Norton Family Browser on iOS

Norton Family | Parental Control
1

We disabled Safari per the iPhone install guide and use the Norton Family Application for browsing the internet, but now we can’t open links in email or messages. We also cant scan QR codes. It appears the iPhone doesn’t recognize the Norton Family app as a browser, so it can’t open web links. Is there a fix for this? What happens if we go back to Safari? Will it work or will we lose all our category blocking?

2

Hi Stephen_K1,

Currently, Norton Family Companion app could not be set as a browser, due to compliance regulations from Apple. Due to this reason, web links aren’t opened from other apps in Norton Browser. I will forward the request to Product Management for future consideration.

Web category blocking will work in Safari. The experience will be slightly different from Norton Browser. In Safari, when a website is blocked, no block page or warn page will be displayed. The page will display no internet connection page while blocking the website.

Please let us know in case of any queries.

Thanks,
Norton Family Team.

3

Is the block page the only difference if we use Safari? If we use Safari will it log search terms and can you enforce safe search with Safari?

4

Hi Stephen_K1,

With respect to Web category blocking, Block page is the major difference between Safari and Norton Browser.
Search Supervision and Video supervision (YouTube monitoring) are currently supported only in Norton Browser. These features will not be enforced in Safari.

Thanks,
Norton Family Team.

5

I am not sure if this is true any more. I have downloaded another “family” browser called SPIN that lets me set it as the default so my kids don’t have Safari enabled. I would like if the companion app could replace it since it allows search and video monitoring that other browsers don’t have.

6

Hi @ahumblebird,

Thanks for reaching out to Norton Family Forum. It is true that the third party apps can be set as default browser, but it is mandatory to meet the Apple’s compliance regulation to publish our app as a browser application.

We have forwarded this request to our Product Management team for consideration.

Thanks,
Norton Family Team

7

@ahumblebird can you elaborate on SPIN and how it helps with browsing? @Stephen_K1 I have had this issue with Norton for over a year and they have not been able to resolve! try scanning QR codes with your family browser does not work, my kid cannot use his device to login to anything at school using the family browser as a result, which then requries me to disable the “Safari” restriction which defeats the whole purpose, but yet Norton is happy to take the money, make empty promises and not deliver. WHATEVER you do do not take a renewal for 2-years at a MASSIVE discounted rate as a means for them to make you feel better, I was suckered into that and promised it will be resolved, fool me once!

This still has not been resolved - QR Codes fail with Norton Family Browser