LockedIn vs Securly in 2026: CIPA web filtering and MDM on district devices vs OS-level lock for student iPhones and Android phones. Compare BYOD gaps, DNS limits, and board-ready compliance exports.
Securly is one of the largest K-12 web filtering providers in the US, trusted by over 20,000 schools. But if you're searching for Securly phone management capabilities, you'll quickly discover that Securly wasn't built to lock student phones. It excels at filtering web content on school-owned Chromebooks and laptops — but it has no answer for the personal smartphones in students' pockets. Here's how LockedIn compares to Securly for schools going phone-free in 2026.
This comparison is part of our series covering how LockedIn works alongside existing K-12 tools. See also LockedIn vs GoGuardian, LockedIn vs Bark, and LockedIn vs LanSchool.
What Securly Does
Securly provides cloud-based web filtering, student safety monitoring, and device management for school-owned devices. Its product suite includes:
- • Securly Filter — AI-powered web filtering across all school devices, blocking inappropriate content across browsers and enforcing acceptable-use policies district-wide
- • Securly Aware — Student safety monitoring that scans online activity for indicators of self-harm, violence, and bullying on school-managed accounts
- • Securly MDM — Full device management for school-owned Chromebooks, iPads, and laptops, including remote lock, wipe, and app management
- • Securly Home — Extends school web filtering to home networks so CIPA compliance continues after school hours
- • Securly Classroom — Teacher-facing tools for real-time screen viewing and website restriction during class sessions
Securly is effective at controlling what students access on school-owned devices. For CIPA compliance and web filtering, it's industry-leading. But filtering web content on a Chromebook is a completely different challenge from locking a student's personal phone — and that's where Securly's coverage ends.
The Phone Management Gap in Securly
Even schools with robust Securly deployments face a critical blind spot: student-owned phones. Here's what that looks like in practice:
A district IT director has Securly deployed across 3,000 Chromebooks. Web filtering is tight — no student can access inappropriate content on a school laptop. But during third period, half the class is scrolling TikTok on their personal phones under their desks. Securly's dashboard shows 100% filtering compliance on Chromebooks. The phones are invisible.
- • Securly can't lock personal phones — Its MDM manages school-owned devices enrolled through Apple Business Manager or Google Admin. Student-owned iPhones and Androids are outside its scope.
- • Web filtering doesn't equal phone restriction — Filtering what students access online is different from preventing phone use altogether. Students can still text, take photos, play offline games, and use any app on their personal device.
- • Cellular data bypasses network filtering — Securly's network-level filtering only applies to devices on the school Wi-Fi. Students on cellular data or personal hotspots bypass it entirely.
- • No geofencing for personal devices — Securly has no mechanism to detect when students enter or leave campus and trigger phone restrictions.
- • No phone bypass detection — Securly can't detect fake phones, AirPods, Apple Watches, student hotspot sharing, or screen mirroring on personal devices.
This gap is exactly what LockedIn was built to fill. Securly handles the web filtering layer on school-owned devices. LockedIn handles the phone enforcement layer on student-owned devices.
How LockedIn Manages Student Phones
LockedIn is purpose-built for student-owned phones. Instead of filtering content, it locks the entire device at the OS level during school hours:
- • Complete phone locking — Not app-level blocks or web filtering. The phone itself is locked at the operating system level. No apps, no home screen, no notifications, no camera.
- • Campus geofencing — Automatic lock/unlock based on physical campus location. Phones lock when students arrive, unlock when they leave. Zero daily effort.
- • No MDM required — Students download the app. No Apple Business Manager, no Google Admin enrollment, no device profiles. Deploys in a single day.
- • Comprehensive bypass detection — Catches fake devices, AirPods, Apple Watches, Meta glasses, student hotspot sharing, and screen mirroring
- • Privacy-first — Never reads messages, photos, browsing history, or any personal content. Only tracks lock status and campus presence.
- • Automated compliance reports — Daily and weekly enforcement reports for state phone ban mandates
- • Emergency campus-wide unlock — One tap unlocks every student phone instantly. 911 calls are always available.
Securly vs LockedIn: Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature |
Securly |
LockedIn |
| Locks student phones | No | Yes, OS-level |
| Works on personal devices | Limited (network filtering only) | Yes, purpose-built |
| Web filtering | Yes, industry-leading | N/A — phone is locked |
| Student safety monitoring | Yes (Securly Aware) | N/A during lock period |
| Campus geofencing | No | Yes, automatic |
| Phone bypass detection | No | Comprehensive |
| Emergency phone unlock | N/A | Campus-wide instant |
| Phone ban compliance | No | Automated reports |
| MDM required | Yes for full features | No |
| Reads student content | Yes (for safety scanning) | Never |
Different Tools for Different Problems
Securly and LockedIn aren't competitors — they solve different halves of the same problem. Securly manages what students access on school-owned devices. LockedIn manages student-owned phones. Most districts need both.
