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Security guide6 min read

How to block ChatGPT on your home network

Children can access AI chatbots through websites and apps, including outside your home network. Canopy's current AI chatbot toggle targets ChatGPT through its service entry and listed OpenAI domains. It is not a complete AI-service category. This guide explains that home-DNS option and where separate device or mobile-network controls may be needed.

By James Mackie, Canopy Families founder · How we research and review guides

Before you start
  • Router-only DNS blocking does not follow a child onto mobile data or another Wi-Fi network. Separate device or network controls may apply there.
  • New AI chatbot services and domains appear regularly. The current toggle does not claim to block Gemini, Character.AI or every ChatGPT endpoint.
  • The Canopy AI chatbot category is a family-profile setting, not a per-device exception. It may also block legitimate educational uses on devices using that profile.

Method 1 — Use Canopy-managed AI chatbot blocking (recommended)

  1. Start a Canopy Families full-access subscription or 14-day trial; the managed NextDNS profile is included.
  2. Open Home Safety → Content Blocking and enable the AI chatbot category for the family profile.
  3. Follow only the DNS setup route supported for your exact router. Device Setup describes separate device controls; opening it does not attach a phone to the family DNS profile.
  4. Use Check profile traffic in Home Safety to look for at least one recent request on the family profile.
  5. Test a known chatbot site on the specific device and connection you want to assess. One positive profile check does not verify every device.
Canopy manages the family’s NextDNS profile and exposes the supported category controls in the parent dashboard.

What this may not block

For robust AI chatbot restriction, DNS blocking at home should be combined with mobile carrier parental controls, school device policies, and regular conversations with your children about responsible AI use.
  1. AI features embedded in search engines, such as Google AI Overview or Bing Copilot.
  2. AI writing assistants built into apps such as Notion, Microsoft 365, or Google Docs.
  3. AI features or apps using endpoints outside the managed category.
  4. Requests over mobile data when the only DNS rule is on your home router.

The sources below informed this editorial review. Router menus and service features vary by model, firmware and account. A documentation check is not a hardware test or confirmation of Canopy support.

Explore Canopy Families

Full access includes a managed NextDNS profile and parent dashboard. Filtering needs an available setup method validated for your exact router; a profile traffic check does not confirm every device or mobile connection.

£9.99/month after an eligible 14-day trial. A payment card is required at checkout; the paid subscription starts after the trial unless you cancel. A limited free plan is also available: five sessions per week and one child profile, without managed NextDNS filtering.

Create an account to choose your plan