Verifying Your Filtering with TestFiltering.com (and KCSIE Compliance)

Once you have deployed Securly Filter and assigned your policies, it is good practice to confirm that filtering is genuinely working on your devices—not just that the settings look correct in the dashboard. TestFiltering.com is a free, independent tool that lets you check your web filter is working correctly without having to browse to real harmful or illegal content. This article explains what it is, why we recommend it, and how to use it.

What is TestFiltering.com?

TestFiltering.com hosts a set of harmless test URLs that are deliberately categorized on various filtering lists, along with test pages that are expected to be blocked by a correctly configured filter. Because the pages themselves contain no actual harmful material, staff can safely confirm that filtering is being applied—without exposing anyone to inappropriate content during testing.

Why we recommend it

• It is impartial. TestFiltering.com is a third party, so the result is an independent confirmation that filtering is active rather than a self-report from the same system you configured.
• It tests the whole chain, not just the dashboard. A common gap is having the right policy in Securly Filter but not having the filtering method (extension, SmartPAC, or SmartDNS) applied correctly to every device. TestFiltering.com confirms that your settings are both correct and actually applied to the device in front of you.
• It is safe to run with staff or in front of leadership. No real harmful content is ever loaded.

Using it for KCSIE compliance (UK schools)

In the UK, Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) requires schools to have appropriate filtering and monitoring in place and to be able to demonstrate it. UK schools are commonly advised to use TestFiltering.com directly as part of evidencing that their filtering works: it provides an independent check that the school's filtering settings are correct and that they have been applied to devices properly. Running these tests and keeping a record of the results is a simple way to support your KCSIE evidence.

How to run a test

1. On a device that should be filtered by Securly (for example, a student Chromebook or a managed Windows/Mac device), open a browser.
2. Go to https://testfiltering.com.
3. Follow the on-site links to the various test categories. Each is designed to be blocked by a correctly configured filter.
4. Confirm that the test pages are blocked (you should see a Securly block page rather than the test content).
5. Repeat on a sample of each device type and operating system you deploy, since the deployment method can differ per platform.

Interpreting your results

Some schools notice unexpected results during testing—most often a category showing as allowed when it should be blocked, or decryption reported as "not detected." These usually reflect how the test was run rather than a filtering failure.

A category shows as not blocked

The most common reason is that the person running the test is on a policy that allows the category in question. TestFiltering.com evaluates the results against the current filtered user. For example, if a staff member whose policy permits Other Adult Content runs the test, the results can show Adult Content as allowed—this does not reflect what your students experience. Run your tests as a user assigned the same policy as your students to get the most consistent and representative results.

Decryption is "not detected"

Decryption is essential to how Filter works, and this result depends on the filtering method:

• SmartPAC and SmartDNS: SSL decryption happens in the browser, so TestFiltering.com can detect and report it.
• Securly extension: decryption is handled by the extension rather than the browser, so the site cannot see it and reports it as missing—even though decryption is still in place and working.

You can confirm the extension is decrypting by visiting a page that should be blocked and checking that you see the Securly block page and matching activity in Filter's logs. If decryption were not working, neither would happen.

If a test page is not blocked

If a page that should be blocked loads through, the issue is usually with how filtering is deployed on that device rather than with your policy. Check the following:

• The filtering method is applied to that device/OU. Confirm the Securly extension is force-installed, or that SmartPAC/SmartDNS is deployed, for the organizational unit the device belongs to.
• The Securly SSL certificate is installed where required (SmartPAC and SmartDNS deployments), so HTTPS sites can be filtered without errors.
• The correct policy is assigned to that OU or Securly Sync Unit in the Policy Editor, and the device is signed in as the expected user.

For deployment specifics, see the Deploying Securly Filter guides (browser extension, SmartPAC, and SmartDNS) in this Knowledge Base.

Getting help

If test pages are still not blocked after checking your deployment, contact your account team or the Securly support team with the device type, operating system, and filtering method you are using so we can help pinpoint where the chain is breaking.