In various embodiments, methods and systems for implementing parental controls on mobile devices using virtual private network (VPN)-based parental control services are provided. A parental control profile is received at a controlled device where the parental control profile includes instructions to configure the controlled device with a device control policy. A VPN is configured using the parental control profile. The VPN can be a virtual point-to-point connection between the controlled device and a network of the parental control service platform. Requests for resources from the controlled device are communicated using the VPN such that access to a resource of the resource request is based on a parental control server referencing a device control policy in the VPN-based parental control service. The device control policy includes at least a selected predefined parental control policy. It is contemplated that custom restricted resources and additional controls can be configured for the device control policy.