Koodos uses a local VPN on iPhone and iPad to apply website rules and keep screen-time reporting working when the Koodos app is in the background.
What “local VPN” means
The filtering happens on the device. Koodos does not send your child's browsing through a remote Koodos browsing server, and the VPN is not used to read their messages or photos.
Seeing the VPN symbol in iOS is normal while protection is active.
Keep it enabled
If the Koodos VPN is turned off or removed, website filtering and reliable background usage reporting may stop. The Parent App can show a Protection is off warning when it detects this.
Other VPN apps
iPhone and iPad generally cannot keep two personal VPNs active at the same time. A work, school, privacy, or security VPN may replace Koodos. See Using Koodos with another VPN, Private DNS, or Secure DNS for help.