How Does A VPN Work
When you use a VPN, your devices data is routed through a private server before ever being sent to the internet. This means that your data is encrypted before it ever reaches a public Wi-Fi network. Even if a publicly available wireless network has been compromised, a VPN helps keep your data safe.
How To Use Verizon Smart Family
Verizon Smart Family is a service that offers location services and parental controls for all of your family members’ phones. Refer to the Verizon Smart Family FAQs for more information about this service.You can manage Verizon Smart Family through My Verizons website or the Verizon Smart Family app.
Worst Update Ever Cant See Limits On All Lines
There used to be a page that allowed a parent to see all the lines listed and limits listed and change limits from that list. Now I have to purposely open each line individually to see or change data limits. My monthly to do list just got longer because it cant be done at a glance. So if I added or subtracted data from one line or another, I cant see that unless I open that lines data list from the app. I want the old overview. Line A has x gb, line B has y gb, line C has a gb… etc. its not only inconvenient , but its not free with my plan. Also I hate pairing devices to block content. I should just be able to set age limits without pairing. Please fix!!! Lastly, the phone numbers my kids are calling/texting should be listed by their contact name in my family base, not by last four digits. I have no idea who these numbers are. Please list them as the contact name in the phone. That would really help. Then if an unknown number comes up, I know it is a stranger. This is particularly critical with teens, to know which texts are random and which are friends. Safety first!
I don’t feel comfortable with this app, I had a mini panic attack when I found out how much the parents can see. My aunt said it was to ‘protect me from viruses’ but little did I know she could see my photos, search history, accounts, and almost all my personal info
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How Do I Sign Up
Before you can sign up for Verizon Smart Family, you’ll first have to download the Smart Family app on your phone. After that, you’ll have to download the Companion App on your child’s phone.
On the parent phone, open Google Play or the Apple App Store and search for Verizon Smart Family. Download the app on your device and sign in using your Verizon user ID or the phone number and password for your account. Once you’re signed in, you can subscribe to either Verizon Smart Family or Verizon Smart Family Premium.
After completing the above steps for the parent phone, open Google Play or the Apple App Store on the child’s phone and search for Smart Family Companion. Download the app and from there you’ll be able to pair your child’s phone with your own.
Signing Up For Verizon Smart Family

You need Verizons standard account with at most 10 lines to be able to sign up for Verizon Smart Family.
Take note that you can add up to 20 blocked numbers or contacts with the app.
Just like blocked contacts, you can add up to 20 trusted contacts to your list.
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How To Get Started With A VPN
Be wary of any internet searches that turn up a free VPN offer. These may be scams posing as legitimate offerings and instead give away your data or inject malware into devices.
Instead, consider an option like the Verizon Safe Wi-Fi VPN app. Its affordable just a few dollars a month and works globally to protect privacy and block ad tracking. There are 2 ways to subscribe:
Go to MyVerizon.com and sign in then go to the Products & Apps page.
Once you have Verizon Safe Wi-Fi on your device, open the app and check your connection status. If the VPN is off, tap the red Wi-Fi icon under VPN Status to turn on VPN protection.
More security with a VPN.
You have a lot of features and private data on your phone. Help keep them protected 24/7 by adding a VPN, no matter where you are. In just a few convenient steps, you can add one more way to make sure your devices work hard for you all the time.
This content is provided for information purposes only. All information included herein is subject to change without notice. Verizon is not responsible for any direct or indirect damages, arising from or related to use or reliance of the above content.
Does My Child Need To Have The Smart Family Companion App In Order For Me To Locate Them
If you don’t have the Smart Family Companion app installed and paired on the child’s phone, you’ll receive the network location of their phone. Network location accuracy can vary up to a few miles.If the Smart Family Companion app is installed on your child’s phone and paired with your phone, you’ll get:
Note: Verizon Android tablets must be paired with the Smart Family Companion app and Smart Family notifications enabled in device settings in order to display the precise or network location of the device.
If your child’s device is paired with the Smart Family Companion app, the location results will indicate a street address and approximately how many yards away the device is from that location.However, location accuracy depends on a number of factors, including but not limited to:
We recommend you pair with your child’s Smart Family Companion app for better location accuracy.
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Internet Problems With Phones On Verizon Smartfamily Controls
We have Verizon iPhones and have the kids set up with the Verizon SmartFamily controls so we can somewhat control what they can and can’t do on their phones.
When they are home, there seems to be some issue with the Verizon Smart Family VPN and the Nighthawk router. They either cannot access the WiFi or it is extremely slow.
I have the URL and IP of the Verizon controls but I have not found a way in the Nighthawk router’s settings to allow pass-through of this so there is no interference when they want to use WiFi.
Any ideas on how to get these products to play nice with each other?
Verizon Smart Family Issues Are Still There
If you have tried all of our methods and recommendations and your Smart Family feature is still not working or youre experiencing any other issues, you can always contact Verizon for additional assistance.
Dont forget to include everything youve tried in this post in your mail to Verizon to save both your and their time.
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Learn Your Teens Top Tricks To Get Past Your Parental Controls Like Opendns
The following blog post may seem long and get somewhat technical at times, but guess what? The minute you bought your child a smartphone, laptop, tablet, gaming console, or any other Internet-connected device you became a technical parent! Whether your kid knows more than you about this technology, is now up to you
Be sure to take a free 14-day trial of our parental control service and to see how we enhance built-in iOS and Android parental controls.
