walled garden

walled garden

Refers to a network or service that either restricts or makes it difficult for users to obtain applications or content from external sources. Cable TV and satellite TV are walled gardens, offering a finite number of channels and programs to their subscribers. When AOL was king of the ISPs, it did an excellent job of keeping users on AOL-affiliated sites more than other sites.

Cellular carriers have traditionally been walled gardens with regard to both hardware and software. Only certain phones are offered, and even with access to the entire Web, there is typically only one browser available. Other applications are also selected by the carrier.

In 2007, Apple's iPhone was a walled garden with a basic set of applications. Soon after, Apple opened the iPhone, encouraging third-party developers to write applications as long as they are approved by Apple. Thus, the wall was broken, but not entirely (see jailbreak). Google's Android platform is the first cellular system that is neither tied to approved applications nor to one brand of hardware. See iPhone and Android.

Company and Home Walled Gardens
Any organization can filter URLs and create a walled garden for its employees, preventing them from casually surfing the Web. Likewise, a computer can be set up to keep children from Web sites deemed inappropriate by their parents.