Open Standard · For Parental Controls
PCPS is an open standard to let parents define parental controls once and apply them everywhere - via a shared policy format and platform APIs.
What PCPS Is
One format, many vendors. So parents can choose where to create and store parental controls.
The Problem
Every platform has parental controls. None of them talk to each other.
When bedtime is 8pm, you set it in Apple Screen Time. Then Google Family Link. Then Microsoft Family Safety. Then the router app. Then the Nintendo app.
When you block TikTok on the iPad, it's still available on the Android tablet. When you grant extra time on one device, the others don't know. When you miss one platform, the cost is the safety of your child.
PCPS fixes this - not by creating yet another app that tries to control everything, but by defining an interoperable standard that every platform can implement.
How It Works
Using any PCPS-compatible app: Technology Vendor, ISP dashboard, router app, school MDM, or an independent app.
The same JSON document goes to each platform's PCPS API endpoint.
Each platform maps PCPS to native controls. No central service involved.
The Standard
A JSON document format covering everything parents control today.
Two endpoints. That's the entire contract.
Platforms prove compliance. Parents trust the badge.
Boundaries
These are product concerns, not standards concerns. PCPS defines the what, not the how.
Our Principles
Foundation
PCPS is maintained by an independent foundation with no commercial interest in the products parental controls are applied to.
Members fund spec development, gain governance rights, and receive certification. The foundation publishes the specification, test suites, and a reference implementation.
Board seats go to platforms, child safety organisations, and independent experts. No single company controls the standard.
Adoption
Child safety legislation increasingly requires interoperability. PCPS provides a ready-made standard for regulators to reference.
Schools, ISPs, and government buyers can mandate PCPS support in contracts. "Must implement PCPS API" becomes a line item in RFPs.
Where one platform leads, others follow. Parents will begin to ask of other platforms: "Why doesn't this work with my other devices?"
PCPS is open source and seeking founding members. Whether you're a platform, regulator, child safety organisation, or developer - get involved.