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Securus iPad Browser

Securus iPad Browser

The Securus Browser app can be deployed via MDM using the provided unique .PLIST file to connect the app to your Securus environment.

The browser application will monitor keystrokes and website content against our proprietary library and sends captures directly to the Securus console for viewing.

By default, the browser will use the device name provided by the MDM and use this as the username on captures if the QR Code Login feature is not enabled.

Captures generated within the Securus Browser will show with the following capture source icons:

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Click to expand

In shared device environments, the username on the capture will be taken from the device's name or hostname within the MDM.

Device Requirements

  • iOS 14 or higher recommended.

Application Age Rating

The Securus Browser carries a 16+ age rating in the Apple App Store. This is an Apple classification requirement, not a reflection of the app's suitability for school use.

Why Apple applies a 16+ rating

Apple's App Store age ratings are based on an app's technical capabilities, not the age of its users or the context in which it operates.

The Securus Browser provides web access functionality, and Apple classifies all apps that enable internet browsing under higher age bands by default. Chrome and Firefox carry the same 16+ rating for the same reason. The classification does not account for school level filtering, monitoring policies, or supervised use.

This rating does not mean the browser is unsuitable for primary-aged pupils, that pupils are given unrestricted access, or that the app contains adult content.

It is a store classification based on technical capability, not an educational suitability judgement.

Because of this, you will need to ensure that apps with an age rating of 16+ can be used within your tenant.

Required Information

Prior to setup, we will require the following information:

  • Your Apple Organisation ID for each school.

  • Full Organisation name to match the school ID.

  • School postcode.

  • Which MDM do you use.

  • What iOS version are the iPads running.

  • How are your iPads filtered.

  • How many iPads do you want to monitor.

Application Configuration

Based on the above information, we will provide a pre-configured .PLIST file containing all the necessary settings.

Your MDM system only needs to populate two variables, which will be completed automatically upon deployment.

The variables will depend on the MDM in use, we have included the major MDM provider variables further on in this document to help choose which variables to use.

These values are:

<key>username</key> - This key will set the username on the captures by using the device name. <key>stationName</key> - This key will set the station name on the captures.

For reference, an example Jamf PLIST structure is shown below:

<plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>school</key> <string>[Your Organisation Name]</string> <key>apiKey</key> <string>[Server API Key]</string> <key>server</key> <string>[Your Server URL]</string> <key>username</key> <string>%Name%</string> <key>stationName</key> <string>%udid%</string> <key>mdmGroup</key> <string>FlutterDevices</string> <key>clearOnExit</key> <string>False</string> <key>loginEnabled</key> <string>False</string> <key>sessionDurationMinutes</key> <string>58</string> </dict> </plist>

Note that since this is a Jamf PLIST file, %Name% and %udid% are used.

This will take the device name from Jamf and use that for the username on the captures and the UDID/UUID number and use that as the device name within Securus.

All other configuration settings, including server details and authentication keys, will be pre-configured in the .PLIST file.

MDM Variables

Intune Variables

{{DeviceName}} - The device name {{UUID}} - The unique identifier of the device

Lightspeed Variables

%device_name% - The device’s name %serial_number% - The device’s serial number

Jamf School Variables

%Name% - The device name %udid% - The device's unique identifier %SerialNumber - The device’s serial number

Jamf Pro

$DEVICENAME - The device name $UDID or $SERIALNUMBER - The UUID or Serial number of the device

Mosyle Variables

%DeviceName% - Current device name %UUID% - Device UDID %SerialNumber% - Device Serial Number

Meraki Variables

$DEVICENAME - Device Name $UDID - Device UDID

https://documentation.meraki.com/SM/Profiles_and_Settings/Variables_in_Custom_Apple_Profiles_with_Systems_Manager

Deployment

We will set up your organisation to have access to our Apple custom application, which is called “Securus Safeguard Browser”.

This is a custom application and is not accessible through the App Store. If not already enabled, you will need to enable the use of custom apps.

Enable Custom Apps

Custom Apps are apps developed by you or a third-party developer to meet your organisation’s specific education needs. See Learn about Custom Apps.

  • In Apple School Manager , sign in as a user that has the role of Administrator or Site Manager.

  • Select your name at the bottom of the sidebar, select Preferences , then select Organisation Settings .

  • Select Enable below Custom Apps.

  • Give your Organisation ID (located in Organisation Information ) to the app developer so they can add your organisation to their approved list.

  • You can now buy any additional Custom Apps from the Custom Apps section. Custom apps are deployed using managed licences and have the same management options as App Store apps.

  • https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/apple-school-manager/axmb43b66449/web

Acquire Licences

Once your organisation has been enabled to use the app and custom apps are enabled, you can acquire licences at no cost through your Apple Business/Education account.

  • In Apple School Manager , sign in with a user that has privileges to buy content.

  • Select Apps and Books in the sidebar, then select or search for an app or book in the search field. See How to search.

  • Select the app in the search results list that you want to buy.

  • Select the location where the app licenses will be initially assigned.

  • Enter the number of licenses, and if necessary, change the payment method, then select Buy.

    • Availability of app licenses depends on the amount bought. If you bought:

      • 5000 licenses or fewer, they are immediately processed

      • 5001 to 19,999 licenses, they are processed daily after 1:00 p.m., Pacific time

      • 20,000 licenses or more, they are processed daily after 4:00 p.m., Pacific time

Deploy the custom application via your preferred MDM solution connected to Apple Business/Education.

Once deployed, the application will connect to your designated Securus environment and the device will be visible in the station list within the Securus console on first launch.

