A safe window onto the web.
FamilyCove is a web browser for kids. You choose the sites it opens, every search is a safe search, and there's no account to make. Nothing about your child leaves the phone.
How it works
Set it up once on your child's phone with a Parent PIN. After that, FamilyCove keeps to your rules and your child does the exploring.
1. You choose what opens
Start with only the sites on your list, best for younger kids, or open the wider web with the sites you block kept closed. A few kids' sites start on the allowed list and a few social sites start blocked; change any of them.
2. Kids ask, you answer
A page that isn't allowed says why and offers “Ask a parent”. Type your Parent PIN right there to allow just that page or the whole site, or answer later in Parent settings.
3. It all stays on the phone
Your lists, the history and your PIN live on the phone. There is no account and no Harborline server, so we never see what your child opens.
What FamilyCove does
A browser that keeps to your rules, explains itself, and hides nothing from your child.
Page by page, most specific wins
Block reddit.com and still allow reddit.com/r/minecraft, or the other way round. The most specific rule decides, so you can open one corner of a site without opening the rest.
Every search is a safe search
Searches go to DuckDuckGo with strict SafeSearch on and its AI answers off, including searches started on Google, Bing and other engines. If strict is switched off, FamilyCove puts it back.
Trackers blocked
Strict tracking protection runs on every page, so trackers can't follow your child from site to site. FamilyCove is built on GeckoView, the engine of Firefox for Android.
Every block explains itself
A blocked page shows the site and the reason. Parent settings keeps a list of what was blocked, with one tap to allow it.
History only a parent can clear
Every page, search and video is kept in a history on the phone. Your child can read it too, and only the Parent PIN clears it. There is no private browsing.
A Parent PIN, with backups
A PIN of 4 to 8 digits, an optional second PIN for another parent, an optional backup question, and a recovery code like ABCD-EFGH-JKLM that you write down. Wrong guesses mean a growing wait.
Clearing its storage needs the PIN
In Android's settings, FamilyCove's “Clear storage” leads to a screen that asks for the Parent PIN, so a child can't wipe it and start again with a PIN of their own.
One tab, nothing hidden
Links that want a new window open in the same tab, through the same rules. Settings sit behind your PIN and lock again when you leave them.
Videos from channels you approve
YouTube itself stays closed in FamilyCove. Your child watches in Videos instead, which shows only the channels and single videos you have added.
Only channels you chose
Paste a channel name or link in Parent settings. New uploads show up on their own, and your child can ask for a new channel.
No Shorts
Shorts are hidden, even from channels you approved.
No autoplay
The next video waits for a tap, and “Up next” only comes from the same channel.
No comments, no endless feed
Videos play in YouTube's privacy-enhanced player, with no comments and no search box.
Works with FamilyLock
FamilyCove looks after what opens inside FamilyCove. FamilyLock, Harborline's app lock, can look after the rest of the phone. Each works on its own, and nothing changes in either app without that app's own PIN.
Other browsers blocked
FamilyLock's Browser setup can block other browsers, and the Play Store if you like, so FamilyCove is the browser your child uses.
FamilyCove kept in place
FamilyLock can protect FamilyCove from being uninstalled, and leave it out of curfews and time limits.
One Parent PIN, if you choose
The two apps can share your Parent PIN. It is handed over on the phone, directly between them, as salted hashes, and only after the other app's own PIN is typed.
What FamilyCove can't do
A browser can look after itself, not the rest of the phone. We would rather you hear it from us.
Other browsers
Chrome or any other browser opens without FamilyCove's rules, unless something else, like FamilyLock, blocks it. Browsers built into other apps, like a link opened in a chat app, aren't covered either.
New apps
Another browser can be installed from the Play Store.
Uninstalling
Anyone can uninstall FamilyCove, and its settings and history go with it, unless FamilyLock protects it.
Screen time and bedtime
FamilyCove doesn't limit time on the phone or lock it at night.
Things inside a page
Pictures and players embedded in an allowed page are only checked against your blocked list, so a YouTube video embedded in another site can still play.
Ads
Trackers are blocked, but ads on websites are not removed.
Honest with parents, honest with kids
Most safety apps watch children from the cloud. FamilyCove keeps everything on the phone and keeps nothing secret from the child.
Nothing uploaded
Lists, history and settings live only on the phone. Harborline has no server, so we never see what your child opens.
No account
No email, no password, no profile of your child anywhere.
No ads, no analytics
FamilyCove shows no ads of its own and sends no usage statistics.
Your child knows
The history tells your child, in plain words, that a parent can see it too. No hidden monitoring.
Common questions
Does it stop my child using other browsers?
No. FamilyCove only controls what opens in FamilyCove. To keep other browsers closed, use FamilyLock's Browser setup, or a device-wide control such as Google Family Link.
Can my child clear the history or turn the rules off?
No. Clearing the history and changing any setting need the Parent PIN, and so does clearing FamilyCove's storage from Android's settings. FamilyCove can't stop itself being uninstalled; FamilyLock can.
What if I forget the PIN?
Tap “Forgot PIN?” and type the recovery code you wrote down at setup (it looks like ABCD-EFGH-JKLM), or answer your backup question if you added one. A used recovery code is replaced with a new one straight away.
There is no account, so there is no reset email. If every way back in is lost, uninstalling and reinstalling starts over, without your settings or history.
Which search engine does it use?
DuckDuckGo, every time, with strict SafeSearch on and AI answers off. A search started on Google, Bing or another engine is sent to DuckDuckGo with the same words. Searches stay in the history on the phone.
Does it block ads?
It blocks trackers, not ads. Websites can still show their ads, but the trackers that follow people from site to site are blocked.
What does it need?
An Android phone or tablet with Android 8.0 or newer. FamilyCove is in English for now. It does not work on iPhone.
When can we get it?
FamilyCove is still in development and isn't on Google Play yet. Email us and we'll tell you when it's ready.