Install Shield

v0.6.7 — Native Android build

One app. Whole family.

Shield is a single app for parents and children. Install once — on first launch, tell Shield who you are and it takes care of the rest. Parents get a full dashboard with colorful per-child screens; children get the protected device mode. Manage everything from your phone or from shield.makewish.ai.

What's new in v0.6.7: Pairing fixed on older phones. Fixed a crash when setting up a child device on Android 11 (e.g. Samsung Galaxy A30) — a background setup job was missing info Android 11 requires, so it closed the app during pairing. It now works like the other background jobs. From v0.6.6: Built-in crash reporting.If the app ever closes unexpectedly, it now captures the technical details and sends them securely on the next launch — no personal data, just the error and device model. From v0.6.5: Smaller, faster download.The app is now about 13 MB (down from ~25 MB) — emulator-only CPU builds were removed. From v0.6.4: Reliable pairing.Fixed a crash when attaching a child device whose QR scanner couldn't start (e.g. no Google Play Services or no usable camera) — pairing now falls back cleanly to the typed 6-digit code. From v0.6.3: Smoother pairing.Fixed an Android 14/15 crash right after attaching a device — location reporting now waits for the location permission before it starts. From v0.6.2: Your data rights, in the app. A new Data & privacy rights screen puts the DPDP Act's self-service controls one tap away: export a machine-readable archive of everything Shield holds, or request account deletion (with a 30-day grace window), plus a direct line to the Grievance Officer. There's also a proper in-app About screen. No new permissions were added. From v0.6.1: A bold new look.A full visual refresh of the app — Material 3 Expressive design, gradient & glass surfaces, animated stat rings, interactive charts, smooth motion, and a new bottom navigation throughout. From v0.5.22: Privacy hardening.Shield never reads your child's calls, SMS or contacts — we removed the unused communication-monitoring screen so the app does only what it promises. Every protection is unchanged: DNS filtering (including blocking social media at the network level), screen-time + per-app limits, app usage & install reporting, location & safe zones, SOS. From v0.5.21: Parent reports fill with real data.The child device now reports per-app usage (so screen-time and top-apps populate), reports app installs and uninstalls (so the app list populates), and uploads location every 15 minutes so the map history fills in. The Rewards screen shows real points and badges. No new permissions were added — still no SMS, Call Log, Contacts, Microphone or Media access. From v0.5.20: Ask Shield AI answers for real, reports show the full per-domain list with a fully branded PDF export, and data screens refresh every 5 seconds. Builds on v0.5.19's DoH bootstrap fix — child devices keep internet + filtering. If you're still on an older build, reinstall and re-pair the child device after updating. Carried forward from v0.5.17: Transparent permissions.A first-screen explainer card now lists exactly what Shield asks for and (more importantly) what it does NOT — no SMS, no Call Log, no Contacts, no Microphone, no Media files. This makes the difference between a user finishing setup and abandoning at the first scary system prompt. Carry-forward fixes. v0.5.8 closed the last device-side gap: AccessibilityService reads bedtime + per-app-limit policy from device-scoped /device/policy + /device/app-limitsendpoints (v0.5.7 hit the parent-scoped paths and 403'd, so bedtime + app-limits silently failed on the child). All v0.5.5–v0.5.8 enforcement carries forward: per-child DoH, 9-level filter, bedtime app-launch block, VPN circumvention auto-detect, plan-tier baseline gate, AI content-alert scanner, FCM remote commands, OEM autostart deep-links, persistent offline outbox.

Upgrading from v0.5.0–v0.5.8? v0.5.17 is a non-breaking UX-only upgrade. If you're on v0.5.5 or v0.5.6, re-pair (uninstall + reinstall) — those builds returned the wrong DoH hostname, so the VPN never actually filtered. From v0.5.0–v0.5.4, uninstall first — older installs cache the legacy upstream and won't pick it up via in-place upgrade. v0.5.7 and v0.5.8 upgrade in place cleanly.

