Guard Desktop runs silently on your child's Windows PC or Mac and connects to your phone in 30 seconds. Block any app or website, see how long they spend on each one, and cut internet at bedtime — all without touching their computer.
Included in Guard Family · Up to 7 child devices · $59 one-time · No subscription
Your child is smarter than you think — and most tools assume they're not.
Monitoring tools notify you when harmful content is found. That means your child already saw it. Layers Guard blocks before they ever get there.
Once a child turns 13, they can disable Family Link supervision themselves. Layers Guard installs silently on the PC and requires your PIN to quit — even from the tray icon.
The industry average is $100+ per year, forever. Guard Family is $59 once — covers every Guard app for your whole family, Android, Windows and Mac. No annual renewals, no tiers.
Six tools that cover every way a child tries to get around limits — managed from your phone, enforced on their PC.
Open your phone, see what your child is doing right now, and block any app or website in two taps. You never need to touch their PC again after the first setup.
See everything liveMost filters only block browser traffic. Guard Desktop stops blocked apps completely — Steam, Discord, Roblox, games — the moment they open. No loopholes.
Apps close instantlySites are blocked everywhere — not just in one browser. Switching to Firefox, Edge, or a private window makes no difference.
Works in any browserYour dashboard shows which apps your child used and for how long. Colour-coded bars make it easy to spot patterns at a glance.
Updated every minuteSet a start and end time. At bedtime, all internet shuts off — not just the browser. Every app, every site. Automatically, every night.
Weekday + weekend schedulesGuard Desktop starts automatically, runs silently, and requires your PIN to quit. There's no settings screen, no off switch, nothing for your child to tinker with.
PIN-protected · Always runningNo router configuration. No IT knowledge required. If you can scan a QR code, you can set this up.
Download and run the Guard Desktop agent on your child's Windows PC or Mac. It installs silently, adds itself to startup, and shows a pairing code on screen.
Windows 10/11 · Mac (coming soon)Install the Layers Guard Controller app on your phone. Scan the QR code or type the 6-character code. The two devices link instantly via the cloud.
Android 8 or laterAdd blocked sites, set screen time limits, configure bedtime hours. Every rule syncs to the PC in seconds. You're done — it runs itself from here.
Enforces automaticallyNo digging through logs. The dashboard shows you what matters in seconds — whether your child is online, what they're running, and where today's time went.
A green dot means the agent is active and your rules are being enforced. If it goes offline, you see it immediately.
Each app your child runs gets a distinct colour. One look and you know whether they spent the afternoon on homework or gaming.
Tap Emergency Lock and all internet access cuts off instantly, wherever you are. Useful for dinner, bedtime, or when they won't stop playing.
We looked at every major tool. Here's how Layers Guard stacks up on the things parents actually care about.
| Feature | Layers Guard | Qustodio | Bark | Circle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remote control from phone | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Child cannot disable it | ✓ | Partial | ✗ | Partial |
| Block specific Windows apps | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Works in any browser | ✓ | ✓ | Partial | ✓ |
| Screen time pie chart by app | ✓ | ✓ | Basic | ✓ |
| Bedtime internet lockout | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| No subscription required | ✓ | ✗ $8–14/mo | ✗ $14/mo | ✗ $10/mo + $129 device |
| No router or hardware needed | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ Requires Circle device |
No renewals. No tiers. No features locked behind a higher plan. One price and everything is included.
Guard Desktop is included in Guard Family. Compare to Qustodio at $96/year or Bark at $168/year — Guard Family pays for itself in the first month.
Most parental controls treat the browser as the only threat. But children move between browsers, switch to apps, use private windows, and find workarounds faster than most parents expect.
Guard Desktop works at a deeper level — blocking at the network and process level, not just inside one browser. Steam closes the moment it opens. YouTube is blocked in Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and every other browser simultaneously. Bedtime cuts all traffic, not just web traffic.
Real enforcement means it works even when your child is actively trying to bypass it.
Layers Guard — built for families who take online safety seriously
Set it up tonight in under two minutes. Guard Desktop is included in Guard Family — $59 once, no subscription. Covers Windows PCs, Mac (in development), and up to 7 child devices.