📱 Kids' phones, watches, tablets and speakers · 🛡️ Parental controls and family safety
Circle (Circle Home Plus)
By Circle Media Labs (an Aura company). Visit Circle (Circle Home Plus)
Warning: read this before you buy or sign up. Checked 2026-10-24.
Circle Home Plus was a small box that plugged into a home router to filter websites, set time limits, pause the internet and show history for every device on home Wi-Fi, managed in the Circle app. Circle is now part of Aura. Its website now sends families to Aura Parental Controls, the Circle Home Plus product page no longer loads, and the 'Download Circle App' link redirects to Aura. Existing owners should check support before relying on it.
Our take: Do not buy new hardware; owners can keep using it while it works, and new buyers should look at Aura or router-level filters like CleanBrowsing.
| Ages it suits | whole household |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | You must be 18 or older to register for Circle Services. (terms) |
| Price | Paid. No longer sold on Circle's site as of Oct 2026; Circle now points buyers to Aura's Kids plan ($10 a month billed yearly). |
| Works on | A device, iPhone and iPad, Android |
| Account | A parent's account |
| Ads | None |
| In-app purchases | None |
| The AI in it | No AI. |
What's good
- Covered every device on home Wi-Fi, including TVs and consoles
- Pause button for the whole house
- No app needed on each device
Watch for
- Hardware no longer sold on the maker's site
- Folded into Aura, future support unclear
- Only works on home Wi-Fi, not cellular
- Subscription needed for full features
Data and privacy
Circle's privacy policy says the app is not ad-supported and it does not share app data with ad services, but it uses data for marketing its own services, and Aura shares contact data with Circle for marketing. Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
The maker's own claims only (Circle says it has blocked 11 billion sites).
Alternatives to Circle (Circle Home Plus)
Desk researchPaid
Amazon Kids Tablets (and Fire Kids tablets)
Amazon · ages 3+ and 6+ versions
A reasonable first tablet if you want Amazon's controls plus real Android apps; families who want a tightly closed device may prefer a device without the Play Store.
Desk researchPaidNo ads
Amazon Kids+ and Parent Dashboard
Amazon · ages 3-12
A good-value bundle for families already on Amazon devices with kids 3-12; skip it if your child mostly uses an iPad or a phone.
Desk researchFreeNo ads
Apple Messages and FaceTime (Communication Safety)
Apple · ages any age with a parent-made child account; teens 13-17
Worth turning on for any child with an iPhone or iPad; pair it with contact limits for younger kids.
Desk researchFreeNo ads
Apple Screen Time
Apple · ages any age under 18
The first stop for any family whose child uses an iPhone or iPad; it does nothing on Android or Windows.
Desk researchPaidNo ads
Apple Watch For Your Kids
Apple · ages kids who don't have their own iPhone; no set age
Good for iPhone families who want a phone alternative with strong contact controls; cheaper kids' watches exist if you only need calls and location.
Desk researchPaidNo ads
Aura Parental Controls
Aura · ages kids and teens
Makes sense for families who already want Aura's identity protection; those who only need screen time limits can use free built-in tools.
Every product in kids' phones, watches, tablets and speakers →
Where these facts come from
- https://meetcircle.com/
- https://meetcircle.com/pages/legal
- https://meetcircle.com/pages/legal-terms
- https://meetcircle.com/pages/legal-privacy
- https://meetcircle.com/pages/download-circle-app
- https://www.aura.com/parental-controls
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.