Install blocked by Play Protect? Android 13+ flags sideloaded apps that request Accessibility + Device Admin + VPN + Usage Stats. Tap Details → Install anyway, or open Play Store → Play Protect → gear → turn off “Scan apps with Play Protect” for the install and re-enable right after.

WHAT'S INSIDE

Everything your family needs, in one app

Real-time Location

Live map, 30-day history, battery level, and safe zone arrive/leave alerts.

Screen Time

Daily limits per app, one-tap pause, bedtime lock — managed from the parent hub.

Ask Shield AI

Chat with Shield AI about your child's digital habits — answers in plain language.

Safe Zones

Draw zones around home, school, tuition — instant alert on arrival or departure.

DNS Filtering

Block adult content, gambling and social media at the network level on the device.

App Controls

Allow or block any installed app. Approve your child's screen-time extension requests.

Activity Timeline

Colour-coded day view — apps used, DNS blocks hit, location updates, mood check-ins.

SOS Panic Button

Child taps SOS → you get an instant push alert with their exact GPS location.

APP PREVIEW

See Shield in action

Live in v0.5.17

Animated Onboarding

Life360-style 3-step wizard: indigo welcome with pulsing logo, add child with live phone preview, QR device pairing.

Stable v0.5.17

Colorful Child Hub

2-column grid hub with per-screen accent colors — Location teal, Screen Time indigo, App Controls orange, AI Chat purple.

In v0.5.17

Pricing Plans

FREE / STANDARD / PREMIUM plan cards in settings. Upgrade in-app — amber 'Most Popular' badge on Standard.

Available now

For parents and children — one app

Shield for Android

Install once. On first launch, Shield asks who you are: a parent, a child, or an admin. Parents get the colorful dashboard with per-child accent screens, activity timeline and AI chat. Children get the protected-device mode with system-level enforcement — DNS filtering, screen-time limits, app controls, location safety, SOS. One signed APK, one Play Store listing, one app icon on the phone.

New — Native Android buildRecommended for Android 15

Shield Android 0.6.7

Rebuilt from scratch in native Kotlin + Jetpack Compose, targeting Android 15 (SDK 35). 44× smaller than the React Native build, with 16 KB-page-aligned native libraries so newer Pixel, Samsung, and OEM devices can actually load it. Install this one first if you're on Android 15.

Download native APK· 12.8 MB

v0.6.7 (build 35)Android 15 targetMin SDK 26

SHA-256 & notes

b0bbfe1a21ba3ef057ed059f2f6cb6fe00fc74635dbd112e557653dd072a31d6

v0.6.7 — Fixes the child-app crash on pairing for older phones (Android 11, e.g. Samsung A30). The one-time app-inventory background job was missing the foreground-service info that Android 11 requires for expedited jobs, so it threw on setup; it now provides it, matching the other background jobs. (Pinpointed by the new v0.6.6 crash reporter.) Carries forward v0.6.6 crash reporting, v0.6.5 ~13 MB download, and the earlier pairing/About/DPDP work. No new permissions.

Scan to open in Play Store

Get it on Google Play Download APK directly· 12.8 MB

Version: 0.6.7 (build 35)
Min Android: 8.0 (SDK 26)
Published: 2026-06-05
SHA-256: b0bbfe1a21ba3ef057ed059f2f6cb6fe00fc74635dbd112e557653dd072a31d6

How Shield picks parent vs child mode

Install Shield from the Play Store (or sideload the APK) on whichever phone needs it — the parent's or the child's.
Open the app. You'll see a one-time role selector: "I'm a parent", "I manage an ISP", "Shield staff", or "Scan parent's QR (child device)".
Parents log in with their Shield account → dashboard home.
On the child's phone, pick Scan parent's QR, then scan the code from the parent's account → the phone becomes a protected device.
Grant Accessibility, Usage Access, and Device Admin permissions when asked (child mode only — parents don't see these prompts).

Prefer the older child-only agent?

Before the unified app shipped we distributed a child-only APK. It still works for existing pairings — use it if you're continuing a pilot install. Fresh installs should use the unified app above.

