Securly Filter - How do I use Kiosk mode on students’ Chromebooks?

Kiosk mode is a way of locking down a device when the device is intended to be shared by multiple users or in a public setting. Any device with the Kiosk mode enabled would allow users to access only one specific app and not tap out to use any other apps. This is common for state testing software. A filtering solution would not be needed for an app that is locked down to only one use.

It is recommended that you do not use the Kiosk mode on your students’ Chromebook as the Kiosk mode for daily use. Kiosk mode does not run any forced installed Google Workspace extensions, including Securly. It also does not install the Securly certificate, causing SSL errors if you are using Securly DNS filter on your Chromebook network. You will lose out on filtering when the device is in Kiosk mode without the Securly extension for Chromebooks.

If you need to use the Chromebook as a public workstation, you can create a shared account for users to log in. You can also lock it down to only sites that do not need to be filtered. An example would be a school website or library software.

Another option is to use Securly’s Chromebook DNS filtering. For Chrome OS, the Securly Extension for Chromebooks is the preferred method. The default setting is for Securly DNS, not Filter Chromebooks. This is done to avoid double filtering and logging. To use this option, Chrome devices will need to be in the Managed Guest Session mode. Devices in this mode will receive a Securly certificate once you have configured it for your school’s domain in Google Workspace. 

To learn how to set up Managed Guest Sessions in Google Workspace, click here.

To learn more about disabling Guest Mode for Chromebooks, click here.