Why can I not block individual websites

[mairindubh]

I would like to know what rationale Google has to provide for why it is impossible to block individual websites on a Google Wifi Router.

Google has made it impossible for me as a parent to control the YouTube content shown to my children in any meaningful way (I am well aware of the recently announced changes to the Family feature and they are insufficient). Google doesn't allow the disabling of the YouTube App on Google TVs so any YouTube Kids features will not limit my children's exposure. My 3 year old has nightmares because of violent content she's been exposed to despite the strongest parental controls (that are about as strong as a wet paper bag full of excrement is) so my only option is to block YouTube at the router. And when in desperation I attempt to make this move, for the health and safety of my young children, I learn that Google has decided this is a feature I shouldn't have access to.

I would like to know why Google insists that I should have no control over violent content being shown to my children. Why do you not support this basic feature of blocking by website? Why do you insist on taking away the little control I should have to protect my children?

Also if anybody would like to purchase a set of 5 Google Wifi routers please let me know.

[RXShorty]

Hi @mairindubh 

Sorry to hear about your experience.

I think Google tried to create a solution that is fully managed. As a parent, you can enable content filtering by Enabling the Family Wi-Fi feature.

This way, it is more of an all-in solution without tweaking allowed.
Suitable for most, but not for the people who want to control and manage it more precisely it does not suffice.

Regarding the filtering itself, there is so much new content on YouTube that it is almost impossible to check everything correctly.

[AbigailF]

Hey folks, 

Thanks for lending a hand, @RXShorty.
@mairindubh, I wanted to follow up and see if you are still in need of any help. Please let me know if you are still having any concerns or questions from here, as I would be happy to take a closer look and assist you further.

Thanks,
Abi

[mairindubh]

Yes, I still am in need of help. You won't provide any tools to meaningfully filter the content my children see, from YouTube to the routers and I would simply like the reason why.

I have owned internet routers since the year 2001 so over 20 years now and the Google Wifi router system is the first I have ever encountered that disallows blocking individual websites. I feel misled by being sold a product that does not have this feature, and I don't appreciate being framed as somehow divergent from the norm in expecting it given my experience with every other vendor.

The Family Wifi feature is a useless joke just like the YouTube prental controls are, because it doesn't block all of the harmful sites, it's a single button that promises to do that in one simple click.

As you've said yourself, there's so much new content on YouTube that's it's impossible. There's new websites coming on the web all the time, and so it is the same.

The hubris of designing something like "Family Wifi" thinking that would meet a real family's needs? Does anyone who specced this feature out or implemented it actually have children? How about the person(s) who decided per website blocks isn't a feature this system should have?

Finally - I even tried putting a box in front of the Google mesh to block youtube.com (and roblox.com if I'm being honest) but *of course* the Google wifi system uses some kind of DNS trick to get past that.

I just want to know why. Why do you want my children to be exposed to such horrible content and leave me powerless?

[mairindubh]

(If this thread gets locked I'll have my answer.... because profits mean more than 3 year old little girl's nightmares.)

[AbigailF]

Hello mairindubh,

Apologies for the late reply. We understand where you're coming from, however, we don't have any news to share about a feature that could block YouTube and Roblox. We're always looking for ways to improve and we'll take it as feedback. I also suggest that you send feedback by following this link. Let me know if you have other questions or concerns, otherwise I’ll be locking this thread after 24 hours. 

Best,
Abi

[mairindubh]

Awesome, corporate non-answer and a lock, no rationale because system is working as designed. 🫡 Got it.

[AbigailF]

Hi mairindubh,

We understand that you'd like to control the content your children see. While the specific feature you're asking for is not available, sending feedback will give our team more data that they can use to improve the overall experience of our customers using their Google Wifi products.

As an alternative, you can use the Family Link app to have more control over what your children do with their devices. It may not be able to block specific sites, but it provides you with filtering options. If you'd like to try the app, you can get it here. Let us know if that helps.

Regards,
Abi

[mairindubh]

Thanks for the suggestion but as previously mentioned my main issue is with YouTube (if we're honest... mostly Roblox live streams that have content of a really violent nature) - and the main venue for that is the Google TV in the living room.... this is a problem bc its a shared device, familylink offers no tools or solutions for that.

[AbigailF]

Hey mairindubh,
 

Perhaps our friends at YouTube can give us more insight about this. You can tweet them here and they should be able to help you out. 
Feel free to reply to this thread if you have any other questions and we'll be happy to answer them for you.
 

Cheers,
Abi

[AbigailF]

Hello mairindubh,

Chiming in to see if you still need assistance with this. Hope the previous post helped. Let us know if you have additional questions ― we'd love to help.

Best,
Abi

[AbigailF]

Hi mairindubh,

We haven't heard from you in a while so we'll be locking this thread if there is no update within 24 hours. If you have any new issues, updates or just a discussion topic, feel free to start a new thread in the Community.

Thanks, 
Abi