Virgin Media parental controls, set up properly
Virgin Media includes its Web Safe parental controls free with broadband, as part of its wider Essential Security package. Child Safe filters age-inappropriate sites for every device on your wifi. Here is how to check it is on and set it up well.
Cost
Free with Virgin Media broadband
Main parts
Child Safe (content) and Virus Safe (scams and viruses)
Covers
Every device on your home wifi
Managed from
My Virgin Media account settings
Turn on Virgin Media Child Safe
Web Safe is managed through your My Virgin Media account.
Steps:
- 1Sign in to My Virgin Media with the account holder login.
- 2Open your account settings and find the security or Web Safe section.
- 3Turn on Child Safe. Virus Safe is usually on already and is worth leaving on.
- 4Review the content categories being filtered and adjust them to suit your family.
- 5Set timers if you want filtering to tighten at certain times of day.
- 6Add any sites to your allow or block lists, save, and test from a device on your wifi.
Tip:
Child Safe and Virus Safe do different jobs. Child Safe is the parental filter; Virus Safe blocks scam and malware sites for everyone. Keep both on.
What it covers, and what it does not
Web Safe filters your home broadband, so every device on your wifi is covered with one setting. It cannot see a phone using mobile data. For Virgin Media TV, parental PINs are set separately in the TV settings.
Worth knowing
If a site your family needs is wrongly blocked, add it to the allow list rather than switching Child Safe off. Changes can take a little while to apply across the network.
Frequently asked questions
Related guides
Last reviewed: August 2026. Providers and platforms change their settings screens often, so if a step looks different, the official help page linked above has the latest wording.