Using Alpaca

Last updated: 2026-10-31

Once Alpaca is set up, it works quietly in the background. This page explains everything you can adjust when you want to — from pausing protection to setting a PIN so children can't change the settings.

Turning protection on and off

The switch at the top of the app turns protection on and off. The status next to it tells you where things stand:

Family Protected (Secured - Filtering On) — Alpaca is helping filter content on this device.
Protection Paused — filtering is paused for now. Tap Resume Protection to turn it back on.
Protection Off — filtering is off. Tap Turn On to start again.

While protection is on, iOS shows a small VPN badge in the status bar. That's Alpaca's local filtering configuration — see why your iPhone shows VPN.

Protection comes back on by itself after a restart, after airplane mode, or if the app closes unexpectedly. If you turn it off in the app, it stays off until you turn it on again.

Use the switch in the Alpaca app to turn protection on and off, rather than the Alpaca DNS entry in iOS Settings.

If protection stops unexpectedly, Alpaca can show a Protection stopped notification so you know to check the app.

Basic and Expert mode

You chose an interface during setup. You can change it anytime in Settings.

Basic mode shows a few clear tiles for the categories most families care about:

Threats & Malware
Adult Content
Ads & Tracking
Social Media
Gambling
Drugs

Some tiles have levels, so you can choose how strict each one should be. The cog on the Social Media tile opens Expert mode, focused on individual social networks.

Expert mode shows every category, grouped, together with the presets. Use it when you want finer control — for example, to filter one particular social network, AI app or game.

Presets

A preset sets many categories at once. It's the quickest way to choose how strict Alpaca should be.

There are six presets:

Minimal
Standard — the default, marked Recommended. A good starting point for most families.
Family
Lockdown
Privacy
Gaming

You first choose a preset during setup. Expert mode also lists the presets, alongside every category.

Some presets can have side effects. Lockdown may block VPN apps and apps used for work. Privacy may stop some Apple and Microsoft services from working properly. If something stops working after you change preset, try a lighter one.

After you pick a preset, you can still switch individual categories on or off.

In Expert mode you can choose individual services — for example TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat, AI chat apps such as ChatGPT, or games such as Roblox and Minecraft. Alpaca helps filter the known addresses these services use, and its lists are updated regularly.

For the full list of social networks, AI apps and games Alpaca can help filter, see What Alpaca can filter.

Exceptions

Some filters can affect features you'd like to keep — for example, comments on Facebook and Instagram. Go to Settings › Exceptions (Compatibility exceptions) to turn on switches that keep specific features working, such as:

Facebook and Instagram comments
Signing in with Facebook
WhatsApp
LinkedIn embeds and sign-in

On iPhone and iPad, Exceptions is a fixed list of switches. You can't add your own websites to allow or block. If a website you need isn't loading, see Troubleshooting.

Parental Controls

Parental Controls help keep children from changing Alpaca's settings or turning protection off.

Set a 4-digit PIN that's needed to change settings.
Alpaca locks itself again automatically after a while.
You can add an optional security question to help if you forget the PIN.
After several wrong PIN attempts, Alpaca locks for a while before you can try again.

Face ID and Touch ID can't be used to unlock Parental Controls. This is intentional — only the PIN unlocks the settings.

If you forget the PIN

Wait until the lockout ends, then try again.
Answer your security question, if you set one.
As a last resort, delete Alpaca and install it again from the App Store, then sign in.

Statistics

Alpaca shows how it's helping on this device:

Blocked today, Queries today and All-time blocked
Views for the last 24 hours, 7 days, 30 days or 12 months
History and Most blocked

Statistics are stored only on the device. Domain names are kept for 30 days.

Add the Alpaca widget to your Home Screen to see at a glance whether protection is on. It comes in small and medium sizes. Tap the widget to open the app.

DNS resolver

Alpaca filters on the device, then passes allowed lookups to a DNS resolver. In Settings you can choose which one:

System resolver — the default
Cloudflare
Google
Quad9 — which also helps filter malware itself
Custom — enter a DNS-over-HTTPS address or an IP address. Alpaca saves it only after a successful test.

Filtering works the same whichever resolver you choose. If you're not sure, keep the default.

Other settings

Settings also has a Test Ad Blocker page, a Network status view and Help & FAQ.

Your account

Alpaca needs you to be signed in. If you sign out, filtering stops on that device. Passkeys work across Alpaca apps, so you can sign in with the same passkey wherever it is available to you.