How to prepare an iPhone (or iPad) for VCF

VCF for iOS provides more thorough protection than other iPhone solutions:

Other filters (like MobiCip, or the K9 app) merely filter the internet when browsing through their app. It does not affect any other  part of the iPhone. The other apps that have browsing capability will still be open (e.g. Safari, the Google app, Chrome and a long list of others). The way to eliminate this loophole is lock your iOS device, and make sure none of the installed apps have browsing capability.

VCF filters from the core of your device – no matter what app you are in, the filter will be protecting you. It forces all web traffic on the device to go through the filter.

However, VCF for iPhone also has a limitation that you won't be able use iTunes on your computer anymore. Instead,  you'll only be able to use iTunes and the App store on the device itself.

The overall process includes the following:

1. iCloud backup – This takes most of device data and settings and stores it in the cloud (time varies based on amount of data and Wi-Fi connection speed)
2. Supervise device – This blocks the user from being able to plug device into any other computer (approx. 15 minutes)
3. iCloud restore – Restore what we put in cloud (time varies based on amount of data and Wi-Fi connection speed)
4. Setup proxy – Configure VCf to work on device (approx. 15 minutes)

Installing VCF for iPhone cannot be done on your own, you need to give your device to a VCF technician (see a list here), and pick up the device when it's ready a few hours later. The technicians fee is $60, and on top of the that you'll need to pay a $7.99 monthly fee which VCF charges to pay the licensing fees associated with this service.

Steps 2-4 need to be done by the technician, but step 1 you can do yourself. Here's how:

1. Make an iCloud Backup of your entire device. See the following articles for more information:

• How to setup iCloud
• iCloud: iCloud storage and backup overview 

Note: iCloud does not back up the following:

• Music, movies, and TV shows not purchased from the iTunes Store. Use Amazon cloud player for these (see below).

• Podcasts and audiobooks

• Photos that were originally synced from your computer

2. If iCloud is not enough we recommend Amazon cloud player (ACP). 

1. Click here to create an ACP account online 

2. Follow prompts to install ACP on your computer 

3. Select and upload your music from iTunes (or other sources) to ACP 

4. Install ACP on your device(s) 

5. Log into ACP on your device, and all uploaded music will be visible and playable within ACP app 

COST: 1st 250 songs are free 250,000 songs for $24.99/yr

3. If you have too many photos for iCloud, try the Dropbox app.

Dropbox costs $9.99/month or $99/yr for 100 GB.