You trust your kids, but you also know that with kids you need to take the proper precautions at home and away, to make sure that they stay safe and do not venture into the seedy world of internet porn and other dangerous or inappropriate social media. Now, you may be an IT guru and even work as a software engineer knowing network routing, DNS, IP encryption, and you may have even built your own router at home so you can have full control over what happens! If you are OR you are a Parent with little technical ability, this is for you!
Netsanity, for example, makes the process much easier with point and click Apple iOS parental controls, and Android parental controls along with knowledgeable support and a cloud-based, easy to use parental dashboard, built for new tech parents..
I Am Running Into An Issue Right Now Where My Child Can Disable Their VPN Any Time They Like
How to bypass verizon smart family on android. Here’s how to restart your smart family restrictions if they’ve been disabled due to a 911 call. To help our readers bypass verizon throttling, weve compiled an article that delves deep into data throttling. Install imyfone lockwiper on your pc.
If your child’s device is an iphone or android smartphone, a link will be texted to the device. So lets dive into it. Android smart family bypass on verizon smart family.
Android smart family bypass by dwmama05 member. The service comes with a monthly fee, but. Tap the remove all button in the top right corner of the screen.
I believe the command is just adb uninstall packagename. The only way to stop verizon from throttling your connection is to use a vpn. There’s a youtube video if you just search disable verizon smart family where a kid walks you right through it and it’s easy.
Its an app that allows parents to set screen times on devices, manage what they can see, and the like. In its place, verizon is rolling out smart family. Recently vz changed it to smart family, without notifying me of the change.
Even if you manage to bypass it, some restrictions will still have over your device. A study reveals that verizon throttles 66% of connections on netflix,49% on youtube, and 38% while users use amazon prime video. I have found that if anyone knows your email address and your pw, they can bypass the lock.
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Other Parental Control Apps Like Verizon Smart Family
The best parental control apps might not always be out in the limelight, but these are truly helpful in managing your childs online behavior. That is why parental control apps are essential when your child ventures into the world of the Internet.
To help your child pass safely in the vast cyber highway, these are some of the parental control apps we recommend to guard against the bad people of the Internet:
What Is Verizon Smart Family Heres The Truth

Buying your kid a cell phone can be a great idea for keeping in contact and allowing them to interact with friends online. However, you might not feel like you have any control over how long they use their phone or how much of the internet they have access to. Luckily, there is a plan that can help! In this article, I’ll explain what Verizon Smart Family is and how you can sign up!
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What About Companies Like Mobicip Covenant Eyes Or Bark Who Are Now Using A VPN
A tech-savvy dad raised this question on Facebook, so weve added some explanation here.
Mobicip, Covenant Eyes, and Bark use aspects of a smartphones VPN technology in order to deconstruct and understand more of the activity on the phone. This is why Mobicips more recent release is now able to control all of the phones browsing activity, even through Safari. Covenant Eyes does something similar by enforcing Safe Search on both Google and Bing, no matter where those browsers are used.
The technology here is pretty advanced. These are companies who care deeply for the families who depend on their services .
Verizon Smart Family: How To Use It To Monitor Kids Online
Nowadays, everyone likes to explore the wilderness called the internet. Thanks to it, everyone, including the kids, has easy access to anything. May it be entertainment, shopping, or messaging, everything is just at the tip of your fingers as far as the web is concerned. Due to the abundance of content kids can get on the internet, theres a need to actively monitor their activities online. That is why there is an urgent need to install parental control apps. If you are a Verizon member, however, look no further as theyve got an exclusive parental control app for their customers, the Verizon Smart Family.
Verizon Smart Family supposedly helps maximize your childs safety online by primarily filtering the content that goes through your kids tablet or phone. In this article, youll find out how to use this nifty app as well as our thoughts on this parental control app.
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Is My Family Eligible
If you have a Verizon plan with 10 or fewer lines, then yes you are eligible for Verizon Smart Family.
However, certain restrictions apply. If you have a business plan, Prepaid plan, or a plan with more than ten lines, you can’t sign up for Verizon Smart Family.
You can sign into your My Verizon account to see if your family plan is eligible!
Pairing With Ios Devices
Pairing your device to your kids app will depend on the operating system you are using. For iOS users, follow these steps:
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How Do I Know If My Kid Is Hiding A VPN On Their Phone
1. Ask them.
If you suspect something, start by looking your kid in the eye and asking if theyre using a VPN and if so, why. From there, its time to dig into the device itself.
2. Search for a VPN app on the phone and in the applicable app store.
On an iPhone, from the main screen, swipe right to expose a search bar at the top. Type in VPN and see if anything shows.
Second, go to the App Store on your childs device and determine if theyve ever downloaded a VPN app. You do this by:
- Touching the magnifying glass at the bottom of the App Store.
- Typing VPN in the search bar at the top.
- Search for any apps that have the download cloud next to them . These indicate the app was downloaded at some point, even if its no longer on the device. If it says, OPEN, then the kid is busted because its still on the phone somewhere! If it says GET, then it has never been downloaded with that Apple ID.
For an Android device, touch the icon from the main screen that houses the apps on the device. Sometimes a white circle with six dots in it. In the search bar at the top, type VPN.
Second, go to the Google Play store and investigate.
- Search for VPN.
3. Check the phones icons and notifications.
A final way to know if a VPN is running on the device is to look for the VPN icon, running on the device. On an iPhone, youll see the letters VPN in the upper left corner next to the cell signal.