SkieHow do we stop students using social media on school tablets?
Keep social apps off the allowed list. Everything not on the list is hidden, students cannot install anything, and the filtered browser covers social sites in Chrome. A timetable can also open or close apps by period. Alternative browsers and VPN apps are always blocked, so there is no easy way round.
Social media on a school tablet usually arrives in three ways: as an installed app, through the browser, or through a workaround such as a VPN or another browser. Skie addresses each one.
First, the app. Android hides every app that is not on the group's list, and Play Store can be hidden, so a student cannot download anything. If someone does get an app installed some other way, the install guard removes it silently, and unknown sources are blocked. Nothing is deleted from the approved set, because apps are hidden and not removed, so data returns when you allow them again.
Second, the browser. Chrome is controlled by the device owner, with SafeSearch forced, restricted mode for video, incognito blocked and a filtering DNS locked on the device. More than fifty alternative browsers are always blocked. Per-website allow and block lists are not available yet, so the web side relies on the filter category and not a list you maintain by hand.
Third, workarounds. VPN apps, proxy apps and DNS changers are always blocked, and VPN setup in Settings is blocked too. A bypass of the filter is reported on the dashboard.
For a more relaxed rule, use a window: for example, a messaging app open for ten minutes at break and closed in lessons. Per-app time limits and screen time reports are not available yet.
Products such as GoGuardian and Securly are web filtering tools aimed at schools; Skie combines filtering with device ownership, so apps and settings are controlled as well as websites.
A practical tip: tell students that the list is the school's, and give them a clear route to ask for an app. That removes most of the motivation to try a trick.