How to block porn on a Samsung phone

On a Samsung Galaxy, the free phone-wide porn filter is Private DNS, found at Settings → Connections → More connection settings → Private DNS. Samsung Internet and Digital Wellbeing can add a little on top, but neither of them is an adult filter on its own.

Samsung’s menus differ from Pixel and most other Android phones, so this guide gives the paths for current One UI. For the general Android picture, see how to block porn on Android, and for every other device, how to block porn.

Quick answer: Open Settings → Connections → More connection settings → Private DNS, choose Private DNS provider hostname, enter family.adguard-dns.com and tap Save. Then set Google SafeSearch to Filter at google.com/safesearch.

1. Private DNS: the Samsung path

On Pixel phones Private DNS sits under Network & internet. Samsung puts it one level deeper, under Connections.

1. Open Settings and tap Connections.
2. Tap More connection settings → Private DNS.
3. Choose Private DNS provider hostname.
4. Enter family.adguard-dns.com (or family.cloudflare-dns.com) exactly as written, with no https://, and tap Save.

What it catches: known adult sites in every browser and app on the phone, Samsung Internet and Chrome included, on Wi-Fi and mobile data.
What it misses: adult content on mainstream sites and apps the filter has to allow, and new sites not yet on its list.
How easy to undo: the same three taps, and nobody is told.

Not sure which filter to pick? Our Private DNS guide compares four free ones.

Steps from Samsung Support (“Connection options for your Galaxy phone or tablet”), checked 14 October 2026.

2. Samsung Internet: what its own settings do

Samsung Internet is the browser that comes on Galaxy phones. Samsung’s newer help pages call it Samsung Browser. It has two features people ask about. Neither is an adult filter, but it helps to know what they do.

Ad blockers (content blockers)

1. Open Samsung Internet, tap the Tools menu and choose Ad blockers.
2. Tap the install icon next to a blocker. Ad blockers for Samsung Internet come from Galaxy Store and are certified by Samsung.
3. Once installed, a blocker switches on by itself. Its switch in the same list turns it on or off.

What it catches: ads, trackers and clutter on pages in Samsung Internet. Samsung describes them as a way to keep unnecessary content off the page, not as an adult filter.
What it misses: adult sites as such, and everything outside Samsung Internet.
How easy to undo: one switch.

Steps from Samsung Support (“Use Ad blockers in Samsung Browser” and “Frequently asked questions about Samsung Browser”), checked 14 October 2026.

Secret mode

Secret mode is Samsung Internet’s private browsing. You open it from the Tabs icon, then the mask icon. Pages you visit there stay out of your normal history, and you can lock Secret mode with a password.

Secret mode changes what the browser remembers, not how the phone looks up sites. A filter set for the whole phone, like Private DNS or a blocker app, applies to Secret mode tabs just as it does to normal ones. You don’t need a separate setting for it.

SafeSearch in Samsung Internet

If Google is your search engine in Samsung Internet, go to google.com/safesearch in the browser and choose Filter. See how to lock SafeSearch for keeping it on.

3. Digital Wellbeing: time limits, not a filter

Digital Wellbeing (called Digital Wellbeing and parental controls on some phones) doesn’t look at what’s on the screen. Two of its tools can add friction at the times you’re most at risk, if late nights are your pattern:

1. App timers: open Settings → Digital Wellbeing → App timers, tap Apps and app categories, pick your browsers, then Add schedule and set the days and the time allowed. When the time runs out, the app is paused for the rest of the day.
2. Sleep mode: open Settings → Modes and Routines → Sleep (it used to be called Bedtime mode) and set it for your usual night hours, with Do not disturb on.

What it catches: nothing by content. It limits time, not sites.
What it misses: everything a filter would catch.
How easy to undo: a few taps. A timer is removed with the red minus icon next to the app.

The parental controls in the same menu run through Google Family Link and are built for children’s phones, so they aren’t meant for adults blocking for themselves.

Steps from Samsung Support (“Use Digital Wellbeing features on your Galaxy phone or tablet”), checked 14 October 2026.

4. Make a blocker app hold on a Galaxy

Blocker apps that filter on the phone use Android’s VPN feature. Two Samsung settings decide whether one keeps running: Always-on VPN, and Samsung’s battery saver, which puts apps to sleep.

1. Turn on Always-on VPN. Open Settings → Connections → More connection settings → VPN, tap the gear next to your blocker and turn on Always-on VPN. Android then starts the blocker when the phone starts, keeps it running, and won’t let another VPN app quietly take its place.
2. Leave “Block connections without VPN” off if your blocker only filters addresses, as QUIT does. With it on, some apps can lose their internet connection.
3. Keep it awake. Open Settings → Battery → Background usage limits (on older One UI, Battery and device care → Battery → Background usage limits), tap + under Never sleeping apps and add your blocker. Samsung then won’t put it to sleep to save battery.

Be realistic about what this does. No setting on a phone you own is impossible to change. These make a blocker hard to switch off by accident or on impulse, and a good blocker tells you, and your partner if you choose to share alerts, when one of them changes.

VPN path from Samsung Support (“Connection options for your Galaxy phone or tablet”); battery path from Samsung Support (“Sleeping apps on your Galaxy device”); Always-on behaviour from Android Developers’ VPN guide. All checked 14 October 2026.

What Samsung’s settings can’t do

• Private DNS is quick to undo. Three taps, nothing slows you down, and nobody is told.
• Samsung Internet’s blockers are for ads. They don’t target adult sites, and they only work in that one browser.
• Digital Wellbeing counts minutes, not content.
• None of them help in the moment. When a site is blocked, the urge is still there. That part is a skill you can learn.

Where QUIT helps on a Galaxy

We make QUIT, so weigh this with that in mind. On a Galaxy it works as on any Android phone: it filters on the phone in every browser and app, Samsung Internet and Chrome included, and locks SafeSearch on Google, Bing and YouTube. Strict Mode makes switching it off a request that unlocks after 24 hours, or sooner if a partner you trust approves.

If you set up Private DNS earlier, set it back to Off or Automatic when you turn QUIT on. A Private DNS hostname stops QUIT’s shield from working, and the app tells you if one is set.