Ask HN: Parental control for a 13yo, on Linux (remote, web-based, extensible)

2 markun 5 9/18/2025, 3:03:45 PM

I’m looking for a solid parental control setup for my 13-year-old, who just got her own PC and us Linux. Currently on Lubuntu, but I could switch distros if there’s one that comes “safe by design” for kids.

Features I’d like to have:

Web-based remote control (so I can manage it from another machine)

Ability to set schedules and total time for internet access

Browsing history monitoring (ideally also logs from things like Discord)

Ideally extensible with plugins or an API

Bonus points:

Contextual filtering powered by AI, ideally running locally for privacy.

I’ve been told I could run Pi-hole inside a VM on the same machine and manage things from there. That seems workable, but I’m curious if there are friendlier / more integrated solutions.

On mobile we use Google Family Link, which works surprisingly well — but it also ties you strongly into Google’s ecosystem.

So my broader question is: how do fellow hackers handle parental controls for teenagers? Do you rely on technical solutions, household rules, or some combination of both?

Comments (5)

Mr_Bees69 · 2h ago

I dont really think that something like that exists, and it might not make sense to build it. Circumvention is so easy that (at least when my mom bought a garbage router with parental controls) all it did was cause resentment, constantly getting questioned on what i was doing, driving me to use a vpn full time because otherwise, the mirrors i updated my laptop from would be blocked.

Bender · 2h ago

if there’s one that comes “safe by design” for kids.

I am not aware of such a thing. I think it would be a combination of sitting with your kids and helping them understand all the bad things the internet will throw at them and some effort on your part to lock it down and let them know some of the safeguards will be loosened as they mature. Help them become jaded and skeptical of the internet early. Educate them on all the shady marketing and psychological manipulation practices of corporations.

Probably something like [1] or one of the education focused distributions. I have never tried any of them. Then it may be some effort on your part to block adult sites using DNS [2]. They can bypass this but you can make some effort on your router to block DoH using a local Unbound DNS entry:

    local-zone: "use-application-dns.net." always_nxdomain

and of course configuring applications to use either your DNS or something online that attempts to block adult sites. Also set up a start-up script to blackhole route all the DoH/DoT providers other than those you approve. Despite popular belief blocking DoH is trivial. This wont help with corporate sites that try to manipulate kids into pushing the parents to buy things. This is really something that you will have to help your kids understand. There are ways to lock down Linux and only allow specific web-sites but that involves setting up a Squid SSL-Bump proxy and that will break a few sites. A TLS MitM proxy like Squid is about the only thing that really works these days as so many sites are behind a CDN. I have never tested a MitM of Discord using Squid. The only sites I know that sortof won't work in a MitM proxy are those that still do certificate pinning and there are not many.

As Mr Bees69 said this can make them resentful especially if it is obvious they can not do things their friends are doing. Their friends will teach them how to bypass anything especially if they are teens. Teens can get around most limitations from within video games and Discord. Many watch / stream pirated or adult movies together from within rated-pg games which in a way is somewhat worse than just going a porn site as they will get their adult knowledge from their friends instead of you. Their friends are worse than LLM's in that as a group they will confidently give amazingly poor advice.

[1] - https://www.endpointdev.com/blog/2021/01/linux-distro-for-ki...

[2] - https://www.opendns.com/home-internet-security/

Mr_Bees69 · 2h ago

Plus, youll need to block some great resources. Reddit, archive.org, and the wikimedia commons (wikipedia's filehost) just to name a few.

Bender · 1h ago

Indeed. Anything that allows users to add their own text links or multimedia content can go from rate-g to rated-xxx in hot second or until a moderator maybe removes something. That's why I have been pushing people to use RTA [1] headers on sites instead of the silly privacy invading 3rd party verification sites. With RTA headers one could add a single header on any adult or user-content driven URL. A MitM proxy could block any URL that contains that header.

[1] - https://www.rtalabel.org/index.php?content=howtofaq#single

reify · 1h ago

Firstly, as a retired psychotherapist and play therapist, you are severely destroying the most important thing being a parent. TRUST!

I have two daughters and a son who are fully functioning adults.

I did not act like a control freak, or intervene in their lives. I educated them about the horrors of being online. I had a talk with them and trusted them to be safe. I made myself fully available if they had any problems online.

Why would any rational compassionate loving parent add any ai product to monitor their child.

My god man! Its like looking in her personal diary every day.

you are creating the perfect panopticon environment, and we know the damage that, that does to a human being.

A proper parent does it like this:

Be honest with your daughter and tell her you will be monitoring her PC/laptop to keep her safe.

Tell her you will manually turn off your router every night at 10pm, or whatever time you choose.

I would be extremely concerned about using any google stuff, after all they will be hoovering up every thing she does online. In my view this is more dangerous than giving her a free reign to do what she wants online. fuck off with the ai bullshit.

Its not the bogie men she needs to worry about. Its you and big tech.

I see another psychologically damaged child who eventually abandons you because you are a control freak.

I dont want any bonus points