Block Apps
How to Block Apps on Android
After hundreds of hours of research and testing, these are the best methods I've found for blocking apps on Android devices.
If you've ever wanted to block apps on an Android smartphone, chances are you've noticed just how hard this is. Traditional Android app blockers can be unreliable or not comprehensive enough with their approach. If you want to effectively block apps, you need to go a bit further than what you might find in the Play Store.
Finding an app blocker for Android smartphones isn't just a parental control concern anymore: adults want app restrictions for themselves, too. This guide recommends several effective approaches you can use that can be used to reliably block apps, and blocking apps is an important part of a larger blocking system that blocks adult content on Android devices .
Block Apps by Connecting Your Smartphone to a DNS Content Policy
My first recommended layer for blocking apps is to connect your device to a DNS Content Policy with app blocking rules. This will restrict the apps you choose to block from connecting to the internet so that they are essentially blocked. This approach handles blocking both the native app (the app downloaded from the Play Store) as well as the web version of the app (the app accessed via Google Chrome). Furthermore, you can block millions of apps and websites simultaneously using categories and keywords.
Using a DNS Content Policy to block apps won't stop apps from being downloaded onto your smartphone. Instead, it prevents those apps from functioning correctly. While this might seem like a limitation, it means that web versions of most apps will also be blocked.
A DNS Content Policy can let you do more than just block an app outright. You also have the option to:
- Block apps and websites according to a schedule (for example, at night).
- Choose who blocked rules should apply to, instead of applying the same restriction to everybody at your home.
- Customize your policy even further by limiting certain features within various apps, such as enforcing browser SafeSearch, setting YouTube restricted mode, or blocking images and videos within a social media platform.
This is great if you don't want to block an app entirely and just need to restrict it in certain key areas.
Aside from blocking apps, you can use a Content Policy to filter out your internet traffic:
- Block whole website categories, like adult content, security threats, and other VPNs.
- Invite members to your account, like a spouse, family member, or accountability partner. Rules can be applied to specific members, for example, if you both share different work or school schedules.
- Enforce filtering on your device with an always-on VPN.
- Lock you Profile, so changes can't be made without a password.
Native App Blocking on Standard Android Devices
Now that you've used a DNS Content Policy to disable internet-dependent apps (both the downloadable and web versions of those apps) you could combine this approach with native app blocking - preventing certain apps from being downloaded or opened completely.
One common approach is to completely disable the Google Play Store so that new apps can't be added to the device. If this approach is too limiting, and you want to still access the play store, you'll want to consider some alternative approaches.
Otherwise, you could try downloading an "app locker" or "app blocker" from the Play store. These third-party app blockers can work for some people, but lack reliability for a few reasons:
- They use "hacky' techniques to simulate app blocking, like drawing over the screen with a block message so that you can't tap around in the blocked app. It's not true app blocking.
- They can't prevent themselves from being bypassed reliably. If you spend some time reading reviews on these apps, you'll likely find the most common bypass techniques to get around these app blockers. If you need to ensure an app stays blocked, consider using the managed app blocking approach detailed later on.
- Installing third-party apps (apps from the app store) can sometimes be dangerous (see Android malware apps with 2 million installs spotted on Google Play ), especially if you provide those apps with administrative access to your Android device. You should only install trusted apps and work with trusted companies.
Reliable Native App Blocking with Managed Mode
If you want to allow yourself to download apps from the Play Store while selectively preventing a list of apps from being downloaded onto your smartphone, then managed mode is much more effective than a typical app blocker app downloaded from the play Store.
Managed mode provide a more reliable approach to blocking apps on Android smartphones:
- Block apps based on a blocklist that you choose. This will prevent these apps from being downloaded from the Play Store or opened on the device entirely.
- Managed mode can be used to enforce Android apps and prevent certain apps from being deleted.
Getting Started with a Mobile Device Manager
You'll need to use a Mobile Device Manager to customize app restrictions on an Android that is set up as a managed device.
The Android device must be configured with a mobile device manager and be fully managed. This involves resetting the Android device and connecting it to the MDM. Learn how to manage Android devices .
Prevent Unapproved Apps from Being Installed
Most mobile device managers will allow you to toggle on an option to prevents users from installing unapproved apps. You can then manage a list of approved apps for an effective default-deny app blocking approach.
Customizing an App Blocklist
Most mobile device managers will allow you to customize a list of denied apps so you can select which apps can't be downloaded or opened (as long as you have managed Google Play enabled).
Hide Built-In Apps with Kiosk Mode
Managing the Play Store is an effective way to block the vast majority of apps you might want to block. However, you might need something even more restrictive if you want to block the Android Settings app or disable web browsing entirely , since these can't be deleted or blocked normally.
Hide built-in apps and limit your smartphone to just the essentials with the kiosk feature:
Instead of individually blocking apps from the Play Store, Kiosk mode creates an allowlist that specifies which apps are allowed (and blocks all other apps). This doesn't delete any apps from your smartphone, but it makes them virtually inaccessible without disabling kiosk mode (which needs to be done remotely).
Learn how to set up and configure managed mode on Android in our dedicated guide.