For Aware to begin scanning and flagging emails effectively, it is necessary that all the primary setups required for its working are in place. To avoid encountering any problems using Aware, please refer to the setup best practices provided here.

When registering for Aware, always use the domain that student email addresses belong to. For example, if your school has two domains ‘domain.com’ and ‘domain.org’ and the student email IDs are ‘student@domain.com’ then you should use ‘domain.com’ to register. This ensures that all student emails are scanned by Aware.
Note: All types of domain names such as ‘.com’, ‘org’, ‘.edu’, ‘.net’ etc. can be used when registering for Aware without impacting its efficiency.
Ensure that the domain you use for sign-up has not been used previously. If you use the same domain name you will encounter an error in sign up.
The subdomain you enter should also be a valid subdomain of the primary domain you enter. If not, you will encounter an error in sign up.
Remember to remove any special characters such as ‘@’ when providing the domain name during Aware sign up. Note: If your school district uses multiple domains, you would need to register for Aware using each of the domains separately to scan emails on all domains.
Ensure that the credentials you use belong to the Super Admin account. Any other credentials will lead to an error in sign up.
Configure Aware routing for the OU for which Aware is set up. (The routing setup process is explained in the Aware Setup Guide.) Note: OU settings associated with a Parent OU are inherited by the Child OU.
Always uncheck the ‘Bypass spam filter for this message’ under the OU’s Routing settings to ensure that even spam messages are filtered by Aware. Unchecking this option would not flood student or staff inboxes with spam as the setting only ensures that a copy of the spam message is sent to the Aware server. Student spam settings remain unchanged.

Make sure not to check the ‘Remove attachments from message’ checkbox under ‘Attachments’ if you have also signed up for Aware. (Learn why.) If you are only an Aware customer, check the checkbox for this field.

9. Ensure that you have whitelisted securly.com in your Google Workspace and can receive emails from Securly in your inbox. Without this, your Aware setup will fail. To learn more about this setting, click here.

Note on iPad Deployments with SmartPAC

When using Aware on iPads configured with SmartPAC, please note that SmartPAC does not support Aware’s extension-based features — including Think Twice, the Wellness Widget, and Google Chat scanning — because iPads use the SmartPAC proxy rather than a browser extension.
SmartPAC performs man-in-the-middle (MiTM) inspection of web traffic, which can also cause certain native apps that use certificate pinning (such as Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat) to fail or behave unpredictably. While these apps’ web versions function properly in Safari or Chrome, their native versions may not.
If needed, specific app domains can be added to the Global Allow List, but doing so bypasses SSL inspection and reduces overall filtering coverage.

For full Aware functionality (including all extension-based features), we recommend deploying Aware on devices that support browser extensions, such as Chromebooks, Windows, or macOS devices.

By following these best practices, you can ensure that your Aware is set up correctly and monitors student emails for cyberbullying and self-harm effectively.

Best Practices for Aware setup