Coming Q3 2026

For parents and children — one app

Shield for iOS

Same app, same role selector — parents, children, admins. Child mode on iOS ships as a Screen Time MDM profile plus a companion app (Apple's Family Controls entitlement is required and under review). Parents can start using the web dashboard or Android app today; children on iPhone join when the TestFlight opens.

Open web dashboard Join the iOS waitlist

If install gets blocked — what to do

Shield isn't on the Play Store yet, so Android shows extra warnings the first time you install. None of these warnings mean Shield is unsafe — they mean Android can't auto-verify a sideloaded parental-control app. Walk through them in order and the install completes in under a minute.

“Unknown apps blocked”. Tap Settings in the dialog → toggle Allow from this source for your browser (Chrome / Files), then come back and tap Install.
“Play Protect doesn't recognise this app”. Tap More details → Install anyway. (You can also turn off Play Protect scan at Play Store → profile → Play Protect → gear →Scan apps with Play Protect, then re-enable after install.)
“Sensitive permissions” / “Restricted Settings” on Android 13+. After install, open Settings → Apps → Shield → ⋮ (top-right) → Allow restricted settings. This unlocks the Accessibility & Device Admin toggles for Shield (only). The app will deep-link you straight to this screen if it's needed — just tap the yellow “Unlock restricted settings” card.
Xiaomi / Oppo / Vivo / Samsung extra prompt. Some Indian-market OEMs (MIUI, ColorOS, FuntouchOS, OneUI) add an extra “Autostart” or “Battery optimisation” gate that kills background apps. Shield opens the right OEM screen for you with one tap on the “Allow autostart” card.

Why Shield needs each permission

Parental-control apps need a small set of system-level powers that everyday apps don't. Each one below is justified, scoped to monitoring & protection only, and never used to read your child's personal messages or media. Full disclosure in our privacy policy.

Location (precise + background)

Plot the live map and trigger Safe Zone arrive/leave alerts. Updates every 15 min in background, never streamed in real-time.

Data collected: GPS coordinates + battery % — nothing else.

Notifications

Send the child a heads-up when bedtime starts or an app limit is hit. Send the parent SOS + tamper alerts.

Data collected: Local notifications only.

Camera

Scan the parent’s pairing QR on first launch. Used once, never recorded.

Data collected: QR frame — discarded after decode.

Usage Access (special)

Count minutes per app so the dashboard can show 'Instagram: 2h 14m'. Read-only system stats.

Data collected: App package name + foreground time. No content.

VPN service

Run the family-safe DNS filter locally. Traffic NEVER leaves your device — the VPN only redirects DNS lookups to Shield’s per-child resolver.

Data collected: Domain names looked up. Page contents are not visible (HTTPS).

Accessibility service

Detect when a blocked app comes to the foreground so Shield can close it. The only signal read is the app package name — not screen text.

Data collected: Foreground app package name.

Device Admin

Stops a child uninstalling Shield without the parent PIN. Shield can’t wipe the phone, can’t reset the password, can’t lock the screen — only block its own removal.

Data collected: None.

Overlay (display over apps)

Show the friendly “Time’s up — ask a parent” full-screen card on top of the blocked app.

Data collected: None.

Query installed apps

Read the list of installed apps so the parent can pick which to allow / block. Required for any parental-control app on Android 11+.

Data collected: App package names + labels. No app contents.

We never request SMS, Call Log, Contacts, Media files, or Microphone. Read /privacy and /legal/dpdp for the full data-handling disclosure under India’s DPDP Act.

How we keep downloads safe

Signed releases. Every APK is signed with our Shield release key. Verify the SHA-256 above matches what you downloaded.
No tracking SDKs.The child agent ships with zero third-party analytics or ad SDKs — only Shield's own telemetry, DPDP-compliant.
Tamper alerts. If a child tries to uninstall or disable Shield, you get a notification immediately.
No SMS, no Call Log, no Contacts. Shield's manifest never lists those permissions. Verify yourself with aapt dump permissions shield-native-v0.5.17.apk.