I just want to make my comments and observations. Maybe cubicles can chime in.
I have been using different filters with each of my last few phones. First I used k9 but now they don't work on Android for anything 4.0 and above. I tried net nanny but you have to use their browser which isn't so ideal and it crashes sometimes. I now use livigent, installed by TAG.
My take on things is that smartphones are a major danger to any frum yid (not to the exclusion of all others). It is therefore necessary even at a price, to protect yourself from that, if you have a need for a smartphone.
Sad truth is: There are no good filters.
I chose Livigent over many other free and paid-for options because rather than blocking certain apps and allowing certain apps, it supposedly filters the content without blocking any app. And that's what I needed, to use chrome browser and other apps in a safe way.
I feel that I'm being charged for 2 things. 1. The work and research combing through different sites and keywords to block etc.
2. The constant phone customer service.
Unfortunately, it seems to be totally based on a white list rather than filtering content so in the first few days I noticed a few apps just crashing when being launched so after a few days I figured it must be the filter so I called them up and they unblocked the ones I mentioned.
I'll try keep it short now.
Pros: you can technically use all the apps that you were using until now and be protected.
If you have issues with them blocking things that you need they are available from 4am-12am out something like that.
Cons: They block many websites that are a. clean b. Jewish.
Almost half the times I called and they told me that I unblocked the app, I actually found out in the next phone call that it hasn't been unblocked.
They have an in site form to unblock a blocked website but they don't read those requests.
I've had phone reps be very abrupt with me, even telling me to call tomorrow when I started asking them about a second app that their filter had mistakenly blocked.
VPN. Everything goes through a VPN so besides the fact that you have no way of knowing which apps are using his much internet especially when your trying to find out which so just used up 500mb of your limited data, and besides the fact that it shows down your speeds, it also does sometimes. Randomly, it could be daily or once in a week or 2, the internet will just stop working for around 20 minutes or longer. You better hope your not about to set out on a trip relying on Waze or Google the phone number for the store that's about to close and you want to call them to ask them to hold the door for you because you just drove an hour to get to them.
I may have missed a few and I might add them with time but in short, I don't feel that I'm getting the customer service that I'm paying for, both over the phone and in responding to in site forms. And I don't feel that the content is being filtered. If it's a site that wasn't put in the system as clean, it will just get blocked. (As is the case with most results from Google searches when you're trying to figure out how to do something.)
On the good side, I'm happy that I have it and I would recommend it because, vegetarian bacon and cheese isn't great but the alternative just isn't an option!