UserAuthGuard vs GoGuardian
GoGuardian is a student safety and classroom platform that works on the browsing session. UserAuthGuard decides who may sign in to each Chromebook and keeps the record of who has it. Different jobs, at different layers.
The Short Version
GoGuardian describes its suite, on its own site as of November 1, 2026, as web filtering (Admin), classroom management (Teacher) and safety alerts (Beacon), alongside Discover, Hall Pass, Visitor and Pear Deck Learning. All of it works on the student's session: what a signed-in student can reach, what a teacher sees during a lesson, what gets flagged. For current detail, read goguardian.com.
UserAuthGuard works one layer earlier, at the sign-in screen. Each Chromebook gets its own organizational unit in Google Workspace, with a sign-in restriction naming the one student allowed to use it. Google refuses anyone else before the desktop loads. Behind that sits the record a filter is not built to keep: who has which device, its assignment history, check-in and check-out, repairs, and end-of-year collection.
You will not find a list of what GoGuardian cannot do on this page. Vendors ship features, and a checklist of someone else's gaps is wrong the day after it is published. This page describes what a content filter is for and what device assignment enforcement is for, so you can place any product, GoGuardian included, yourself.
Side By Side, By Question
The questions a technology office actually asks, and which layer answers each one
| The question | UserAuthGuard | A content filter |
|---|---|---|
| Access | ||
| Who can sign in to this Chromebook? | The one student named on the device's unit.Google refuses everyone else at the sign-in screen | Not its job.A filter starts work after sign-in, on whoever signed in |
| A student picks up a classmate's device. What happens? | Sign-in is refused.The device stays tied to its assigned student | The session gets that student's rules.Whether the swap is noticed depends on your records |
| The record | ||
| Who has this serial number, and who had it before? | The assignment record, with history and timestamps. | Not what a filter is for. |
| Is this device checked in, out on loan, or in repair? | Check-in, check-out, loaners and a repair queue.Parts, warranty and technician on the same record | Not what a filter is for. |
| How many came back in June, and from whom? | Scan-in collection, reconciled by student. | Not what a filter is for. |
| The browsing session | ||
| What can the student reach, and what is on the screen now? | Optional.A classroom and safety extension is included if you want it; the sign-in lock does not depend on it | This is the job.Site filtering, classroom screen view, safety alerts |
| What enforcement depends on | ||
| What has to be on the device for it to hold? | Nothing.The lock is a Google Workspace policy on the device's unit | The filter itself.An extension or network layer that must be present and running |
How the Lock Works
One unit per device
Each Chromebook is moved into its own organizational unit in Google Workspace. The unit becomes the device's identity in your domain, and any unit-level policy you apply stays with that device.
Step 1One name on the unit
A sign-in restriction on that unit names the one student allowed to sign in. Reassign the device in UserAuthGuard and the name on the unit changes with it.
Step 2Google does the refusing
Anyone else who tries is turned away at the sign-in screen by Google itself. There is nothing on the device to uninstall for this to hold. This is what OU-Lock is.
Step 3The record rides along
Assignment history, check-in and check-out, repairs and collection all hang off the same device record, so "who has this?" is a lookup, not an investigation through sign-in logs.
Step 4Keep your filter
A content filter works on the browsing session after sign-in. UserAuthGuard works before it. They do not conflict, and a device that stays in its own unit keeps whatever unit-level policies you have applied there.
Runs alongsideWatching students is a separate choice
Enforcement at the sign-in screen does not watch anyone. UserAuthGuard's classroom and safety extension is optional and district-controlled, and the theft recovery kiosk captures location and screenshots only on devices a district has marked stolen. See the Theft Recovery Privacy Policy.
Your callWhat UserAuthGuard Costs
Published, so you can put it next to whatever quote is on your desk
Free plan
- ✓ Every device, user and organizational unit in your fleet
- ✓ Assignment gaps and fleet reporting
- ✓ No device cap
- ✓ No credit card, no trial clock
Enforcement
- ✓ OU-Lock on every assigned device
- ✓ Bulk operations and repair queue
- ✓ Classroom and safety extension as an add-on
- ✓ No multi-year commitment required
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use UserAuthGuard and GoGuardian together?
Yes. UserAuthGuard enforces at the Google sign-in screen. A content filter and classroom tool works on the browsing session after sign-in. The two layers do not conflict, and neither needs to know the other is there.
Does UserAuthGuard replace GoGuardian?
That depends on what you bought GoGuardian for. If you want to know who has which Chromebook and keep students on their own device, that is UserAuthGuard's core job and not what a content filter is built for. If you use GoGuardian for filtering, classroom screen view and safety alerts, UserAuthGuard includes an optional classroom and safety extension, and whether it covers what you use today is for your own evaluation. We will not make that call for you with a checklist of GoGuardian's gaps.
What is OU-Lock and why does it matter?
Each Chromebook gets its own organizational unit in Google Workspace, and that unit carries a sign-in restriction naming the one student allowed to use the device. Google enforces it at the sign-in screen, so anyone else is refused before the desktop loads. It matters because organizational units also carry your other device policies: a device that stays in its unit keeps them.
What does GoGuardian do?
As of November 1, 2026, GoGuardian's own site describes web filtering (Admin), classroom management (Teacher), safety alerts (Beacon), and Discover, Hall Pass, Visitor and Pear Deck Learning. For anything current, go to goguardian.com. We describe GoGuardian only by what it says about itself.
Why doesn't this page list what GoGuardian can't do?
Because we cannot keep such a list true. Vendors ship features without telling competitors, and a comparison table full of crosses is a snapshot that ages badly. We would rather tell you what a content filter is for, what device assignment enforcement is for, and let you place the products. If you want to know what GoGuardian does, ask GoGuardian. If you want to know what UserAuthGuard does, start the free plan and look at your own fleet.
Is UserAuthGuard really free?
Yes. The free plan is read-only visibility of your whole fleet: every device, user and organizational unit, assignment gaps, and fleet reporting. No device cap, no credit card, no trial clock. Enforcement (OU-Lock, bulk operations, and the classroom and safety extension) is paid, with published pricing and no multi-year commitment required.
How does UserAuthGuard connect to Google Workspace?
Through the Google Admin SDK, with your authorization. UserAuthGuard reads device and user records, creates the per-device organizational units, sets the sign-in restriction on each, and moves devices between units when you reassign them. Connecting takes minutes, and the free plan shows your whole fleet the same day.
Know who has every Chromebook
Keep your filter. Add the layer underneath it. Free to find every gap, paid to enforce assignment, with published pricing.