtime: Set the time the internet is unavailable at night for each user. You can set different bedtimes for weekdays and weeknights.
  • Focus: Only allows educational (or other specified) websites to be accessed when you want your kid to be distraction-free.
  • Rewards: Encourage kids to do what they are asked by rewarding them with extra online time.
  • History: View the sites your family members have visited and manage the ones you'd like filtered out. This helps spot overuse of apps and websites and pinpoint problem areas.
  • Usage: Helps parents get a full picture of how their children are spending time online. You can see what websites are visited most frequently, top searched categories, and usage by day, week, and month.
  • Location: Keep track of where your family's devices are and get peace of mind knowing where your children are.

Thorough feature descriptions

Circle does a good job of giving a thorough overview and explanation about all of the features included with their service. You can read a page worth of material about each one to get an idea of why it's been included in their system and how to get the most out of it. For each feature, there is a short video clip showing a demo of what it looks like on the platform and how to access it.

Best Internet Filters

Protect all your devices

Depending on your family's situation, Circle has two options for you when it comes to purchasing their service. You can choose to get the parental controls app starting at $9.99/month that comes with a 14-day free trial or get Circle Home Plus and manage every Wi-Fi device in your home across all networks starting at $69 for 3 months or $129 for the full year. Circle Home Plus comes with a device as well as an app and qualifies for free, 2-day shipping. You can cancel your subscription to Circle at any time by reaching out to their subscriptions department via email.

Satisfaction guarantee

If you try Circle Home Plus for 30 days and decide it isn't right for you, Circle will let you send it back and get a full refund, no questions asked.

14 day free trial

Trying out Circle is a safe bet since you can either get your money back if you aren't happy with Circle Home Plus, or use the 14-day trial to see if you want to pay monthly for the app. The company has unfiltered reviews on their website, which we really appreciate. Some say it is a bit tedious to set up since there are so many features and specifications you can use, but in our opinion this is a good thing and allows for more customization.

Highest rating

Overall, parents are really happy with Circle and all that it has to offer. Most people said Circle gets the job done and is by far one of the best options out there for internet filtering. We agree, and we give Circle our highest rating for internet filters.

What is the Best Internet Filter?

More than ever, parents are looking for a reliable internet filter to protect their children from pornography and other explicit content that is readily available online. Harmful content can be found through nearly any platform or gaming site and whether an internet user is looking for it or not, offensive images and information are constantly being programmed to make their way into the safety of your home.

Understanding some statistics about the pornography industry will send nearly any sane person into shock. The industry is grossly manipulative and exists to harm individuals at every age and stage of life through their physical and verbal portrayals of relationships. They often show drug use and illegal activity related to minors.

The Best Internet Filters Compare Internet Filters Compare Internet Filter Reviews What are the best Internet Filters Best Internet Filter Reviews

Internet Filter FAQ

Internet filters are useful for anyone who wants to ensure that illicit content is not available to users of their Internet connections and services. Customers of Internet filtering solutions tend to be parents, with the remainder being libraries, religious and community organizations, and businesses.
Internet filtering solutions are more commonly designed and implemented on an individual basis, particularly for parents who are concerned about their children accessing problematic content online. However, businesses are also customers of Internet filtering software companies because they have specific liabilities they want to avoid when it comes to employees accessing pornography, gambling, or engaging in other online activities that are not part of their job descriptions.
Internet filtering software costs differ depending on the pricing and subscription models each vendor follows. They can range from under $10/month per device to $70-$150 for multiple computers. Cost will also vary depending on the number and complexity of the features involved in the software.
There are many different kinds of filters: software, hardware, DNS, proxy, and Virtual Private Network (VPN). Each of these has a different way of detecting and blocking access to sites known to contain or link to undesirable content. Some rely on "allow lists” of good online resources and block lists of bad online resources. Others have sophisticated programming that scans and analyzes a site prior to allowing or blocking access to it on screen.
Setting up an Internet filter should only take a few minutes if the software is designed well. The best Internet filtering software typically has a configuration "wizard” routine that will walk you through all the default and recommended settings to get you started right away. Once the software is set up, it shouldn't take any further configuration or intervention beyond the occasional adjustment for newly problematic websites.
No internet filtering solution is perfect. Users have been able to successfully interfere with almost every internet filtering software solution in existence. They often get "cheats” and special code or passwords from friends or online resources where such things are published. It is important for the administrator of the software to regularly review access logs and determine whether a particular user is abiding by the rules and agreements around the devices and use of the internet connection they have access to.
Internet filtering software should include such features as remote and local administrator controls, time management, profanity masking, alerts and notifications, reports about a user's online activity, individual user profiles, and controls to fine tune the specific websites that might have been blocked but that the user should still have access to. It should also have good support from the software vendor, the very least of which should be email and chat with a customer service representative at extended hours.
At times, internet filtering software can be either over or under aggressive in blocking specific types of content. For example, information about the human body, which may include reproductive organ descriptions, could be blocked when a student is doing a science report for an anatomy class. That would be an example of overblocking. An example of underblocking is when a website for a video game is mainly graphical and changes often, thus not providing enough current information in a textual format that is easy for the software to interpret and execute a blocking routine on.
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Continued from above...

