Home › Choose layers
Select your blocking layers
You choose overlapping controls on devices you already own. Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS each offer adult screen-time or content tools with different gaps. Menu names change, so confirm steps in the current official help before you rely on them.
Compare device controls
| Layer | What it is known for | What you still check |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | A hosts file and account controls on a PC you administer, often used beside browser policy. | Other user accounts, and apps that ignore the hosts file. Lock admin rights if you uninstall blocks impulsively. |
| macOS | Screen Time and content restrictions on a Mac tied to an Apple ID you control. | A second browser profile and a phone that is not in the same Screen Time family. Set a passcode someone else holds. |
| Android | Digital Wellbeing and Family Link style supervision on Google’s phone platform. | Sideloaded apps and a second browser. Ask a household admin to hold the supervision account if that fits your plan. |
| iOS | Screen Time limits and content restrictions on iPhone and iPad. | A passcode you can guess, and websites opened inside other apps. Give the Screen Time passcode to a trusted adult. |
Pick one phone layer and one computer layer. Write the owner of each admin passcode before you install anything else.
Use the browser as one layer only
Mozilla Firefox and Chromium-based browsers can load a local extension. That layer sees pages those browsers load, not every app on the phone. Add it after the device layer, not instead of it.
A sportsbook app from an official store can skip your browser list entirely. Remove the app through the store account you use, then block the site in the browser so a reinstall still meets a delay. Check the store’s own purchase settings the same day.
Treat the network as a second layer
A home router DNS filter can cover several devices if you administer that router. It fails when a phone uses mobile data or a private DNS resolver. Note both paths in your gap list and test them on purpose.
Do not buy a new gadget only to feel finished. Use the router you already control, or skip the network layer and strengthen device limits instead. Record the choice so a later review does not assume a filter you never set.
Leave an accountable person in the plan
Self-administered blocks are easy to delete. If you share a home, ask one adult to hold the Screen Time, Family Link, or Windows admin secret. Tell them the review date from your safety note.
Do not hand credentials to a stranger or a commercial “recovery” pitch. Keep the helper relationship personal and limited. If no one can hold a passcode, rely on a clinician’s plan rather than a secret you will reset.
Record what each layer cannot do
- It cannot stop cash play in a physical venue.
- It cannot see a device you have not configured.
- It cannot replace self-exclusion where your local law provides it.
- It cannot promise you will not look for a workaround.
Copy those four limits onto paper. Then open Build rules only if support is already in motion.
Next: Build rules · Safety first