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WOMBATS Shield vs Screen Time: it's an and, not an or.

Screen Time is Apple's parental controls, built into iPhone, iPad and Mac and run from a parent's phone through Family Sharing; Google's Family Link plays the same role on Android. They are good at what only a device can see. A Shield is the other half: every device in the house, at the network, with nothing installed on any of them.

The 30-day home trial for AU & NZ households: if Shield isn't right for your home, send it back — prepaid label, full refund.

Add a Shield for…

…the rest of the house and the rest of the job. Ads and trackers gone on every device, TV and console included. Adult content, phishing and SafeSearch for every device, not just the Apple ones. Apps like TikTok closed on their backup routes. Rules that live on your network, so there's nothing on the phone to uninstall. And nothing to renew, with a 30-day home trial for AU & NZ households.

Keep Screen Time for…

…screen hours, app installs and purchases, and who your child can message. Time Allowances and Screen Time Schedules, Ask to Buy and Ask to Browse, Allowed Contacts and Communication Safety, all on the device itself, and they follow the phone wherever it goes.

One lives on the phone, the other on the network.

Screen Time works from inside each Apple device: it knows which app is open, how long it has been open and what is being installed. That is exactly why it can't see the Android tablet, the smart TV, the console or a visitor's phone, and why ads and trackers aren't its department. A Shield sits behind the modem and sees every device's traffic, which is exactly why it can't count screen hours or stop an install. Different vantage points; both useful. Two things follow from where each one lives. A Screen Time limit locks the device or the app, so homework on it stops with everything else; a Shield pauses the internet, which ends most of what a device is used for while the device itself keeps working. And the workarounds kids pass around for Screen Time (a time-zone change, deleting and reinstalling an app) work on the device because that is where the rule is; Apple closes them as they surface. A rule on the network isn't on the phone to work around.

Side by side.

See it as a map, next to the others

What it is

WOMBATS Shield: A supported hardware appliance for the whole family job, bought once.
Screen Time: Parental controls built into iPhone, iPad and Mac, managed from a parent's device through Family Sharing. Each child needs their own Apple Account in your family group.

Setup

WOMBATS Shield: About fifteen minutes with your modem's admin login. It works with the modems in most Australian homes, and Guided Setup walks you through any it can't set up by itself; with Starlink, eero and other routers you can only set up in a phone app, talk to us before ordering.
Screen Time: Family Sharing, a Child Account for each child, and every device in the family group on the current software. The settings then live under Family in the parent's Settings app.

Screen hours, app installs, purchases and who they can message

WOMBATS Shield: No. The phone's own job. Keep Screen Time or Family Link running; a Shield sits beside them, not instead of them.
Screen Time: Yes. Time Allowances, Screen Time Schedules, Ask to Buy, Ask to Browse, Allowed Contacts and Communication Safety, managed from a parent's iPhone through Family Sharing.

Ads and trackers blocked on every device, TVs and smart devices included

WOMBATS Shield: Yes. On by default for every device that joins your network, with nothing to install.
Screen Time: No. Not a Screen Time feature.

Adult content and phishing blocked

WOMBATS Shield: Yes. On by default, for every device, with a level per category from Off to Strict on your dashboard.
Screen Time: In part. Limit Adult Websites and Ask to Browse, in Safari and supported browsers on that Apple device. Phishing isn't a Screen Time category.

SafeSearch enforced on Google, Bing and YouTube

WOMBATS Shield: Yes. On every Shield for the whole house: Google, Bing, YouTube, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, Yandex and Pixabay, each a tick on the dashboard.
Screen Time: No. SafeSearch isn't among its settings.

Recursive DNS built in: your Shield looks websites up itself, so no DNS company sees what the house looks up

WOMBATS Shield: Yes. Out of the box, at home your Shield looks websites up from the internet's root servers itself (recursive DNS). Your internet provider still sees which sites you connect to.
Screen Time: No. Not a Screen Time feature; the device uses whatever DNS the network gives it.