Think of it this way: a district with Securly on every Chromebook and no phone management solution has only solved half the device problem. Students spend as much or more time on their personal phones as on school laptops. Securly handles one device type; LockedIn handles the other.
State Phone Ban Compliance: Why Web Filtering Isn't Enough
With 37+ states now mandating phone-free school policies, districts are under pressure to demonstrate enforcement. Here's the problem:
State phone ban laws require schools to restrict student phone use during instructional time. Securly can demonstrate that school-owned Chromebooks have web filtering in place — but when the state asks "how are you restricting student phones during school hours?" Securly has no answer. LockedIn provides the enforcement mechanism and automated compliance documentation these laws require.
- • What Securly can report: Web filtering compliance on school-owned devices, safety alerts generated, content categories blocked
- • What LockedIn can report: Phone lock enforcement rates per student, daily/weekly compliance percentages, bypass attempt logs, campus-wide policy adherence documentation
Better Together: The Securly + LockedIn Tech Stack
The best K-12 technology strategy covers both school-owned devices and student-owned phones. Many districts are deploying this dual-layer approach:
- • Securly handles content filtering, safety monitoring, and MDM on school-owned Chromebooks, iPads, and laptops
- • LockedIn handles phone locking, geofencing, bypass detection, and phone ban compliance on student-owned personal phones
There are no conflicts between the two systems — they operate on completely different device types. Securly keeps school laptops safe and filtered. LockedIn keeps personal phones locked during school hours. Together, every device in the building is covered.
Deployment: Securly vs LockedIn
Understanding the deployment differences helps IT directors plan their rollout:
- • Securly deployment — Requires MDM enrollment for full features, Google Admin or Apple Business Manager integration, DNS configuration or agent installation on managed devices. Typical rollout takes 1-3 weeks with dedicated IT staff.
- • LockedIn deployment — Students download an app. School configures campus geofences and schedules through the admin dashboard. No MDM, no device enrollment, no DNS changes. Typical rollout takes one day and doesn't require dedicated IT staff.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Securly lock student phones?
No. Securly provides web filtering, content monitoring, and device management for school-owned devices like Chromebooks and iPads. It does not lock student-owned personal phones. Schools searching for "Securly phone management" or "Securly phone lock" will find that Securly's capabilities don't extend to personal device enforcement. LockedIn is purpose-built for locking student-owned phones at the OS level.
Can Securly filter web content on student phones?
Securly DNS can filter web traffic on devices connected to the school's Wi-Fi network, including personal phones. However, this only works while the student is on school Wi-Fi — switching to cellular data bypasses it entirely. It also only filters web browsing, not app usage, texting, camera access, or other phone features. LockedIn takes a more comprehensive approach by locking the entire phone at the OS level regardless of network connection.
Is Securly enough for state phone ban compliance?
No. State phone ban laws require schools to restrict student phone use, not just filter web content on school-owned laptops. Securly can demonstrate web filtering compliance for CIPA purposes, but it cannot demonstrate that student phones were restricted during school hours. LockedIn provides the automated phone ban compliance documentation that state mandates require.
Can I use Securly and LockedIn at the same time?
Yes, and this is the recommended approach. Securly manages school-owned Chromebooks and laptops (web filtering, content monitoring, MDM). LockedIn manages student-owned personal phones (OS-level locking, geofencing, bypass detection). They operate on different device types with zero conflict. Together, they provide complete device coverage for your campus.
How does LockedIn compare to Securly MDM?
Securly MDM manages school-owned devices enrolled through Apple Business Manager or Google Admin Console. LockedIn manages student-owned personal phones without requiring MDM enrollment. They serve fundamentally different device types. A school uses Securly MDM to manage the Chromebooks it distributes; it uses LockedIn to manage the iPhones and Androids students bring from home.
Administrator summary: Securly vs LockedIn (CIPA laptops vs BYOD phones)
Securly’s strength is the managed endpoint story: Filter, Aware, Classroom, and MDM workflows on district-owned Chromebooks and iPads. CIPA and acceptable-use reporting map naturally to those devices. None of that removes the BYOD smartphone from the instructional environment, which is why searches for Securly phone management land in a dead zone — the category mismatch is real, not a knock on Securly’s product quality.
