Parental control /web whitelist for iPad + wall mounting

Forums › Apple iOS and devices › Parental control /web whitelist for iPad + wall mounting

gzt

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#87794 7-Aug-2011 14:31

A friend has asked me to look into locking down an iPad so only a few sites are available. He is considering purchasing one for an elderly parent. I gather the lockdown is something to do with making the device less attractive as a toy for visitors + reducing the possibility of credit card details going to the wrong sites.

Application lockdown is covered by the built in 'restrictions' functionality.

The sites for whitelisting will be Foodtown (online shopping) + a few news sites like Herald, Stuff, BBC, CNN, etc and probably Skype. The whitelisting application I'm considering for this purpose is Mobicip. Subscription@US$9.95. Yet to test the Mobicip browser on the desired sites.

I'm curious if anyone here has used this or similar applications and if any problems or gotchas were apparent.

He is also looking for a wallmount device, preferably something available in NZ which he can have a good look at before purchase. A locking option is good but might not be essential.

michaelmurfy

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#503011 7-Aug-2011 16:31

I am not all too familiar with these expensive things, so I will give it my best shot:

You could use OpenDNS to filter sites - but this will not stop the user from going to settings and setting the iPads DNS servers to DHCP again.

Why must this device be a iPad? What's it's use?

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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ascroft

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#503047 7-Aug-2011 17:57

Use appears to be: Foodtown (online shopping) + a few news sites like Herald, Stuff, BBC, CNN, etc and probably Skype.

Expensive things? Suspect they are cheaper than a full computer. (presuming this will be their only computing device) Fewer problems too.

Also easier to hold on to, and great battery life. Impt for old people.

In terms of tablets, seems to me ipad would be best for home use.

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gzt

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#503103 7-Aug-2011 21:06

My friend specified a wall mountable touchscreen computing device to avoid the device being lost or removed from the house (at least initially). Also, my friend is not overly technical in the computing area. For this reason I recommended the iPad for ease of administration. Unlike Android, iPad application restrictions are integrated into the o/s.

Android has a far lower price point (at the low end) and is preferable for that reason, but my feelings are that that parental control is not mature on that platform and there may be administration barriers to overcome from time to time.

Thanks for the tip on OpenDNS. I created an account, but although it has a whitelist, it lacks a 'whitelist only' feature.