FocusEdgeIn short: on a child's own phone you need homework time, unsafe websites blocked all the time, and settings your child can't simply switch off. FocusEdge covers homework time and website blocking on their phone as well as on yours. For a bedtime, use the phone's own settings.
When your child has a phone of their own, the rules have to run on that phone, because you are no longer handing it over and taking it back. FocusEdge is built mainly for a child who uses your phone, but it also works on a child's own Android phone, iPhone or iPad, in the same way: a Study Mode with your PIN and a timer, and unsafe websites blocked all the time. It has no bedtime or scheduled hours, so for those you use the phone's own settings.
What changes when the phone is your child's
For years the homework happened on your phone. You handed it over, you took it back, and in between you knew what was open. Then your child got a phone of their own, a hand-me-down or a new one for Class 8, and now it is in their room, not on the kitchen table.
So the question changes. It is no longer "how do I lock my phone before I hand it over?" It is "what rules should my child's phone follow, and how do I keep them in place when I'm not standing next to it?"
What you need on a child's own phone
Homework time with fewer arguments
Homework time should have a clear end, so the last ten minutes are not a debate. During it, the study apps open and YouTube, games and Instagram do not.
Adult and unsafe websites blocked all the time
This part is the same as on your phone. Adult, violent, betting and dating websites should stay blocked in the browsers your child uses, not only in Chrome, and not only during homework.
A bedtime
A phone in the bedroom is a phone at midnight. FocusEdge has no bedtime, so use the phone's own settings: on Android, Bedtime mode in Settings → Digital Wellbeing & parental controls; on iPhone and iPad, Downtime in Settings → Screen Time, protected with a Screen Time passcode only you know.
Rules your child can't simply switch off
A rule your child can turn off or uninstall in a minute is not a rule.
Using FocusEdge on your child's own phone
FocusEdge works on a child's own phone in the same way as on yours. It is on Google Play for Android, and on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.
- Unsafe websites blocked all the time. On Android, adult, violence and gore, hate, illegal activity, drugs and alcohol, gambling and betting (including fantasy sports), and dating websites stay blocked in Chrome, Samsung Internet, Firefox, Edge and Brave, even when Study Mode is off. Google and other search engines show only safe results. On iPhone and iPad, adult websites, and well-known gambling, betting and violent websites, stay blocked in Safari and other browsers.
- Study Mode for homework. Only the study apps and websites you choose open. You can set a timer from 1 to 8 hours, or no timer, so Study Mode stays on until you end it with your PIN.
- Hard to switch off. On Android, Settings and the Play Store are locked during Study Mode, and the notification panel stays closed. On iPhone and iPad, no app can be installed or deleted during Study Mode, and FocusEdge emails you if its Screen Time access is turned off.
- Private by design. FocusEdge never records which apps or websites were opened. It does receive how many times, and for how long, Study Mode was on each day.
Because it never records which websites were opened, FocusEdge won't show you what your child looked at. That is on purpose: blocking happens on the phone, and nothing your child opens is sent to us.
If you have both kinds of phone at home
Many families do. The older child has a phone, and the younger one still borrows yours for the worksheet on WhatsApp.
Keep FocusEdge on your phone, so it is locked to study apps when the younger one has it, and adult and unsafe websites stay blocked on it all the time, whoever is holding it. On the older child's phone, FocusEdge works too, and the phone's own bedtime setting can end the day there.
Questions parents ask
Does FocusEdge work on my child's own phone?
Yes. FocusEdge is built mainly for a child using a parent's phone, but it also works on a child's own Android phone, iPhone or iPad, in the same way. Unsafe websites stay blocked all the time, and in Study Mode only the study apps and websites you chose open until you enter your PIN or the timer runs out.
Can my child turn off Study Mode on their own phone?
Not without your PIN, unless the timer you chose runs out. On Android, Settings and the Play Store are locked during Study Mode and the notification panel stays closed. On iPhone and iPad, no app can be installed or deleted during Study Mode, and FocusEdge emails you if its Screen Time access is turned off.
Will FocusEdge show me which websites my child visited?
No. FocusEdge never records which apps or websites were opened, on your phone or your child's. It only receives how many times, and for how long, Study Mode was on each day. Unsafe websites are blocked on the phone itself, so there is nothing to check afterwards.
How long does Study Mode stay on?
You choose when you turn it on. Set a timer from 1 to 8 hours, and Study Mode ends when it runs out. Or choose no timer, and it stays on until you end it with your PIN. This works the same on Android, iPhone and iPad.
