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

I have the Circle for about a week now, I purchased it as I felt I want a little peace of mind when my kids get to spend so many hours on the internet every day. Obviously safety first but of course time control is important as well as they spend way too many hours playing ROBLOX or watching YouTube.Installation: Surprisingly easy, I installed the app, connected the Circle to my Linksys Velop mesh network router and followed some instructions to create and link the device to my account.Configuration: I created my kids profiles and set them as 'kids' on the app which seems the most restrictive and includes 'safe search' by default. after that I setup time limits on different games/apps.It was apparent that under this setting some of the standard safe websites wouldn't be accessible to them so I had to manually add Google classroom, google docs and other educational websites as allowed or unmanaged so they could get onto all their school sessions/activities.It took a couple of days to ensure all the websites they really need are accessible. this is not difficult to do but keep in mind that the kids may NOT be happy in the first day or so.The time limits on apps/games like ROBLOX are kind of eye opening, my kids consumed the generous time allocated of three hours before 11am which made them seriously unhappy. It's also obvious that when you block one game kids will find another website, game or video and if you block everything they will end up watching TV (Covid sux!).It's nice to be able to pause the internet for one kids or for everyone when you need their attention like when it's dinner time (Dinner is ready! Dinner is ready! Dinner is ready!... ok let's turn the internet off).I didn't notice any performance/slowdown issues since I have installed the device and I do feel I have peace of mind knowing they are more protected.The only con is that I wish the subscription fee was lower. I did end up purchasing the lifetime subscription as I believe I will be using it for a few good years which is eventually cheaper than year by year.Overall, a much needed product, done well, provides good protection and plenty of control without interfering with performance.

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!