Circle Parental Controls Lifetime Subscription - Internet & Mobile Devices - Works on WiFi, Android & iOS Devices - Control Apps, Set Screen Time Limits, Block & Filter Content

This is the first kind of parental control device I've ever used, so I don't really have a basis for comparison aside from research. I'm a new parent taking in foster kids. I'm kind of new to ALL of it. The fact that I have this in my home allowed me to take placements with extra needs and/or supervision plans. Everything is monitored, and it's so easy to look at browsing history to see if the kiddos are using media when they shouldn't be. I caught one of them at 5am on the TV in the living room one day. I was able to look at what another was watching on youtube just to confirm it was kid-friendly without having to tell him to stop watching until I know that the youtuber was safe (which it was, it filters YouTube content, but you never know).I'm really surprised and happy with everything. It was a little difficult at first to get it set up, and actually the girl at CenturyLink helped me with that. I did end up getting a new modem for the internet, but since they have an easy-to-read list of compatible modems and routers, I found a perfect one that suited my needs.My android phone is the control center for it all, and its suprisingly intuitive. I've added all sorts of devices (mac's, PC's, fire tablets, iPad's, xbox's, nintendo/wii/switch, Samsung tv and fire tv, iPhone, 4 echo's, and much more!), and it was super easy. Instead of making profiles per kid (since it's regularly changing), I created groups to manage devices. I set bedtimes, offtimes, and rewards based on those. For example, they can use alexa from 7:15am to 9pm, but they can only use tablets/iPads, game consoles, and computers for 3 hours between 10am and 5:15pm. And then I've got it set per day so that school days are a lot more limited. And it's so easy to add a device to a group that way. It's a little tedious to set all the limits and whatnot, but it's worth it. Since I have all the groups set up, it takes 2 seconds to drop a new device into the appropriate group. And on a side note, if I want to use something after hours, it takes 2 seconds to either send a reward, turn off offtimes, or in my case I put the device in another group until I'm done using it. I just have to remember to put it back in the right group when I'm done.I've diligently used their presets for content based on age, but also went and customized it further. Most of these kids are used to playing mature games and tv or watching inappropriate YouTube content. Once they come here, it's all filtered out. Since it's all automatic, and they know it's coming, it filters out that argument of putting devices away, haha. Seriously, most of them time they're saving their games or places and turning off the devices before the internet even goes off now!Maybe this was all free before, but in my situation, it's worth the monthly fee. It takes kids 3 hours after stopping media for their growing brains to calm down and stop being affected by it. They don't need all the stimulation or older age content in their heads. This has been a wonderful and relatively easy way to limit all that until they can comprehend that choice for themselves.I feel as though the reviewers with low ratings are more upset that they have to pay for the service, and they aren't actually reviewing the actual product. There aren't many other parental control devices out there, and this is definitely one of the better ones (according to my own research which I did for 6 months straight before becoming a certified foster parent). All the other decent ones charge fees too.I haven't had any issues with it slowing internet or randomly stopping internet. We lost power one time during a lightning storm, and I had to do a hard reset to bring it back up, but that was it. I've had it for 4 months now and have none of the issues anyone else has mentioned. Again, I did get an approved modem/router combo too, and that could be the difference. I've turned off and on the internet more than a few times (because daaaang kids make things so loud and I wanted to sleep in, haha) and again no issues there except for kids not letting me sleep in because the internet won't work.All in all, I'm happy with this device. Maybe limit your coffee a few times a month if you think the monthly fee is too much. Is there a coffee filter for that (pun intended).

Update: We returned it and I changed my review to a 1 star. After much frustration, we just gave up.This is just OK. We purchased this item, as I'm sure most did, to help us limit our kids' screen time, especially when we are away.First the good:It kind of does what it says it will do. Once you set up the app, install the device and figure out which device has which address (it isn't always immediately clear, but there are step by step instructions to figure it out...no big deal) and install the hardware, you are good to go. It will allow you to remotely shut the entire internet off, or just particular devices. I like this feature because if my daughter has done what she is supposed to, but my son hasn't, I can turn the internet capability of his devices off, while leaving my daughter's on....and vise versa.The Bad: First, it is not nearly as user friendly as the video suggests! Not even close! I am fairly tech savvy, but I have dedicated far too much of my life to figuring the system out. Turning a device's internet capabilities off is easy and very reliable (on a lazy Sunday morning around 11:30, haven't not heard from either of my kids, I turned the internet off. My wife and I started counting to 10 and before we got to 7, both kids were out wondering what was going on). Turning it back on, however...not so easy. I turned it back on and the devices still didn't connect. I ended up having to remove them from "managed device" in order for them to be able to use the internet. I rebooted the devices, the internet, the Circle Box, but nothing worked except removing them altogether. This is frustrating because as far as I can tell, that means I am unable to see what sites they are visiting or limit their time. Second, it does nothing for non-internet based apps or calling or texting. This may seem obvious, but judging from a few other reviews, I thought I would mention it.The Ugly: If you have a Kindle device that you want to manage, I offer 3 choices: Throw away the Kindle, don't use Circle to manage the Kindle or don't buy Circle. Apparently Kindles, like ET, "phone home" constantly and Circle isn't able to distinguish between that and your kid watching You Tube. Soooooo.....if you are setting a time limit for your child, Kindle's constant need to call the mothership will eat up your child's screen time. Needless to say that doesn't go over well with a child who already thinks you're the worst parent ever for even suggesting a time limit. The only way to make a Kindle not booty-call Bezos every two minutes is to turn it off altogether (I'm sure you're child, having a much better memory than mine, will remember every time) or put it as an "unmanaged device." See problems with that above.So that is my review of Circle Home Plus. We've decided to keep it, since it kind of does what is says, and in the hopes that there is a software or tech support fix for most or all of the issues we are having. Happy parenting!