LockedIn is the complementary layer: OS-level phone lock, geofenced school day schedules, accessory-aware bypass detection, and automated compliance packets for phone-specific mandates. Together, Securly plus LockedIn reads as a complete answer to “what are we doing about devices?” in board packets.
- • DNS vs handset — DNS filtering loses relevance the moment a student toggles cellular; handset lock does not.
- • Procurement — Two line items, two vendors, one coherent story for auditors: managed laptops filtered, personal phones locked.
Securly vs LockedIn: CIPA laptops, MDM fleets, and the BYOD phone gap
Securly is a natural first stop for districts modernizing web safety: strong filtering narratives, classroom tools, and MDM stories that fit how technology departments already think about fleets. Those are the right problems for district-owned hardware. The persistent K-12 gap is the phone students buy with birthday money, replace on their own timeline, and keep on a family plan. That phone is where much of the instructional damage happens: not because the web is unfiltered, but because the entire attention economy lives in apps and notifications, not in a single browser session you can categorize.
Network-based controls can help on school Wi‑Fi, but they do not create a phone-free campus by themselves. A student can disable Wi‑Fi, use cellular, tether to a friend, or simply keep social loops running through SMS and camera-native workflows that do not look like “web browsing.” Securly’s world-class laptop story does not magically extend to those realities. LockedIn’s approach is different: treat the phone as a device that must become inert during instructional hours, regardless of carrier, regardless of whether the student is clever about VPNs, and regardless of whether the district ever gained MDM authority over that handset.
When compliance teams read new state statutes, they often underline verbs like restrict, prohibit, or limit use during school hours. A filter report that says “inappropriate sites blocked on Chromebooks” does not answer the phone question. A lock report that says “devices were locked on campus between 8:05 and 3:10 with 97% compliance” does. That is not marketing language; it is the kind of sentence superintendents want in their back pocket when a reporter calls. LockedIn exists to generate that sentence with underlying event logs.
- •Stacked architecture: Securly for managed endpoints, LockedIn for BYOD phones—different agents, different consent stories, one coherent parent message.
- •Audit clarity: separate laptop safety metrics from phone-ban metrics so committees do not confuse web hygiene with handset restriction.
- •Operational load: avoid asking teachers to become network forensic analysts; prefer automatic campus behavior with a principal dashboard.
Districts also underestimate how much “almost phone-free” costs culturally. If Instagram is blocked but Safari is open, students still experience school as a phone-mediated social environment. If messaging is open, drama still travels at the speed of taps. Partial solutions create partial relief, which shows up in teacher surveys as “better, but not actually calm.” LockedIn’s trade is blunt: the phone is not a general-purpose computer during the lock window. The payoff is behavioral: students re-enter face-to-face norms, class transitions quiet down, and office discipline codes tied to devices often move in the right direction within weeks—not because students became morally better, but because the environment changed.
If you are negotiating contracts, ask vendors to separate pricing and data practices by device class. MDM pricing is tied to enrolled assets; phone-ban enforcement should be tied to enrolled students and campus boundaries. LockedIn’s commercial framing matches how principals count heads, not how asset tags count Chromebooks. That alignment matters when you scale from pilot to district rollout because you are not forced to pretend a laptop SKU list is a student roster.
Communications directors should prepare a “two budgets, two outcomes” slide: annual spend and outcomes for laptop filtering, and annual spend and outcomes for phone-ban enforcement. When those outcomes are merged into one slide, boards mis-allocate money and communities misinterpret success. Separation is not bureaucracy; it is clarity.
Federal programs and grants sometimes tempt teams to narrate everything as “digital safety.” Phone bans are adjacent but not identical: they are instructional integrity and campus climate investments. The language you use determines whether finance codes the purchase correctly and whether auditors understand what was purchased. LockedIn fits the phone-ban column cleanly because its outputs are restriction and compliance evidence, not web category lists.
None of this requires you to rip out tools that work. It requires you to stop conflating categories. Securly can continue to be your filter and safety layer on district-owned machines. LockedIn can become the enforcement layer for the pocket device. Together they answer the whole classroom device question instead of half of it. Continue with phone pouches vs phone apps if you are still weighing physical kits versus software.
More LockedIn vs competitor comparisons
Searching for a phone-free school, school phone management, or K-12 phone ban alternative? Each guide below targets the competitor by name so you can compare LockedIn to the product families administrators evaluate alongside district policy.
Close the phone management gap
Securly filters the web on school Chromebooks. LockedIn locks the phones in students' pockets. Together, they give your district complete coverage across every student device — school-owned and personal.
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