TikTok off means off: apps built to stay online (TikTok, Meta's apps) closed on their backup routes too

WOMBATS Shield: Yes. Main route and backup routes closed at the network, through website lookups and the Shield's own firewall. Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Threads on their own switches, WhatsApp untouched. Re-tested every month.
Screen Time: In part. Blocks the app on that Apple device (it dims on the Home Screen). Nothing at the network, so the TV, the console and Android devices are outside it.

Bypass tricks blocked: a device's own DNS settings, encrypted-DNS apps, Apple Private Relay, a reset

WOMBATS Shield: Yes. Shut at the network, and attempts show on your dashboard. The rules live on the Shield, behind its own login, not on the phone. A determined user on a managed device can still use a VPN to tunnel out.
Screen Time: No. The rules live on the device, so the workarounds kids pass around (a time-zone change, deleting and reinstalling an app) live there too. Apple closes them as they surface; a child account on recent iOS locks the date and time.

Pause the internet, bedtime and school-night hours, per device: phones, TVs, consoles, everything

WOMBATS Shield: Yes. Every Shield: pause one device's internet, or set its bedtime and school-night hours, from your phone. The device itself keeps working offline, so a homework document does too.
Screen Time: In part. Screen Time Schedules and a pause, for each child's Apple device. They lock the device or the app rather than the internet, so homework on it stops too. Other devices aren't covered.

Different rules for each child's device

WOMBATS Shield: Yes. Shield Edge and Vault: filtering, SafeSearch and app rules per device, app schedules included. Shield Core sets them for the whole house at once; pause and schedules are per device on every Shield.
Screen Time: Yes. Per child, on their Apple devices, from a parent's iPhone through Family Sharing.

The same rules on the kids' phones on mobile data and other Wi-Fi

WOMBATS Shield: Yes. Shield Vault, through Follow-Me Filtering: your rules on the kids' phones away from home, through a free app. The phone's owner can switch it off, and it depends on your home internet.
Screen Time: Yes. Everywhere the device goes: the rules live on it.

Every device covered, nothing installed on any of them

WOMBATS Shield: Yes. Plug it in behind the modem. Every device that joins is covered: computers, phones, tablets, TVs, consoles and smart devices, with nothing to install.
Screen Time: A little. The Apple devices in your Family Sharing group. Android, Windows, the TV and the console aren't covered.

Set up in about fifteen minutes, with no technical skill

WOMBATS Shield: Yes. About fifteen minutes with your modem's admin login: Modem Autopilot sets up the modems in most Australian homes, and Guided Setup walks you through any it can't. With Starlink, eero and other routers you can only set up in a phone app, talk to us before ordering.
Screen Time: Mostly. Family Sharing, a Child Account for each child, and every device in the group on the current software; the settings then live under Family in the parent's Settings app.

Kept up for you: updates, someone to message, a warranty, a home trial

WOMBATS Shield: Yes. Signed updates you install in under a minute, WhatsApp and email support, a 12-month warranty plus Australian Consumer Law, and a 30-day home trial for AU & NZ households.
Screen Time: Yes. Updates with the device; Apple Support behind it.

Local first: no cloud, no account, no subscription

WOMBATS Shield: Yes. The dashboard runs on the Shield, on your network. No cloud login, no activation server, no subscription: if we disappear, your Shield keeps working.
Screen Time: In part. No subscription. It needs an Apple Account for each child and a Family Sharing group, and the settings sync through iCloud.

Your own allow and block lists, filter levels, and who answers your lookups

WOMBATS Shield: Yes. Your own always-allow and always-block lists, three filter categories each set from Off to Strict, and who answers your lookups: the Shield itself, or a provider you name. The filter lists themselves are ours to keep.
Screen Time: No. Not what it's for.

Family file storage every device in the house can open

WOMBATS Shield: Yes. Shield Edge, on a USB drive you supply, and Shield Vault, with a 256 GB drive built in (1, 2 or 4 TB optional): photos, videos and files shared across the household (SMB).
Screen Time: No. Not what it's for.

Movies, music and photos streamed to your TVs, even older ones

WOMBATS Shield: Yes. Shield Edge and Vault: a media library your TVs can play (Jellyfin, DLNA), with no account anywhere.
Screen Time: No. Not what it's for.

