Blocked Content
Web filtering in the browser, through the UserAuthGuard extension: shared site categories plus your own lists, applied by OU, school or grade, with scheduled rules, YouTube and SafeSearch controls, and a queue where students’ unblock requests are answered by a person.
What it does
Filtering on a take-home Chromebook has to travel with the device, which is why UserAuthGuard filters in the browser. The extension, force-installed from the Admin console, applies the district’s rules to every page request the signed-in student makes, on any network, and reports back what it blocked.
A filter policy is a set of blocked categories, blocked sites and allowed sites, with allowed always winning, plus YouTube Restricted Mode and SafeSearch settings. Policies are assigned to an organizational unit and the OUs beneath it, to a school, or to a grade, and carry a priority so a stricter elementary policy and a looser high school policy coexist. Categories come from a shared classification of sites (education, video, games, social, proxy and bypass, adult, gambling, malware and so on, about twenty in all) that is kept current by an automated categorizer, and IT can override a site’s category for blocking in your district alone. Rules can be scheduled, so a category is blocked outside school hours and open during them, or applied only off the school network.
Students can ask to unblock a site from the block page; requests land in a queue answered by administrators and the tech team for the district, or by principals for their own buildings, with a default duration and a daily limit per student. Teachers never answer the queue. Anti-circumvention closes the usual routes: translation-service tunnels, proxy and mirror sites, and attempts to disable the extension are detected and, where you choose, photographed. Searched terms are logged with a retention period you set, and scheduled filtering reports can be emailed to the people who need them.
- ✓ Policies by OU, school or gradeBlocked categories, blocked sites and allowed sites per policy, with a priority order. Allowed wins.
- ✓ Shared categories, your overridesAbout twenty categories kept current automatically, and a district-only override when a site is filed wrong for your schools.
- ✓ Scheduled and network-aware rulesBlock a category outside school hours only, or only when the device is off the school network.
- ✓ YouTube and search controlsRestricted Mode, SafeSearch, and options to hide comments and related videos and block Shorts.
- ✓ An unblock queue answered by peopleStudents ask from the block page; district staff or building principals approve for a set time, within a daily limit per student.
- ✓ Anti-circumventionTranslation tunnels, proxy and mirror sites, and extension tampering are detected and logged, with an optional screenshot.
Requires
- The Enterprise Plus plan.
- The UserAuthGuard extension force-installed on student Chromebooks through the Admin console, with students signed in to their school account.
- OUs, schools or grades to attach policies to. The 1:1 assignment OU structure and the roster sync provide these.
Does not
- Inspect network traffic. Filtering happens in Chrome through the extension; there is no appliance or DNS layer, and nothing is filtered outside the managed browser profile.
- Cover personal devices or unmanaged accounts. It follows the student’s school account on a managed Chromebook.
- Classify every site. Some traffic is uncategorized; you decide whether uncategorized is blocked or allowed.
- Let teachers approve unblocks. The queue is for district staff and building principals.
Where it fits
Stricter for the younger grades
An elementary policy blocks video, games and social media outright; the high school policy blocks the safety categories and leaves research open. Grade targeting and priority make both true at once.
YouTube during the day, not at night
A scheduled rule blocks the video category outside school hours on take-home devices. During class it is open for the lesson.
A legitimate site filed wrong
A math games site is categorized as games. IT overrides it to education for your district, and the unblock requests for it stop.
Frequently asked questions
How are sites categorized, and how current is it?
Sites students actually visit are classified into about twenty categories by an automated categorizer that runs continuously, so new sites are categorized soon after they first appear in your traffic. Some sites remain uncategorized, and you choose how that category is treated. IT can override any site’s category for your district.
Can a teacher open a site for a lesson?
Not directly. Students can request an unblock from the block page, and administrators, the tech team or the building principal approve it for a set duration. Teachers do not see the queue. A site that should always be open belongs on the policy’s allowed list.
Does it work on HTTPS sites and on home Wi-Fi?
Yes to both, because filtering happens inside the browser rather than on the network. The extension sees the page request regardless of encryption and regardless of which network the Chromebook is on.
What does a student see when a page is blocked?
A block page naming the category or rule, with an option to ask for an unblock if the district has turned that on. The attempt is logged with the time, the student and the site.
What about students who try to get around it?
Translation-service tunnels and proxy or mirror sites are detected as bypass attempts, and attempts to disable the extension are reported. Each is logged, and the district can choose to capture a screenshot when it happens.
Filtering that travels with the device
Blocked Content is part of the Enterprise Plus plan, quoted per district. Book a walkthrough, or start free: the gap report lists every device with no owner and every student with no device.