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Security guide6 min read

How to block ChatGPT on your home network

ChatGPT is the most widely accessed AI chatbot in the UK, and it has no age verification. Children can use it to write essays, generate explicit creative content, or get answers that bypass school content policies. This guide shows how to block ChatGPT and other AI chatbots at the network level using DNS filtering — no software to install on individual devices.

Before you start
  • Blocking AI chatbots at home only affects your home network — children can still access them via mobile data or at school.
  • New AI chatbot services launch regularly. DNS blocking specific domains requires updating your blocklist as new services emerge. The "AI Chatbots" category in NextDNS is updated automatically.
  • Some legitimate educational uses of AI may also be blocked. Consider using NextDNS's per-device rules to allow AI tools on your own devices while blocking them on children's devices.

Method 1 — Block AI Chatbots category with NextDNS (recommended)

  1. Create a free account at nextdns.io.
  2. In your NextDNS dashboard, go to Privacy → Blocklists, or Security → Categories.
  3. Enable the "AI Chatbots" category — this blocks ChatGPT (openai.com), Claude (claude.ai), Gemini (gemini.google.com), Perplexity, and others.
  4. Set your router's DNS to 45.90.28.159 (primary) and 45.90.30.159 (secondary) — see the guide for your specific router. Note: if you're a Canopy Pro member, use your personalised DNS addresses from your Safety dashboard instead.
  5. Test by trying to visit chatgpt.com from a device on your network.
NextDNS maintains and updates the AI Chatbots category as new services launch, so you do not need to manually add new domains.

Method 2 — Block specific domains manually

  1. In NextDNS, go to Denylist.
  2. Add the following domains:
  3. chat.openai.com
  4. openai.com
  5. claude.ai
  6. api.anthropic.com
  7. gemini.google.com
  8. bard.google.com
  9. perplexity.ai
  10. character.ai
  11. poe.com
Manual domain blocking is best used alongside the AI Chatbots category, not instead of it — new subdomains or mirror sites will not be caught by domain-specific rules alone.

Allow AI tools on parents' devices only

  1. In NextDNS, go to Settings → Logs to identify your devices by name or IP.
  2. Use NextDNS's per-device profiles to create a separate, more permissive profile for your own devices.
  3. Assign your devices to the permissive profile and your children's devices to the restrictive one.
  4. Alternatively, assign your children's devices a static IP via your router and use the router's per-IP DNS override feature.

What this does not block

For robust AI chatbot restriction, DNS blocking at home should be combined with mobile carrier parental controls, school device policies, and regular conversations with your children about responsible AI use.
  1. AI features embedded in search engines (Google's AI Overview, Bing Copilot sidebar).
  2. AI writing assistants built into apps like Notion, Microsoft 365, or Google Docs.
  3. Mobile apps that wrap AI chatbot functionality (these use HTTPS, not DNS).
  4. Access via mobile data (4G/5G bypasses your home router entirely).
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