Protect Young Eyes

What Protect Young Eyes does

Protect Young Eyes is a digital safety education platform founded in 2015 by Chris McKenna that produces content, courses, and training to help families, K-12 schools, and faith-based organizations navigate children's technology use and online risks. The company operates a content-led model with no proprietary software; the core asset is an editorial library covering 50+ apps and 20+ devices, supplemented by blogs, podcasts, a newsletter, and a Delay Manifesto. Distribution is driven primarily by organic SEO, repeat media appearances, and the founder's personal brand, which has been featured in Forbes, C-SPAN, BBC, and at the World Economic Forum, and validated by US Senate Judiciary Committee testimony on child online safety.

The business generates revenue across multiple channels: a recurring membership called The Table priced at $12/month, a one-time Tech-Ready Home Course, a published book with HarperCollins Christian Publishing under the Zondervan imprint, professional speaking engagements, affiliate referral fees on curated third-party tools, and a school-focused suite that includes the Be Tech Ready Curriculum, the Phone-Free Schools program, and a School Certification line. The operation is described as solo-founder-led with no disclosed external funding, no acquisitions, and no headcount beyond the founder, making it a content-business rather than a venture-scale technology company.

The website is published in multiple languages (English, Spanish, French, Arabic) and the company has international partnerships including a Safe Surfer relationship for New Zealand, indicating lightweight geographic expansion rather than a localized go-to-market. Customer segments are long-tail parents (DTC), schools and educators (institutional), and faith-based organizations, with an Ambassador Program that seeds grassroots distribution.

Name

Protect Young Eyes

Legal name

Protect Young Eyes

Website

https://protectyoungeyes.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Protect Young Eyes is a digital safety education platform founded in 2015 by Chris McKenna that provides families, K-12 schools, and faith-based organizations with content, courses, and curriculum to help caregivers navigate children's technology and online risks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Safety Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Parental Controls, Content Filtering & Family Digital Safety for Smart Homes (HSAHAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Content Moderation, Safe Messaging & Classroom Communication Safety (EDAFALAE), Infant & Toddler Health, Safety & Safeguarding Programs (EDACAGAL)

Keywords

• Digital safety education
• Parental control guidance
• Family technology coaching
• Online child protection
• Digital citizenship curriculum

Headquarters

HQ city

Caledonia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. The Table Membership: Private membership community offering digital coaching, Q&A support, and ongoing parental guidance. Free 7-day trial; then $12/month subscription.
2. Tech-Ready Home Course: A self-paced 30-day digital course for families. Sold as a one-time or subscription access product via the website course page.
3. Speaking Engagements: Live speaking services for students, parents, schools, and church groups. Booked via the speaking request page on the website.
4. Book Sales (5 Habits of the Tech-Ready Family): Debut book published by HarperCollins Christian Publishing, sold through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christian Books, Walmart, and bulk retailers.
5. Affiliate / Recommended Tools: Affiliate commissions earned from recommending third-party parental control tools (Bark, Gryphon, Covenant Eyes, Gabb, Pinwheel, etc.) through the Recommended Tools section.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Protect Young Eyes is a digital safety education company that helps families, schools, and churches navigate children's technology use. It produces app reviews, device guides, and proprietary parenting frameworks, and sells a membership community (The Table), a 30-day online course (Tech-Ready Home Course), K-12 digital citizenship curriculum, school certification and consulting services, live speaking engagements, and a published book on tech-ready parenting.