Computer backups, with Time Machine for Macs

WOMBATS Shield: Yes. Shield Vault: a backup drive for any computer in the house, with Time Machine support for Macs, on a built-in drive that can be encrypted (switched on when you first set up the drive).
Screen Time: No. Not what it's for.

Your own filtered Wi-Fi in a hotel or an Airbnb

WOMBATS Shield: Yes. Shield Edge over a cable into the accommodation's router; Shield Vault cable-free, joining the hotel or Airbnb Wi-Fi, even networks with a login page.
Screen Time: No. Not what it's for.

Your dashboard and the family's files from a phone or laptop away from home

WOMBATS Shield: Yes. Shield Vault, through Back to Shield: the same free app puts your phone or laptop back on your home network, at your home internet's upload speed.
Screen Time: No. Not what it's for.

Feature	WOMBATS Shield	Screen Time
What it is	A supported hardware appliance for the whole family job, bought once.	Parental controls built into iPhone, iPad and Mac, managed from a parent's device through Family Sharing. Each child needs their own Apple Account in your family group.
Setup	About fifteen minutes with your modem's admin login. It works with the modems in most Australian homes, and Guided Setup walks you through any it can't set up by itself; with Starlink, eero and other routers you can only set up in a phone app, talk to us before ordering.	Family Sharing, a Child Account for each child, and every device in the family group on the current software. The settings then live under Family in the parent's Settings app.
Screen hours, app installs, purchases and who they can message	No. The phone's own job. Keep Screen Time or Family Link running; a Shield sits beside them, not instead of them.	Yes. Time Allowances, Screen Time Schedules, Ask to Buy, Ask to Browse, Allowed Contacts and Communication Safety, managed from a parent's iPhone through Family Sharing.
Ads and trackers blocked on every device, TVs and smart devices included	Yes. On by default for every device that joins your network, with nothing to install.	No. Not a Screen Time feature.
Adult content and phishing blocked	Yes. On by default, for every device, with a level per category from Off to Strict on your dashboard.	In part. Limit Adult Websites and Ask to Browse, in Safari and supported browsers on that Apple device. Phishing isn't a Screen Time category.
SafeSearch enforced on Google, Bing and YouTube	Yes. On every Shield for the whole house: Google, Bing, YouTube, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, Yandex and Pixabay, each a tick on the dashboard.	No. SafeSearch isn't among its settings.
Recursive DNS built in: your Shield looks websites up itself, so no DNS company sees what the house looks up	Yes. Out of the box, at home your Shield looks websites up from the internet's root servers itself (recursive DNS). Your internet provider still sees which sites you connect to.	No. Not a Screen Time feature; the device uses whatever DNS the network gives it.
TikTok off means off: apps built to stay online (TikTok, Meta's apps) closed on their backup routes too	Yes. Main route and backup routes closed at the network, through website lookups and the Shield's own firewall. Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Threads on their own switches, WhatsApp untouched. Re-tested every month.	In part. Blocks the app on that Apple device (it dims on the Home Screen). Nothing at the network, so the TV, the console and Android devices are outside it.
Bypass tricks blocked: a device's own DNS settings, encrypted-DNS apps, Apple Private Relay, a reset	Yes. Shut at the network, and attempts show on your dashboard. The rules live on the Shield, behind its own login, not on the phone. A determined user on a managed device can still use a VPN to tunnel out.	No. The rules live on the device, so the workarounds kids pass around (a time-zone change, deleting and reinstalling an app) live there too. Apple closes them as they surface; a child account on recent iOS locks the date and time.
Pause the internet, bedtime and school-night hours, per device: phones, TVs, consoles, everything	Yes. Every Shield: pause one device's internet, or set its bedtime and school-night hours, from your phone. The device itself keeps working offline, so a homework document does too.	In part. Screen Time Schedules and a pause, for each child's Apple device. They lock the device or the app rather than the internet, so homework on it stops too. Other devices aren't covered.
