Virgin Media: set up safer browsing at home
Turn on the parental controls included with your broadband. Choose content categories and manage individual websites.
Your home broadband can help reduce access to unsuitable websites without installing a filtering app on every device. Virgin Media includes network-level security and parental controls that you manage through your account.
This guide helps you find those settings, choose what to block and check the result.
What to have ready
The main account holder's My Virgin Media sign-in and a device connected to your home broadband. Enter your password only on Virgin Media's official website. Never send your password or security codes to Umbrello.
Who it helps
Parents and carers using Virgin Media broadband who want to manage the websites available through their home connection.
The checks to make
1. Find the right security settings
Virgin Media now calls its former Web Safe service Essential Security. You may still encounter the older name in search results or previous instructions.
Sign in to My Virgin Media as the main account holder. Open Account Settings, then Online Security.
Find the parental-control settings and check whether they are switched on. Do not assume the family filtering rules are configured simply because the broader security service is active.
I have found and checked the parental-control settings.
2. Review the categories
Open the category controls and review which types of websites are restricted.
Choose any additional categories that suit your household, then save or apply the changes if prompted.
Think about what your children need to access as well as what you want to restrict. Broad categories can also affect useful education, health or support websites.
I have reviewed the categories for our household.
3. Manage individual websites
Find the Sites or Websites controls. These let you manage particular websites rather than relying only on broad categories.
Choose the appropriate blocked or allowed list. Enter the website address in the format requested, add it and save or apply the change if prompted.
Check the entry appears in the intended list. Adding a website to an allowed list can make it accessible when you meant to block it.
Some category restrictions and Virgin Media rules cannot be overridden with an exception. Use the official guidance if a site rule does not behave as expected.
I have checked our blocked and allowed websites.
4. Read the timer settings carefully
Virgin Media's timer can create a period when restrictions are suspended. This is different from disconnecting a child's device at bedtime.
Read the description of the time period before saving it. Check whether your selection means filtering is active or temporarily inactive.
If you do not need timed exceptions, keep the filtering active rather than adding a schedule unnecessarily.
I understand when our filtering is active.
5. Understand device pausing
For pausing Wi-Fi access to an individual device, Virgin Media offers a separate feature in its Connect app.
This serves a different purpose from website filtering. Pausing Wi-Fi does not stop a phone from using mobile data.
If you use device pausing, check you have identified the correct device before applying it.
I understand the difference between filtering websites and pausing Wi-Fi.
6. Check the result
Keep your test device on your home Wi-Fi. Review the saved settings and check that ordinary browsing, school websites and useful family services still work.
If you added a custom block, check that rule without searching for adult or upsetting material. You can temporarily block a harmless website you know, test it, then remove the test rule.
Virgin Media says a device restart may be needed after a block is applied. Follow its troubleshooting guidance if a saved rule does not take effect.
I have checked the results on our home connection.
A conversation worth having
"We're adding some filters to help make browsing safer. If something upsetting gets through, or a useful website is blocked, you can always tell us."
What these settings can and cannot do
These controls apply to the home broadband connection. They do not follow a child onto mobile data, public Wi-Fi or another household's internet. Website filtering cannot make every message, video or interaction inside an app safe. Use it alongside suitable device and app settings and regular conversations.
If something is not working
Check the parental controls, website lists and timer settings first.
If a useful website is blocked, review any relevant restrictions and follow Virgin Media's process for reporting a classification issue. Avoid switching off all filtering to solve one website problem.
Official instructions and further help
Official sources last checked: 20 October 2026. Steps and menu names can vary between devices and software versions — if something looks different, use the manufacturer's official page.
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