How to block apps on Android

Pick the method by who owns the phone

Android gives very different control depending on ownership. A family phone, a company phone and an employee's own phone each have their own tool.

Block apps on a kid's Android phone with Family Link

Family Link is Google's parental control for children's Google Accounts. Install it on your own phone, then sign your child into their phone with the supervised account. Labels below match current versions; older ones use similar names.

1. 1

   Link the account

   In Family Link, add your child's Google Account and follow the prompts on their phone to turn on supervision.

2. 2

   Approve downloads

   Under Controls, Content restrictions, Google Play, set purchases and downloads to require approval for all content.

3. 3

   Set a Play rating

   In the same Google Play section, choose the highest app rating your child can browse and install.

4. 4

   Block one app

   Open Controls, App limits, pick the app and choose Block. It stays on the phone but cannot open.

5. 5

   Keep essentials open

   Mark apps such as Phone or a school app as Always allowed, so they work during downtime and limits.

6. 6

   Set daily limits

   Give other apps a daily time limit instead of a block, and set Downtime for school nights.

7. 7

   Filter Chrome

   Under Content restrictions, Google Chrome, choose to block explicit sites or allow approved sites only.

8. 8

   Check new apps

   Family Link notifies you of new installs. Review the app list weekly for anything that slipped in.

Why Play ratings alone do not finish the job

Google Play ratings describe content, much like Apple's age ratings, and they miss similar risks. A VPN app, a chat app with strangers or a game with loot boxes can carry a low rating.

The same problem shows up on iPhone: in our census of the top 1,000,000 iOS apps, 72% of apps declaring alcohol, tobacco or drug references are rated 12+. Category lists such as the VPN and proxy apps list and the dangerous apps list catch what ratings miss.

Android Enterprise: how work and school devices block apps

Android Enterprise is Google's framework for managed devices. Every serious MDM uses it. The enrollment mode decides how much of the device IT controls.

Managed Google Play with an allow list

Most organizations block apps on Android by approving a short list and keeping the full store closed. These four steps apply in any Android Enterprise MDM.

1. 1

   Bind to Google

   Connect your MDM to managed Google Play with a Google account or a managed Google domain.

2. 2

   Approve apps

   Search managed Google Play inside the MDM and approve only the apps your policy allows.

3. 3

   Close the store

   Keep the setting that allows access to all Play apps turned off, so only approved apps appear.

4. 4

   Remove leftovers

   Assign apps already installed but now banned as Uninstall, by package name.

Prefer to keep Google Play itself off the device? See how to block the Google Play Store. Weighing the two approaches? Read app allowlist vs blocklist.

Block apps by package name in your MDM

Menu names change between releases. Follow the order and check labels on screen.

Samsung devices: extra stores and extra settings

Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets follow the same Android Enterprise rules, with a few differences worth planning for.

Package names for apps commonly blocked on Android

MDMs identify Android apps by package name. These were checked in our app database at the time of writing.

App guides with every related listing: block TikTok, block Instagram, block the YouTube app and block VPN apps. The social media apps list shows the full category.

How to find an Android package name

A typo in a package name fails quietly: the policy applies and the app keeps working. Copy names from a reliable source.

iOS and Android twins: build two lists

It is tempting to reuse an iPhone blocklist on Android. It does not work. iOS bundle IDs and Android package names are different identifiers, chosen separately by each developer.

What blocking the app does not cover

Android is more open than iOS, so there are more routes around an app block. Close each one with its own control.

NIST's SP 800-124r2 on managing mobile devices recommends app vetting and controls on unofficial installs for enterprise fleets. For school-specific workarounds, read how students get around restrictions.

Test the block on one device first

Run this list before you widen the scope. Keep one device out of scope so you can compare.

• Confirm the test device shows the right enrollment mode in the MDM.
• Sync, then check the banned app is removed or cannot open.
• Search for the app in Google Play and confirm it cannot install.
• Try a lite or regional version of the same app.
• Open Galaxy Store or any other store on the device, if present.
• Try to install an APK file downloaded in Chrome.
• Open the app's website in Chrome and every other browser.
• Install a VPN app, or confirm the VPN category is blocked.

Keep Android lists current every month

Ten package names are easy. Hundreds of games, VPN apps and clones, changing monthly, are not. AppBlockList covers 58 filtering categories in six feed formats: iOS bundle ID lists, Android package lists, .mobileconfig profiles, Intune files, Jamf files and CSV, refreshed monthly.