Introducing Access Granted: Rethinking Parental Controls

The Problem with Traditional Parental Controls

As a security professional and a parent, I’ve always been frustrated with traditional parental control solutions. They’re reactive, punitive, and create constant friction between parents and children. The typical scenario goes like this:

1. Parent sets time limits or website blocklists
2. Child tries to circumvent them
3. Parent discovers the workaround and adds more restrictions
4. Relationship suffers, and no one learns anything valuable

There has to be a better way.

A Different Approach

What if instead of restricting internet access, we gave children the opportunity to earn it? What if completing chores, homework, and other responsibilities was directly connected to gaining internet privileges?

This is the core idea behind Access Granted - a parental control system that integrates with your home firewall to automatically manage internet access based on completed activities.

How It Works

The concept is straightforward:

1. Parents define activities - Chores, homework, reading time, outdoor play, etc.
2. Children complete tasks - Each activity is worth a certain amount of internet time
3. Automatic enforcement - The system integrates with your firewall to grant access
4. Everyone wins - Children learn responsibility, parents reduce nagging

The Technical Side

As a security-focused product, Access Granted is built with privacy and safety in mind:

• Local-first architecture - Your family’s data stays on your network
• Firewall integration - Works with pfSense, OPNsense, UniFi, and more
• Encrypted communications - All connections are authenticated and secure
• No cloud dependencies - Core functionality works entirely offline

Teaching Responsibility, Not Just Restriction

The goal isn’t just to limit screen time - it’s to teach children valuable lessons:

• Time management - Learning to budget earned time
• Delayed gratification - Saving time for later use
• Intrinsic motivation - Understanding that privileges are earned
• Personal responsibility - Taking ownership of their actions

Current Status

Access Granted is currently in active development. I’m building it as an open-source project and looking for beta testers to help refine the experience.

If you’re interested in following along or participating in the beta, stay tuned for more updates on this blog.

Next Steps

In upcoming posts, I’ll dive deeper into:

• The technical architecture and firewall integration
• Setting up effective activity rewards
• Privacy and security considerations
• Beta program details

Have thoughts on this approach? I’d love to hear from you. This is just the beginning of rethinking how we approach parental controls in the digital age.