Content Filter

Content Filter uses the Android VPN Service to block ads and other malicious content. Blocking is done for apps as well as websites over wifi or 3/4G. It does not present you with its own ads and does no secret logging or scrounging of personal information. Logging is controlled by you as shown in the 7th screenshot below and defaults to no logging. The higher the logging level, the slower Content Filter will be.

Content Filter has been tested on 3 devices: a Motorola Razr running Android version 4.1.2, a Samsung Galaxy Nexus running Android version 4.2.2, and a LG G3 running Android version 6.0.

For Android version 5 (Lollipop) and above, Content Filter allows apps without ads, like the Google App and Voice Search, and heavy media, like Youtube, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook to bypass the VPN. A later version of Content Filter will allow this list to be modified. For all Android versions earlier than 5, *every* app on the device goes through the VPN. However, the 'Stop service' button can be pressed to stop the VPN for these activities.

Because Content Filter is a gate between the device and the network for those apps that cannot bypass it, apps and websites may take a little longer to render. Some slow loading websites need to be refreshed to load. Other sites may not load for other reasons, like requiring a blocked site to see content, and in a few cases, Content Filter needs speed and performance improvements to render them.

When Content Filter loads for the first time after the device is booted, Android presents the first screenshot, which requires a consent box to be checked. The interface itself is a single button from which Content Filter can be started and stopped.

This version is a 1.0 version that can work very well depending on your mix of apps and websites. It has very limited IPv6 support and works better on some wifi networks than others. It also needs a stable network since most of the time invested in building version 1 was spent on making it work, not making it reconnect smoothly to less stable networks.

There are a variety of future enhancements planned, not limited to the following and in no particular order:

-- improving its performance to better handle those hard to handle websites and apps,

-- better IPv6 support which will definitely help it work better on more wifi networks,

-- being able to manage the list of apps that can bypass the VPN in Android version 5 and above,

-- better handling of graphics and media for those websites that have more graphics and media,

-- being to transition smoother when moving in and out of wifi and 3/4G networks,

-- building out content-filter.com.

It is also possible to make customized versions of Content Filter with your own databases of destinations to block. For instance, a list of porn sites could be supplied for parents to put on their children's phones, and businesses can have versions of Content Filter for their employees to block specific apps and websites. The customized version of Content Filter could be configured to only block what is on the supplied lists and let every other app bypass the VPN for versions 5 and above.

Please send any issues, questions, comments, and recommendations of how to make Content Filter better to support@content-filter.com. Please let me know if your device cannot run Content Filter and/or you have apps and/or websites that do not play well with Content Filter. I will make the best effort to respond to every email.