NextDNS Parental Control

NextDNS Blocker integrates with NextDNS Parental Control API to block entire categories (gambling, porn, etc.) and services (TikTok, Netflix, Fortnite, etc.) with schedule-based control.

Why Use Parental Control?

Instead of manually blocking individual domains, NextDNS Parental Control:

• Blocks all domains associated with a service (e.g., all TikTok CDNs, APIs, etc.)
• Stays up-to-date as NextDNS maintains the domain lists
• Reduces configuration - no need to find and block each domain yourself
• Works with schedules - same schedule format as blocklist domains

Configuration

Add a nextdns section to your config.json:

{
  "nextdns": {
    "parental_control": {
      "safe_search": true,
      "youtube_restricted_mode": false,
      "block_bypass": true
    },
    "categories": [
      {
        "id": "gambling",
        "description": "Betting sites - always blocked",
        "unblock_delay": "never"
      }
    ],
    "services": [
      {
        "id": "tiktok",
        "description": "TikTok - evenings only",
        "unblock_delay": "4h",
        "schedule": {
          "available_hours": [
            {
              "days": ["monday", "tuesday", "wednesday", "thursday", "friday"],
              "time_ranges": [{"start": "18:00", "end": "22:00"}]
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Global Settings

The parental_control object configures global NextDNS settings:

Setting	Type	Description
safe_search	boolean	Force SafeSearch on Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, YouTube
youtube_restricted_mode	boolean	Enable YouTube Restricted Mode
block_bypass	boolean	Block VPNs, proxies, and alternative DNS services

Valid Category IDs

NextDNS supports 7 native categories:

Category ID	Description
porn	Adult/pornographic content
gambling	Betting and gambling sites
dating	Dating apps and websites
piracy	Piracy and torrent sites
social-networks	Social networking platforms
gaming	Gaming platforms and services
video-streaming	Video streaming services

Valid Service IDs

NextDNS supports 43 services across multiple categories:

Social & Messaging

facebook, instagram, twitter, tiktok, snapchat, whatsapp, telegram, messenger, discord, signal, skype, mastodon, bereal, vk, tumblr, pinterest, reddit, 9gag, imgur, google-chat

Streaming

youtube, netflix, disneyplus, hbomax, primevideo, hulu, twitch, vimeo, dailymotion

Gaming

fortnite, minecraft, roblox, leagueoflegends, steam, blizzard, xboxlive, playstation-network

Dating

tinder

Other

spotify, amazon, ebay, zoom, chatgpt

Schedule Format

Categories and services support the same schedule format as blocklist domains:

{
  "id": "netflix",
  "schedule": {
    "available_hours": [
      {
        "days": ["saturday", "sunday"],
        "time_ranges": [
          {"start": "10:00", "end": "22:00"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

When outside the available hours, the service/category is blocked.

CLI Commands

List configured and active items

# Show from config.json
nextdns-blocker nextdns list

# Show live status from NextDNS API
nextdns-blocker nextdns list --remote

Manually control categories

# Activate (start blocking)
nextdns-blocker nextdns add-category gambling

# Deactivate (stop blocking)
nextdns-blocker nextdns remove-category gambling

Manually control services

# Activate (start blocking)
nextdns-blocker nextdns add-service tiktok

# Deactivate (stop blocking)
nextdns-blocker nextdns remove-service tiktok

View valid IDs

# Show all valid category IDs
nextdns-blocker nextdns categories

# Show all valid service IDs (grouped by type)
nextdns-blocker nextdns services

Check current status

nextdns-blocker nextdns status

Sync Behavior

When you run nextdns-blocker config push (or the watchdog runs it automatically):

1. Categories are activated/deactivated based on their schedule
2. Services are activated/deactivated based on their schedule
3. Global settings (safe_search, etc.) are applied

During panic mode:

• Activations continue (blocks are maintained)
• Deactivations are skipped (prevents removing blocks)

Example: Complete Configuration

{
  "nextdns": {
    "parental_control": {
      "safe_search": true,
      "youtube_restricted_mode": false,
      "block_bypass": true
    },
    "categories": [
      {
        "id": "gambling",
        "description": "Always blocked",
        "unblock_delay": "never"
      },
      {
        "id": "porn",
        "description": "Always blocked",
        "unblock_delay": "never"
      }
    ],
    "services": [
      {
        "id": "tiktok",
        "description": "Evenings and weekends",
        "unblock_delay": "4h",
        "schedule": {
          "available_hours": [
            {
              "days": ["monday", "tuesday", "wednesday", "thursday", "friday"],
              "time_ranges": [{"start": "18:00", "end": "22:00"}]
            },
            {
              "days": ["saturday", "sunday"],
              "time_ranges": [{"start": "10:00", "end": "23:00"}]
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "fortnite",
        "description": "Weekends only",
        "unblock_delay": "1h",
        "schedule": {
          "available_hours": [
            {
              "days": ["saturday", "sunday"],
              "time_ranges": [{"start": "10:00", "end": "22:00"}]
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "netflix",
        "description": "After 7pm only",
        "unblock_delay": "2h",
        "schedule": {
          "available_hours": [
            {
              "days": ["monday", "tuesday", "wednesday", "thursday", "friday", "saturday", "sunday"],
              "time_ranges": [{"start": "19:00", "end": "23:00"}]
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Difference from Categories (blocklist grouping)

Don’t confuse nextdns.categories with the top-level categories in config.json:

Feature	nextdns.categories	Top-level categories
Source	NextDNS Parental Control API	Your custom groups
Domains	Managed by NextDNS	You define the domains
IDs	Fixed (7 options)	Any custom ID
Use case	Block entire content types	Group your domains

You can use both together for maximum control.