0

Feature Idea: "Educational-Only Mode" for YouTube & Other Platforms

Hello everyone,

I'm new to NextDNS user and I love the control it gives me over my network. The parental controls are fantastic, especially the ability to enforce YouTube's Restricted Mode.

However, I've run into a challenge that I believe many parents and educators also face. While YouTube's Restricted Mode is great for blocking inappropriate content, it's not designed to filter content based on a category like "educational" vs. "entertainment."

For example, a user could still access a non-educational but "safe" gaming video, a music video, or a v-log. This makes it difficult to use NextDNS to create a truly distraction-free environment for children or students, especially when they need to focus on online learning.

I'm proposing a new feature or a dedicated blocklist that would take parental controls a step further:

"Educational-Only Mode"

This feature would:

  1. Block all websites and videos by default (similar to a "denylist all" TLDs feature).

  2. Allow a curated list of educational content. This could be a pre-made list maintained by NextDNS (or a trusted third-party) that includes educational platforms like Khan Academy, Crash Course, and specific, pre-vetted YouTube channels for learning.

  3. Allow users to manually add specific websites or YouTube channels to a personal allowlist, so parents or teachers can customize the content as needed.

I know this is a complex feature to implement, as it goes beyond simple domain filtering, but I believe it would be a game-changer for parents and schools who rely on NextDNS for a safe internet experience. Other services like CleanBrowsing offer a "Family Filter" that does something similar, but adding this level of control directly into NextDNS would make it the ultimate tool for digital safety.

What do you all think? Would you find a feature like this useful? Please upvote if you agree!

Reply

null

Content aside

  • 15 hrs agoLast active
  • 11Views
  • 1 Following