Disney Circle Review 2023

Introduction

To make families’ lives better, online and offline – this is the goal of Disney Circle, a parental control app. It is built with the goal of helping families thrive with technology, making sure that the little ones will stay safe. It aims to create better and safer digital experiences, especially considering that us parents cannot keep an eye on our children round-the-clock. This is an app that provides parents with a smart way of managing time and content.

One thing that makes Disney Circle different from other parental control apps is that it is available in a dedicated device or partner routers. It is more than just an app. Instead, it is a router-connected system. There is a dedicated Circle device that can unlock a whole new world of possibilities when it comes to monitoring your kids.

Is Circle the right choice for you? There is only one way to find out. Read this short review and learn from the insights we’ll be sharing

Disney Circle Setup

The first thing that you need to do is to download the Circle app from the respective stores. Make sure that it is compatible with the device that you are using. Next, create a parent account. This will save your preferences and data. Next, pair it with your Wi-Fi network. To do this, make sure that your router is compatible with the Circle app. After pairing, you can now set-up family profiles and manage the app based on the restrictions that you would like to have in place.

Family Filtering, Blocking, and Monitoring

Web Filters

One of the most important for any parental control app is to have the ability to filter online content that kids can access. We cannot be next to our kids all the time to dictate what websites are not suitable for their age. Thankfully, with an app such as Circle, our lives can become a lot easier. You can block content by age and create varying restrictions on each profile. They are fully customizable, depending on if you have a kid or a teen.

Setting Up Filters

After selecting the profile of your kid, tap the Filter button. From here, you will see a list of websites and apps. On the right side of the screen, toggle if you want to allow or restrict access. Keep on scrolling and you will see general categories, such as App Stores and Downloads and Online Games. Tap on every category and you will see a short description.

Safe Search

Under the menu when you are filtering content, you will see Safe Search. Toggle the button on the right if you would like to turn it on and off. This will automatically block Google and Bing searches that the app deems to be age-inappropriate, such as those that are related to porn and drugs.

Activity Record

With the use of the Circle app, you will also have a way to keep activity records, which will help you better understand the online behavior of your kids. This will let you know the contents that they are accessing or the places where they have been going.

Checking History Records

Click on the profile of the family member you would like to check. In the menu, tap History, which is at the bottom of the screen. It will then reveal a list of the history of the websites that have been visited, including a timestamp. There is also a part where you can see all the websites that have been filtered. These are the sites that have been tried to be accessed unsuccessfully because of the restrictions in place.

Pros and Cons

Pros

1. Do not need to install app on the kids device;
2. Internet pause in a click of a button
3. Kids rewards program
4. Push notification when limit exceeded

Cons

1. Web filtering is done by domain not by URL
2. No search history;
3. No SMS and call monitoring
4. There are cheaper solutions
5. No messaging apps monitoring

Mobile Support

The circle app is compatible with both Android and iOS devices. For iOS, the minimum requirement is version 2 of the operating system. On the other hand, for Android users, the minimum requirement is Android 6.0.

Location Tracking

As parents, we are anxious when we do not know where our kids are, especially when we cannot talk to them. Circle offers a great solution to provide you with peace of mind. It has powerful location management features. You can keep track of your kids’ mobile devices. Once you enable the location service, you can track where they go. With a tap of a button, you will instantly know their real-time location.

Using the Location Feature

After opening the app, select the profile of the family member who you would like to locate using the app. Look for the Location tab, which you can find at the top. Take note, however, that this feature will only work if the device has location services enabled. Tap and the app will instantly search the device. Then, there will be a pin that points to the exact location of the device. Once the location has been determined, the family member will receive an alert that the location has just been determined.

Time Management

Like many of the top parental apps that we have reviewed, one of the best things about Circle is the ability to set time limits. This will let you manage the time that kids spend on specific platforms, such as social media accounts. You can also limit their usage based on categories, such as games. You can decide how much or how little time they will be spending on their gadgets.

Setting a Time Limit

To set the time limit, start by opening the app. Tap on the profile of the family member to whom you would like to set a time limit. Choose Time Limits and toggle to enable. Next, there will be a list of apps that you can restrict. Pick one and set the time limit accordingly. You can. Choose the number of minutes or hours. You can also set a time limit based on categories instead of individual apps. You can set a different time limit on weekdays and weekends.

Bedtime

One of the unique features of the Circle app is the ability to set a bedtime limit. This makes sure that kids will not be using their phones when it is already time to sleep. You can customize the time at which the device will be disconnected from the internet. It should be noted, however, that it deactivates only the internet and not the phone itself.

Pricing

One thing that we love the most about Circle is that you can enjoy the basic features for free. Some of these features include filters, history, and usage. To unlock the full performance of the Circle app, however, it would be best to sign-up for a Circle Premium account. Purchase the Circle device and get premium access for a year for only $120. After the first year, you will be paying $9.99 per month.

If this is an expensive solution check out our selection of free parental control apps and their reviews.

Conclusion

In sum, Disney Circle is a great option for a parental control app. It is one of the most advanced apps we have reviewed, which can be attributed to the fact that it can come with a router and it can be paired with compatible routers.

It has powerful features, although, we feel that there are still many things that are lacking. For instance, there is no option to set a geofence to instantly alert parents when kids are outside the specified allowable location. Despite some shortcomings, Circle is an app that we can highly recommend.