This article will discuss the default in-home filtering profiles that are included with your account when you set up a Bark Home or router with Bark built-in.
You can also create new profiles to further organize your devices and their rules.
Unmanaged
Newly detected devices are assigned to the Unmanaged profile by default. If you also have the Bark parent app installed, you'll get a push notification about the new device being discovered:
Unmanaged devices get the following baseline level of protection:
- Apps and sites categorized as Sexual Content are automatically blocked.
- SafeSearch on Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo is automatically turned on.
- Other search engines that don't support SafeSearch are automatically blocked (like Yahoo).
To block more apps and sites, you should re-assign Unmanaged devices to a different profile.
Devices that you don't want filtered at all should instead be assigned to the Ignored profile.
Here's how to identify and rename your devices for easy management.
Anonymous
Sometimes, there's a section under Unmanaged that is labeled Anonymous Devices. Here's what you should do with those devices:
- Click on one of the "unknown" or "anonymous" devices.
- Look to see if there's a notice at the top about "private address."
- The notice is present: Let's adjust some settings on the device.
- The notice is not present: You should identify and rename the device for easier management.
- Repeat these steps for all other devices under the Anonymous section.
Ignored
If there's a device you don't want to filter, assign it to Ignored. Parents and guardians will often ignore their personal phones, for example.
Best Practices
To prevent issues with your internet speeds, we suggest assigning the following types of devices to Ignored as well:
- Routers
- Network extenders or repeaters
- Network switches
- Mesh units
- Smart thermostats
- Security cameras
How to stop ignoring a device
- Open up your parent app / dashboard.
- Click Bark Home at the top.
- Select Ignored.
- Click into the device in question, then change what profile it is assigned to. This will allow you to block apps and sites on that device.
Shared
Assign family computers, shared Xboxes, and living room Smart TVs to Shared. Customize which apps and sites are blocked for those devices.
If you want to target a specific device for custom rules that don't apply to all other shared devices, you can create a custom home profile.
Guest
You can also assign devices to the Guest profile and customize which apps and sites are blocked for those devices.
If you'd like guests to have unfiltered access to the internet, assign their devices to the Ignored profile instead.
Custom
Because each family has different needs, we offer the flexibility to create custom profiles.
Create a custom profile
- Open up your parent app / dashboard.
- Scroll down to the bottom.
- Tap +Add child / profile.
- Select the profile type and give it a name.
Customize blocked apps and screen time schedules