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    Managing your Content Policy

    Control and Restrict content on your Devices by creating Content Policy Rules

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    Tech Lockdown Team
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    Updated June 14, 2024

    A Content Policy allows you to specify what should be blocked, when it should be blocked, and who it should be blocked for.

    A Content Policy is a list of rules that you use to block, allow, or enforce SafeSearch and YouTube restricted modes.

    Rule Actions

    Each rule in your Content Policy will have an associated action.

    1. Allow: Unblock a website or app that is blocked in another rule.
    2. Block: Deny access to a website or app.
    3. SafeSearch: Search engines usually have a SafeSearch feature, which provides filtered search results. You can automatically turn on the SafeSearch feature with this action.
    4. Yt Restricted: YouTube has their own content filter, which you can enable by specifying this action.
    Note
    You can only block apps or websites that require an internet connection.

    Scoping a Rule

    By default, a Content Policy rule will be enabled always, for everyone on your account, all the time.

    However, you can customize the scope of a rule.

    Scoping by Content

    When creating a Content Policy rule, you will need to specify the content that the rule applies to.

    You can select content in the following ways:

    1. Content Category: Almost every website on the internet is categorized in multiple ways. Apply a rule to a category allows you to match many different websites automatically. 
    2. Apps: If you are wanting to block a specific App, like Tik Tok, this is the best method to choose. Apps use many different domains to function properly. Blocking an App will block all domains associated with the app.
    3. Domains: Specify a domain name, such as example.com.

    Once you’ve chosen a specific set of Rules for your Content Policy, you can then choose who this rule applies to.

    Scoping by Audience

    The Audience section of the rule editor allows you to choose who (or what) the rule should apply to.

    This is quite useful if you need to filter content differently depending on the device being used or a person's individual needs.

    In the Audience section of your chosen Content Policy, you can select members of your account who the rule should apply to.

    Adding additional people
    You will only be able to see people who have accepted an invite to join your account.

    Here are your options for selecting an audience:

    Apply to everyone on all devices.

    If you don't specify an audience for your rule, the rule will apply to everyone sharing your filtered internet connection.

    1. If you've installed the filter on your home router, devices on your home internet connection will have the rule applied to them.
    2. People sharing your account, who have configured their devices to connect to your Content Policy, will also have this rule applied to them even on different internet connections.

    Apply to Specific People on Some Devices

    If you select specific people who share an account with you, the rule will apply to specific devices where that person has signed into the Cloudflare app that connects them to the filter.

    1. If you've installed the filter on your home router, some devices on your home internet connection will not have this rule applied to them.
    2. Only devices that have the Cloudflare filter app installed and which are signed in as one of the associated members in your audience scope will have the rule applied (whether or not they are on your home internet connection or roaming on another internet connection).
    App required for audience scoping
    If you want to target a rule to a specific person/device, that person has to have signed in with their email address using the Cloudflare app that we help you install.

    Scoping by Schedule

    When you create a new rule, it is always active by default. You can limit the rule to specific times by setting a schedule.

    You can use rule scheduling to choose when the rule is enabled:

    1. For specific days of the week
    2. At multiple time ranges for selected days

    You can customize time ranges for specific days. For example:

    Change History

    One useful feature you can utilize is viewing the change history for your Content Policy.

    The change history tells you who changed something, what changed, and when it changed.

    Each time you make a change to a Content Policy, the change is noted in the History section. You can view the history for each rule or the entire account.

    Create Rule Presets

    We've created rule presets with some recommended configurations. You can customize these rules further after creation or use an Allow rule to add exceptions if something is wrongfully blocked.

    Security Threats

    Cyber security problems almost always start online. You can reduce the chances of a serious incident by using our Security Threats preset.

    Here is what is the Content Scope for our preset:

    New Domains, Newly Seen Domains, Parked & For Sale Domains

    These categories can be associated with phishing scams (online scams). Read more here . 

    Brand Embedding

    Websites that pretend to be another company. For example, facebooc.com.

    Anonymizer

    Proxies, VPNs, or other websites that allow for anonymous browsing. This is a security risk because these websites can be used to bypass content filtering (either intentionally or unintentionally).

