SkieHow do DNS and filter settings work at organisation level?
Skie locks a filtering DNS on each device, so web filtering travels over any Wi-Fi or mobile data. The default for organisations without their own is CleanBrowsing Family. The Skie owner curates a list of filters, and your organisation admin picks from it. A group or school can override the organisation's choice.
Web filtering in Skie is done through the DNS the device uses. The filtering DNS is set on the device by Skie and locked, so it applies on the school Wi-Fi, a hotel Wi-Fi and mobile data alike. The user cannot change it: the Private DNS setting is blocked and re-applied, VPN setup is blocked, and Chrome's own secure DNS is turned off so the filtered system DNS is used.
At organisation level, you choose the filter. Skie provides a default, CleanBrowsing Family, with a fallback host, for organisations that do not have their own. The Skie owner maintains a curated list of filters, and your organisation admin chooses from that list. Rules flow down the structure and the most specific level applies last, so a school, branch or group can use a different filter from the organisation if you set it that way.
A network check wizard tests your school network, which matters because some networks block the encrypted DNS port. In that case the device falls back to the network's own DNS and the dashboard flags it, so you know the filter is not in force on that network. A bypass of the filter is also reported.
A DNS filter can see domain lookups, not page contents. Skie does not offer per-website allow or block lists yet. Filtering is by category through the filter you chose. Third parties involved are Google Cloud hosting and the DNS filter provider.
Practical tip: run the network check on every campus before rollout and again after any network change. If your own filter, such as NextDNS, is wanted, ask the team about getting it onto the curated list. See safe browsing for students.