Different rules for each child's device	Yes. Shield Edge and Vault: filtering, SafeSearch and app rules per device, app schedules included. Shield Core sets them for the whole house at once; pause and schedules are per device on every Shield.	Yes. Per child, on their Apple devices, from a parent's iPhone through Family Sharing.
The same rules on the kids' phones on mobile data and other Wi-Fi	Yes. Shield Vault, through Follow-Me Filtering: your rules on the kids' phones away from home, through a free app. The phone's owner can switch it off, and it depends on your home internet.	Yes. Everywhere the device goes: the rules live on it.
Every device covered, nothing installed on any of them	Yes. Plug it in behind the modem. Every device that joins is covered: computers, phones, tablets, TVs, consoles and smart devices, with nothing to install.	A little. The Apple devices in your Family Sharing group. Android, Windows, the TV and the console aren't covered.
Set up in about fifteen minutes, with no technical skill	Yes. About fifteen minutes with your modem's admin login: Modem Autopilot sets up the modems in most Australian homes, and Guided Setup walks you through any it can't. With Starlink, eero and other routers you can only set up in a phone app, talk to us before ordering.	Mostly. Family Sharing, a Child Account for each child, and every device in the group on the current software; the settings then live under Family in the parent's Settings app.
Kept up for you: updates, someone to message, a warranty, a home trial	Yes. Signed updates you install in under a minute, WhatsApp and email support, a 12-month warranty plus Australian Consumer Law, and a 30-day home trial for AU & NZ households.	Yes. Updates with the device; Apple Support behind it.
Local first: no cloud, no account, no subscription	Yes. The dashboard runs on the Shield, on your network. No cloud login, no activation server, no subscription: if we disappear, your Shield keeps working.	In part. No subscription. It needs an Apple Account for each child and a Family Sharing group, and the settings sync through iCloud.
Your own allow and block lists, filter levels, and who answers your lookups	Yes. Your own always-allow and always-block lists, three filter categories each set from Off to Strict, and who answers your lookups: the Shield itself, or a provider you name. The filter lists themselves are ours to keep.	No. Not what it's for.
Family file storage every device in the house can open	Yes. Shield Edge, on a USB drive you supply, and Shield Vault, with a 256 GB drive built in (1, 2 or 4 TB optional): photos, videos and files shared across the household (SMB).	No. Not what it's for.
Movies, music and photos streamed to your TVs, even older ones	Yes. Shield Edge and Vault: a media library your TVs can play (Jellyfin, DLNA), with no account anywhere.	No. Not what it's for.
Computer backups, with Time Machine for Macs	Yes. Shield Vault: a backup drive for any computer in the house, with Time Machine support for Macs, on a built-in drive that can be encrypted (switched on when you first set up the drive).	No. Not what it's for.
Your own filtered Wi-Fi in a hotel or an Airbnb	Yes. Shield Edge over a cable into the accommodation's router; Shield Vault cable-free, joining the hotel or Airbnb Wi-Fi, even networks with a login page.	No. Not what it's for.
Your dashboard and the family's files from a phone or laptop away from home	Yes. Shield Vault, through Back to Shield: the same free app puts your phone or laptop back on your home network, at your home internet's upload speed.	No. Not what it's for.

Screen Time and a Shield: where they overlap, and where they don't.

It's an and, not an or. Screen Time does the on-device job and follows the phone wherever it goes; a Shield does the network job for every device in the house. Row by row from the map: what only Screen Time does, what both do, and what only a Shield does.

Only Screen Time 1

Screen hours, installs, contactsTime Allowances, Screen Time Schedules, Ask to Buy, Ask to Browse, Allowed Contacts and Communication Safety, managed from a parent's iPhone through Family Sharing.