    Command and Control & Botnet, Cryptomining

    Websites that use your computer for malicious purposes.

    DGA Domains, Malware, Phishing, Spyware, DNS Tunneling, Private IP Address , Spam

    Websites that have a general malicious purpose towards you.

    Adult Content

    Adult content means different things to different people. We've specified a preset with all related categories, but you can customize this after the rule is created.


    Social Media

    This rule blocks the Social Networks category and common social media and dating apps. 

    Here is the default selection:

    You can allow specific approved social media apps by creating a separate Allow rule with the approved social media apps selected.

    Twitter (X) Images

    This rule allows you to use Twitter (X) with most images removed.

    It blocks the associated content delivery network (CDN) domains.

    Twitter (X) Videos

    This rule blocks most videos on Twitter (X).

    It blocks the associated content delivery network (CDN) domains.

    YouTube Images

    This rule blocks YouTube thumbnails and profile images. Applying this rule will remove images from your YouTube experience, but you will still be able to watch videos: 

    It blocks the associated content delivery network (CDN) domains.

    YouTube Restricted

    This rule applies Youtube's built-in content filter when the YouTube app or website is used.

    Apps Selected:

    Safe Search

    Google and other search engines have the option to filter search results for explicit content. This rule enforces SafeSearch on any search engine that supports it.

    Categories:

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Now that we’re familiar with creating a Content Policy rule, let's answer some of the most common questions.

    How do I disable, delete, or turn off a Rule?

    There are several ways to remove a rule from your content policy:

    1. You can delete a rule on the Content Policy, which shows a list of rules. Select the Edit button and then click the trashcan icon that appears next to the rule you want to delete.
    2. In your Content Policy, open the rule you want to turn off and toggle off the "Enable Rule" option.
    3. Specify a schedule or audience for the rule to exclude certain devices where you don't want the rule to apply.

    I'm not able to remove a rule

    If you aren't able to do disable, delete, or turn off a rule, there are a few things to check:

    1. Is your profile locked? When your profile is locked, some actions are disallowed, like turning off certain types of rules. You might need to unlock your profile.
    2. There might be an issue with your account. Please contact us to troubleshoot further.

    How do I exclude content from being blocked?

    If you create a block rule that selects multiple categories, it's possible that a website or app you want to access is blocked in the process. 

    The best way to do handle this is to create an Allow rule and add it to that rule to exclude it from being blocked. This will override an overlapping block rule.

    How do I block and prevent an App from being opened?

    When you create a rule in your Content Policy, you can use the App selector to specify an app that you want to block.

    It's important to note that blocking an app using your DNS Content Policy may not prevent you from downloading the app on to your device, but it will prevent that app from communicating with the internet, effectively disabling it. 

    If you want to prevent an app from being installed in the first place or opened on your device, please see our dedicated guide for blocking apps. 

    Block Apps

    How To Effectively Block Apps on Smartphones

    Learn about how to block apps on the different smartphones, such as iPhone and Android.

    Read More

    How do I filter URLs or limit parts of an App?

    If you want the ability to block specific webpages as opposed to the domain (for example, block a specific YouTube channel instead of YouTube altogether), this isn't possible with a DNS Content Policy alone.

    Instead, you can use URL and domain keyword filtering on your device. Please see our dedicated guide about filtering website keywords:

    Block Website Keywords

    How to Block Websites based on Keywords

    Content Blockers allow you to block specific websites, categories, and apps. What if you want to block a website that uses a word in it's URL?

    Read More

    For specific apps, we have several guides related to limiting or blocking social media:

    Social Media

    How to Effectively Block Social Media (Updated for 2024)

    Social Media apps need to be handled differently than other apps, since they are so prevalent.

    Read More

    I set up my content policy, but I'm still able to access blocked content

    Once you create your Content Policy, you need to make sure you connect your devices. If you've connected your devices but are still able to access content that should be blocked, use our troubleshooting section to narrow down the issue.

    Next Up

    Content Policy

    Connect Devices to your Content Policy

    Start blocking content on your devices using the provided app or network settings.

    Read More
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