Product overview

Protect Young Eyes is an educational content and community platform offering comprehensive digital safety resources for families, schools, and churches. The core offerings include App Reviews (detailed safety guides for popular apps), Device Guides (parental control tutorials for various devices), The Table (private membership community with digital coaching), the Tech-Ready Home Course (30-day program), Be Tech Ready Curriculum (K-12 educational materials), and School Certification programs. The company also provides Speaking Services for live presentations, publishes the book '5 Habits of the Tech-Ready Family', and operates the Delay Manifesto initiative. Additional resources include the Ambassador Program for parent advocates, Recommended Tools curated product list, and the Download newsletter. Founded by Chris McKenna in 2015, the platform helps communities create safer digital spaces through a philosophy of layered protection and intentional technology use.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 5 Habits of the Tech-Ready Family: Chris McKenna's debut book published by Zondervan, providing guidance on raising wise kids in a digital world.
• The Table
• The Download

Products and services

• The Table Private digital coaching membership community hosted on Circle.so that gives parents personalized support, answers to router and DNS questions, and ongoing guidance from the PYE team. Free 7-day trial then $12/month subscription.
• Tech-Ready Home Course Self-paced 30-day course delivered via Teachable that helps families tame technology, reclaim family time, and establish healthy digital habits. Sold as a one-time/paid digital course to parents.
• Be Tech Ready Curriculum Christian Digital Discipleship Curriculum for K-12 schools covering internet safety, digital citizenship, and technology preparedness, sold through Teachable to schools and educators.
• Speaking Services Live presentations delivered to students, parents, schools, and churches covering internet safety, digital citizenship, and tech-ready family principles. Booked via a request form on the website.
• Phone-Free Schools Program Consulting program that helps schools implement phone-free policies and become tech-ready institutions, sold to K-12 schools and administrators.
• School Certification Certification program for schools demonstrating commitment to digital safety and tech-ready practices, sold to K-12 schools and administrators.
• 5 Habits of the Tech-Ready Family Print book by founder Chris McKenna providing a framework for raising wise kids in a digital world, including scripts and scenarios for digital safety conversations, sold via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christian Books, Walmart, and bulk retailers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25% of ~716 students at an average rural public school reported being contacted by an online predator
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gryphon (Gryphon Connect)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerProtect Young Eyes recommends Gryphon routers as their preferred parental control router solution for families. The company promotes Gryphon with a discount code (pyefriends15) and has tested and endorsed the product extensively in their router guides. Chris McKenna personally uses Gryphon with his four children.
• CleanBrowsingcoreTechnology or IntegrationCleanBrowsing is recommended as the preferred DNS filtering service. PYE promotes CleanBrowsing's Family Filter DNS IP addresses (185.228.168.168 and 185.228.169.168) across multiple device guides as the primary free porn-blocking solution for families. The company prefers CleanBrowsing over OpenDNS due to ease of use and personal familiarity with the founders.
• BarkcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerBark is PYE's most prominently featured monitoring and safety tool — an AI-driven parental monitoring service that scans for concerning words/phrases across devices, social media, and iMessage. PYE provides affiliate links (bark.us/protects/pye) and considers Bark a flagship recommendation. Bark Phone is also featured as a fully monitored first phone option.
• Covenant EyesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAccountability-focused online safety software recommended for adults. PYE includes Covenant Eyes in the recommended tools section with affiliate links and describes it as 'Best for adults.'
• Gabb WirelessminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGabb Phone 4 and Gabb Watch recommended as locked-down, no-internet first phone and GPS tracking watch options for young children. PYE provides affiliate links (gabbwireless.com/promo/PYE). USA-only product.
• PinwheelminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPinwheel Phone recommended as an alternative kid-safe phone option, similar to Bark. Available in USA, UK, and Canada. PYE provides referral link (pinwheel.com/?via=chris).
• Amazon Kids+minorGTM or Marketing PartnerAmazon's subscription service for kid-safe content on Fire tablets, priced at $5.99/month. PYE recommends it as a paid parental control option within the Kindle Fire parental controls guide.
• MobicipminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMobicip's Chromebook filtering extension recommended as a cross-device filtering solution for families at $39.99/year. Works alongside Family Link and CleanBrowsing as an additional layer of protection.
• A9 Web ProtectionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFree Chrome extension for Chromebook filtering, created by a founder who is personally known to PYE. PYE recommends A9 as a free alternative to Mobicip, specifically noting its founder's mission-driven approach.
• The Creative CominorOthersThe Creative Co (thecreative.company) is credited in the website footer as the web development and design agency that built and maintains protectyoungeyes.com. Listed as 'Made with Love by The Creative Co.'
• HarperCollins Christian PublishingminorOthersPublisher of Chris McKenna's debut book 5 Habits of the Tech-Ready Family. The book is sold through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christian Books, Walmart, and Bulk Books retailers.
• Circle.so (The Table)coreTechnology or IntegrationThe Table membership community is hosted on Circle.so platform (login.circle.so). Circle.so provides the community infrastructure for PYE's subscription membership product.
• TeachablecoreTechnology or IntegrationThe Be Tech Ready digital safety curriculum and related courses are hosted on Teachable at protectyoungeyes.teachable.com. Teachable provides the course delivery and sales infrastructure.
• Fight the New DrugminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFight the New Drug is a nonprofit organization focused on porn addiction awareness. PYE appears alongside Fight the New Drug in media coverage and podcast collaborations. Listed in PYE's 'As Seen In' section.
• Safe SurferminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRecommended as a first-device solution for New Zealand families through Samsung/Safe Surfer partnership. PYE provides a referral link (safesurfer.io/protectyoungeyes/).