Specific MDM Deployment Guides

JAMF School guide for deploying PLISTS

Ensure that “Allow Teachers to distribute this app” is not ticked.

https://support.jamf.com/en/articles/11010677-creating-managed-configurations-for-apps-in-jamf-school

Intune Information

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/intune/intune-service/apps/app-configuration-policies-use-ios

Meraki

https://documentation.meraki.com/SM/Apps_and_Software/Installing_Custom_Apps_on_iOS_and_Android_Devices

https://documentation.meraki.com/Platform_Management/SM_-_Endpoint_Management/Design_and_Configure/Profiles_and_Settings/Using_the_Managed_App_Settings_Payload

Mosyle Deployment Guide

Securus Browser Mosyle Deployment

Lightspeed Deployment Guide

Securus Browser Lightspeed Deployment

Test The Deployment & Troubleshooting

It is highly recommended to test that the deployment was successful and capturing is working as expected.

Device Info

The Device Info option in the browser will show the current configuration being provided by the PLIST file.

To get to this option click on the 3 dots in the top right corner and select Device Info.

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Example Configuration

Verify that the details are correct, if anything looks wrong, please contact the Securus support team.

If the Managed App Configuration server is showing as “https://demo.securus-software.com”, the PLIST has not been deployed correctly and will need to be looked at again.

Create A Test Capture

With the Device Info tab checked, a test capture can be created. We recommend going to Wikipedia and searching for Our Secret or AK47.

The capture will be viewable in the Securus console with the Browser or Browser Keyboard source icon as shown at the beginning of the article. If the capture does not appear in the Securus console, please contact the support team.

Other Troubleshooting

The app is currently rated with a 16+ age group, so we would recommend allowing apps up to 16+ if the browser is not opening correctly or greyed out.

Advanced Browser Configuration & Optional Settings

QR Code Login

This feature is only available in v1.2.2+, please ensure your app is updated to the latest version to enable this feature.

Users can login to the browser by scanning a QR code to provide a username to captures instead of the using the default method of taking the station name from the MDM.

This method does not require a password and is suitable for primary students that do not have login credentials.

A login session timer can be set to automatically log a user out after the duration expires and a logout button is also provided for manually logging out of the browser session.

To enable this feature, modify the MDM configuration to add the following lines.

<key>loginEnabled</key> <string>True</string>

To set a session time limit, add the following lines.

<key>sessionDurationMinutes</key> <string>58</string>

Set the limit to a value in minutes, this can be as long or short as preferred.

Create the QR codes using any QR code generator. We use a simple text field to provide the username. In this example we have used QRCode Monkey but any QR Code generator can be used to make the codes.

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Any format for the username can be used, the examples below show a “First name Last name”, “firstname.lastname”, and email address formats.

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Once the QR codes have been generated and distributed, students can log in by pressing Scan QR Code.

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The user can now browse the internet as normal, any captures generated will show the new username that was scanned.

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Each user will show in the Securus console as a separate account when they first login.

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Each subsequent capture sent to the server will update the Last Active field.

Logout

The user will be automatically logged out when the session timer expires or they can press the 3 dots in the top right and tap the Logout button.

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Clear Browser Cache on Exit

To enable this feature, change the “clearOnExit” key from False to True.

Default value:

<key>clearOnExit</key> <string>False</string>

Enabled:

<key>clearOnExit</key> <string>True</string>

When enabled the option will be locked and cannot be turned off by the user.

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Change Home Page

To change the default home page in the browser, click on the Tab indicator in the top right of the screen next to the 3 dots.

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From the tab selection screen, click on the 3 dots and then select Settings.

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Click on New Tab Page and then type in the address you want to set.

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Set Homepage globally

The browser homepage can be locked and defined globally on all devices by adding the following lines to the application configuration in your MDM.

<key>homePage</key> <string>https://www.WEBADDRESS.com/</string>

Once set the option will be locked on the device and all devices will be set to the desired homepage.

Change Search Engine

To change the search engine in the browser, click on the Tab indicator in the top right of the screen next to the 3 dots.

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From the tab selection screen, click on the 3 dots and then select Settings.

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Click on Search Engine and then select the preferred search engine.

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If an engine you would prefer is not in the list, please email support@securus-software.com and ask for inclusion.

Set the Search Engine globally

The search engine can be locked and defined globally on all devices by adding the following lines to the application configuration in your MDM.

<key>searchEngine</key> <string>DuckDuckGo</string>

Options are:

  • Google

  • Yahoo

  • Bing

  • DuckDuckGo

  • Ecosia

If a preferred search engine is missing, you can request it to be added by email the support team on support@securus-software.com.

Dark Mode

To enable Dark Mode in the browser, click on the Tab indicator in the top right of the screen next to the 3 dots.

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From the tab selection screen, click on the 3 dots and then select Settings.

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Click on Dark Mode to toggle the option.

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Import/Export Bookmarks.

Bookmarks/Favourites can be imported into the browser by clicking on the 3 dots in the top right corner.

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Then click on Favourites. Then click on 3 dots and select Import.

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Choose where to import from and follow the on screen steps.

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Other Useful Information

Bundle ID

The Bundle ID can be used to create Web Clips for the browser.

com.securus.safeguard

Help & Support

If you encounter any issues during deployment, please contact our support team on support@securus-software.com.

 

Document number/reference: SEC-KB-INST-004

Classification Level: Public

Related Articles

Deployment Guides

JAMF School guide for deploying PLISTS

Ensure that “Allow Teachers to distribute this app” is not ticked.

https://support.jamf.com/en/articles/11010677-creating-managed-configurations-for-apps-in-jamf-school

Meraki

https://documentation.meraki.com/Platform_Management/SM_-_Endpoint_Management/Design_and_Configure/Profiles_and_Settings/Using_the_Managed_App_Settings_Payload

Mosyle Deployment Guide

Securus Browser Mosyle Deployment

Lightspeed Deployment Guide

Securus Browser Lightspeed Deployment