Over $3,075 is spent on porn every second on the internet - and nearly 35% of all downloads are related to pornography. 34% or more (we would gamble that this statistic is much lower than reality) of people say they have been exposed to unwanted content through ads, misdirected links, popups, and emails. It is especially dangerous for children who are learning to use the internet, as they trust innocent-looking games and chat rooms online, then quickly become addicted to explicit content.

Thousands of new porn sites are created every week and the amount of easily-accessible, inappropriate content is staggering. To protect families, it requires a combination of strict rules and expectations for internet use as well as top-rated internet blockers to filter out content. Thankfully, there are quite a few companies working hard to develop systems to combat the harmful effects of the pornography industry and other individuals who seek to hurt members of your family.

Since there are many companies that offer internet filtering services, we have provided important information for you to consider when shopping around:

  • Features: How specific can you get with the content you want blocked? Are you only able to block certain websites or are you able to limit file-sharing services, chatrooms, gaming sites, and more? Are they child-proof in that you'll be able to stay in control of the settings you choose?
  • Customer support: If you need help setting up the internet blocker, do they have assistance readily available for you? Make sure their team is committed to helping you use their product to its fullest and cover all your bases with your filters.
  • Cost: Your family is worth every penny you'll spend on an internet blocker, but be sure to do your homework by comparing the cost of one service to another. Are you locked into contracts for months or even years? Do you have to pay extra if you need help with questions about the service?

TopConsumerReviews.com has reviewed and ranked the best internet filter services today. We hope this information helps you find a solution you're confident with to protect you and your family.

Compare Internet Filters

Select any 2 Internet Filters to compare them head to head

best-internet-filters
  • Circle
  • Qustodio
  • Bark
  • Net Nanny
  • Mobicip
  • PureSight
  • Canopy
  • Family Zone
  • Norton Family
  • McAfee Safe Family
  • ClevGuard
  • SentryPC
Circle vs Qustodio Circle vs Bark Circle vs Net Nanny Circle vs Mobicip Circle vs PureSight Circle vs Canopy Circle vs Family Zone Circle vs Norton Family Circle vs McAfee Safe Family Circle vs ClevGuard Circle vs SentryPC Qustodio vs Bark Qustodio vs Net Nanny Qustodio vs Mobicip Qustodio vs PureSight Qustodio vs Canopy Qustodio vs Family Zone Qustodio vs Norton Family Qustodio vs McAfee Safe Family Qustodio vs ClevGuard Qustodio vs SentryPC Bark vs Net Nanny Bark vs Mobicip Bark vs PureSight Bark vs Canopy Bark vs Family Zone Bark vs Norton Family Bark vs McAfee Safe Family Bark vs ClevGuard Bark vs SentryPC Net Nanny vs Mobicip Net Nanny vs PureSight Net Nanny vs Canopy Net Nanny vs Family Zone Net Nanny vs Norton Family Net Nanny vs McAfee Safe Family Net Nanny vs ClevGuard Net Nanny vs SentryPC Mobicip vs PureSight Mobicip vs Canopy Mobicip vs Family Zone Mobicip vs Norton Family Mobicip vs McAfee Safe Family Mobicip vs ClevGuard Mobicip vs SentryPC PureSight vs Canopy PureSight vs Family Zone PureSight vs Norton Family PureSight vs McAfee Safe Family PureSight vs ClevGuard PureSight vs SentryPC Canopy vs Family Zone Canopy vs Norton Family Canopy vs McAfee Safe Family Canopy vs ClevGuard Canopy vs SentryPC Family Zone vs Norton Family Family Zone vs McAfee Safe Family Family Zone vs ClevGuard Family Zone vs SentryPC Norton Family vs McAfee Safe Family Norton Family vs ClevGuard Norton Family vs SentryPC McAfee Safe Family vs ClevGuard McAfee Safe Family vs SentryPC ClevGuard vs SentryPC
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