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pinwheel: Pinwheel offers a curated, parent-managed kid-safe smartphone similar to Gabb and Bark Phone, positioned as an alternative first phone. PYE features Pinwheel as a recommended tool and shares the same target buyer (parents of tweens/teens).
• Covenant Eyes: Covenant Eyes is an accountability-based internet filtering and screen-monitoring service with a faith-aligned positioning. PYE features it as its recommended adult accountability tool and shares overlap with faith-community audiences.
• Bark Technologies: Bark is an AI-driven child monitoring service that scans texts, social media, and emails for safety concerns. PYE lists Bark as its flagship recommended tool and earns affiliate revenue from it, while Bark is itself a competing content-and-monitoring brand in the same parent-safety category.
• Gryphon Online Safety: Gryphon produces parental-control routers and mesh WiFi systems that filter content at the network level. PYE promotes Gryphon as its preferred router solution and founder Chris McKenna is a public product user, making Gryphon both a partner and adjacent competitor in network-level family safety.
• Gabb Wireless: Gabb makes kid-safe phones and watches that PYE recommends as locked-down first-device options for younger children. Both brands target parents seeking safe-tech-first device ecosystems, and PYE earns affiliate commissions on Gabb sales.

Broad incumbents

• Qustodio: Qustodio is a cross-platform parental control app with screen time, filtering, and location features sold globally via subscription. It overlaps with the device/app guidance PYE provides but competes via a software product rather than content.
• Aura: Aura is a digital safety and identity protection platform that includes parental controls, screen-time management, and content filtering as part of a broader consumer security suite. It competes with PYE's content-and-tools recommendation stack but with proprietary software rather than educational content.
• Common Sense Media: Common Sense Media is the largest independent, nonprofit source of media reviews and digital citizenship curriculum for families and schools. It competes with PYE in app/device reviews and K-12 digital citizenship curriculum but operates at significantly broader scale with separate nonprofit funding.

Others

• ConnectSafely: ConnectSafely is a nonprofit digital safety and literacy organization producing research, guides, and curriculum for parents and educators. It is adjacent to PYE's content-and-education mission but operates at a policy/research layer rather than direct family services.
• Fight the New Drug: Fight the New Drug is a nonprofit focused on porn addiction awareness that appears alongside PYE in media coverage and podcast collaborations. It is more of a co-marketing/advocacy peer than a direct competitor but operates in the same family digital-safety conversation.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ProtectYoungEyes
• Facebookfacebook.com/protectyoungeyes
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/protect-young-eyes
• Instagraminstagram.com/protectyoungeyes
• Xx.com/protecteyes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Protect Young Eyes