Both 9

Adult content and phishingin partLimit Adult Websites and Ask to Browse, in Safari and supported browsers on that Apple device.
TikTok off means offin partBlocks the app on that Apple device (it dims on the Home Screen).
Pause and bedtime per devicein partScreen Time Schedules and a pause, for each child's Apple device.
Rules per childPer child, on their Apple devices, from a parent's iPhone through Family Sharing.
Kids' phones away from homeEverywhere the device goes: the rules live on it.
Every device, nothing installedin partThe Apple devices in your Family Sharing group.
Set up without skillin partFamily Sharing, a Child Account for each child, and every device in the group on the current software; the settings then live under Family in the parent's Settings app.
Updates, support, warrantyUpdates with the device; Apple Support behind it.
No cloud, no account, no subscriptionin partNo subscription.

“In part” means Screen Time covers some of it: fewer devices, a paid tier, an app on the child's phone, or a server you run.

Only a Shield 10

Ads and trackersOn by default for every device that joins your network, with nothing to install.
SafeSearchOn every Shield for the whole house: Google, Bing, YouTube, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, Yandex and Pixabay, each a tick on the dashboard.
Recursive DNS built inOut of the box, at home your Shield looks websites up from the internet's root servers itself (recursive DNS).
Bypass tricks blockedShut at the network, and attempts show on your dashboard.
Your own lists and settingsYour own always-allow and always-block lists, three filter categories each set from Off to Strict, and who answers your lookups: the Shield itself, or a provider you name.
Family storageShield Edge, on a USB drive you supply, and Shield Vault, with a 256 GB drive built in (1, 2 or 4 TB optional): photos, videos and files shared across the household (SMB).
Media to the TVShield Edge and Vault: a media library your TVs can play (Jellyfin, DLNA), with no account anywhere.
Computer backupsShield Vault: a backup drive for any computer in the house, with Time Machine support for Macs, on a built-in drive that can be encrypted (switched on when you first set up the drive).
Travel Wi-FiShield Edge over a cable into the accommodation's router; Shield Vault cable-free, joining the hotel or Airbnb Wi-Fi, even networks with a login page.
Dashboard and files from awayShield Vault, through Back to Shield: the same free app puts your phone or laptop back on your home network, at your home internet's upload speed.

Founding Edition

Protection from $424 AUD, inc GST (Shield Core) · storage and media from $524 (Shield Edge, with your own USB drive) · Shield Vault $724

Founding prices for the first 20 numbered Shields, locked in for life. Standard prices from unit 21: Core $574 · Edge $664 · Vault $914, plus $25 delivery in Australia.

Pay in 4: From $106.00 a fortnight with Afterpay or PayPal, interest-free — or Zip, with weekly, fortnightly or monthly repayments on Zip's terms. The total is the same either way.

30-day home trial for households in Australia and New Zealand · 12-month warranty plus Australian Consumer Law · Security updates until at least 31 December 2029

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Common questions.

Does a Shield replace Screen Time?

No, and it isn't trying to. Keep Screen Time for screen hours, app installs, purchases and contacts. A Shield adds the network layer: every device in the house at once, ads and trackers, adult content and SafeSearch on every device, and the apps that route around filters.

Can my child switch a Shield's rules off from their phone?

At home the rules live on the Shield, not on the phone, so there's nothing on the phone to uninstall or switch off. The common ways around a filter (a device's own DNS settings, encrypted-DNS apps, Apple Private Relay) are shut at the network, and attempts show on your dashboard. A determined user on a managed device can still use a VPN to tunnel out. Away from home, Follow-Me Filtering on Shield Vault runs through an app the phone's owner can switch off, and the Follow-Me page on your Shield shows you when they do.

Does Screen Time block ads?

It isn't a Screen Time feature. Its web controls are Limit Adult Websites and Ask to Browse, in Safari and supported browsers on that device. Ads and trackers on every device, the TV included, are the network's job, and a Shield's.

Do the two get in each other's way?

No. Screen Time acts on the device and a Shield acts on the network. If Screen Time limits an app and the Shield blocks it too, the app is simply off twice.

This comparison is based on publicly available information from each maker’s own website and documentation, reviewed 30 September 2026. Apple, Screen Time, Family Link are trademarks of their respective owners; WOMBATS Shield has no affiliation with, and no endorsement from, the companies or projects mentioned. Spot something outdated or unfair? Email hello@wombatss.com and we’ll fix it.