The phone in their pocket
Alpaca started at home. When our founder's daughter got her first laptop, the goal was simple: stop worrying about what she might stumble into online. Then came the next question: what about her phone? And the family iPad that everyone grabs from the kitchen bench?
A phone goes everywhere a child goes. It's in the bedroom after lights out, on the bus with friends, and in the playground where nobody is looking over their shoulder. An adult website, a scam that looks like a prize, or one more hour of scrolling is only ever a tap away.
Alpaca is now on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. It helps you decide what reaches your child's phone and tablet.
What Alpaca does
Kids don't only use a web browser. They play games, watch videos and chat with friends in all sorts of apps. Alpaca works quietly across all of them at once, so there's nothing to set up app by app.
With a few taps, Alpaca helps keep out:
- Adult websites
- Gambling and drugs
- Scams and dangerous websites
- Annoying ads, and the hidden trackers that follow what your family does online
- Social media, when it's time for a break
Set up in a couple of minutes
Alpaca shows you six simple tiles: Threats, Adult, Ads, Social, Gambling and Drugs. Tap the ones you want blocked. That's it.
Not sure where to start? Pick a ready-made setting like Family, and Alpaca does the rest.
Download Alpaca and create your account
Get Alpaca from the App Store and sign up with your email address.
Choose what to block
Tap the tiles you want, or choose the Family setting.
Allow Alpaca when asked
Your iPhone or iPad asks for permission once. Tap Allow.
That's it
Alpaca starts helping straight away, across the apps on the device.
About that small "VPN" label: you might notice it at the top of the screen. That's normal. It's simply how Apple shows that Alpaca is switched on. Your child's browsing doesn't go through us.
Built so kids can't just switch it off
- A PIN only you know. Without it, nobody can change the settings or turn Alpaca off.
- Locks itself as soon as the app is closed, so a phone you hand back to your child isn't left unlocked.
- Switches itself back on if the phone restarts.
- A home-screen widget that takes you straight to the on/off switch.
Private by design
Alpaca checks websites right on your child's iPhone or iPad. We don't see the websites your family visits, we don't keep a list of them, and we never sell your data. There are no ads, and nothing in the app tracks you.
You can see what Alpaca has stopped, and that list stays on the device.
An app meant to help keep your children safe shouldn't be quietly watching them. Alpaca doesn't.
Try it free for 7 days
Alpaca is free for the first 7 days, then it's a yearly subscription. On the Family plan, up to six people in your Family Sharing group can use one subscription. A full week is enough to see how it fits your family's routine: school days, homework and the weekend.
Already using Alpaca on your Mac? Now your iPhone and iPad can join in.
Questions? We're happy to help on our support page. You can read how we handle your data in our privacy policy.
Learn more
- Alpaca for iPhone & iPad — Getting Started — a step-by-step setup guide
- Download Alpaca — every device your family uses, in one place
- Pricing — plans for iPhone, iPad, Android and Mac