AppBlock on Android

If you use Allowlist for websites and want to browse allowed websites through Google Search, we recommend keeping Google Chrome allowed as well.

If Google Search is allowed but Chrome is blocked, your allowed websites may still be blocked or may not open correctly.

Why does this happen?

On Android, Google Search does not always handle web pages entirely on its own. In some cases, especially when opening search results, it can pass the website to Google Chrome.

This means that even if a website is allowed in your Website Allowlist, AppBlock may see the page as being opened through Chrome.

If Chrome is blocked at the same time, the allowed website can therefore be blocked as well.

What should I do?

When using Website Allowlist together with Google Search, make sure that:

• Google Search / Google app is allowed
• Google Chrome is also allowed
• The websites you want to access are added to your Website Allowlist

Keeping both Google Search and Chrome allowed helps ensure that permitted websites can open correctly, even when Google Search redirects the page to Chrome.

You may notice that time spent using Google Gemini is missing from Insights, or that the usage shown there does not match the amount of time you remember using Gemini.

Unfortunately, AppBlock cannot currently measure Gemini usage reliably in every situation.

Why does this happen?

Android normally provides AppBlock with usage information associated with individual applications.

Gemini is more complicated because it is deeply integrated into Android. It can work as your phone’s primary digital assistant, interact with other Google services, and some assistant actions can be handled with help from Google Assistant or other system components. Google confirms that Gemini on Android can use Google Assistant for some actions.

Although the standalone Gemini application itself has an identifiable Android package, not every Gemini interaction is necessarily reported by Android as activity belonging only to that application.

As a result, AppBlock cannot always determine with enough confidence that a particular piece of Android usage belongs to Gemini.

To avoid showing misleading screen-time data, some Gemini activity may therefore not appear in Insights.

Can I change a setting to fix this?

Unfortunately, there is currently no AppBlock or Android setting that can make Gemini usage reporting completely reliable.

You can still use AppBlock normally for your other apps and websites. This limitation only affects how some Gemini activity is identified and displayed in Insights.

Picture-in-Picture (PiP) allows supported apps, especially video apps, to continue displaying content in a small floating window while you use another app.

Unfortunately, AppBlock cannot reliably block content that is already running in Picture-in-Picture mode.

Why does this happen?

Android treats Picture-in-Picture differently from a normally opened app. The content continues in a system-managed floating window while another app or your Home screen can become the active foreground screen.

Because of this, AppBlock cannot always reliably detect the PiP window as the app that should currently be blocked.

This is an Android system limitation rather than an issue with your blocking schedule.

How can I prevent Picture-in-Picture from bypassing my blocking?

The most reliable solution is to disable Picture-in-Picture for the app you want to block.

On most Android devices:

1. Open your phone’s Settings.
2. Go to Apps.
3. Open Special app access.
4. Select Picture-in-picture.
5. Choose the app you want to restrict.
6. Turn off Allow picture-in-picture.

The exact names of these settings may differ slightly depending on your phone manufacturer and Android version. If you cannot find the option, search your device Settings for Picture-in-picture.

For some apps, you can also disable PiP directly inside the app. For example, YouTube provides its own Picture-in-Picture option under its playback settings.

Once PiP is disabled, the app should no longer be able to continue displaying content in a floating window after you leave it.

If you’ve activated Block device settings in Strict Mode but can still get into parts of your Settings app, this is usually expected behavior on certain devices — not a bug.

Why this happens

Android manufacturers customize their Settings apps differently, and some Settings menus are harder for Accessibility-based tools to fully restrict than others. On some devices, certain Settings screens may remain reachable even with Block device settings active.

The Show Available Settings option

AppBlock has a setting called Show Available Settings (Profile → Customize → Blocking preferences → Show Available Settings).

When enabled, some parts of Settings are intentionally left accessible while Strict Mode is active. This can be useful so you’re not completely locked out of essential settings like Wi-Fi or volume.

If you want Settings to be as locked down as possible, make sure this option is turned off.

What you can do

• Check Profile → Customize → Blocking preferences → Show Available Settings and turn it off if you want maximum restriction.
• Combine Block device settings with Block recent apps for stronger coverage.
• Check Profile → Help → Troubleshooting for any device-specific guidance for your manufacturer.

Good to know

Some manufacturer-level settings, such as those controlling Accessibility services themselves, may always remain accessible. This is by design from Android, since users need a way to manage Accessibility permissions even if an app tries to restrict them.

If AppBlock is accidentally blocking your home screen launcher, your phone may become difficult to use — here’s why this happens and how to fix it.

Why this happens

Your launcher (home screen app) is just another app from Android’s perspective. If you’ve blocked a category (like “Tools” or “Productivity”) that includes your launcher, or selected it directly, AppBlock will block it like any other app — which can make it hard to even get back to your home screen.

How to fix it

If you can, open AppBlock and remove your launcher from the blocklist of the active schedule.

If you’re locked out of your home screen, try:

• Pressing the Home button again — sometimes this brings up a launcher picker.
• Going through Recent apps to find AppBlock and adjust the schedule.
• If Strict Mode is active, fulfill your unlock condition first, then remove the launcher from your blocklist.

How to prevent this

• When setting up category-based blocks, double-check which apps fall under that category before activating.
• If you’ve installed a custom launcher (Nova, Niagara, etc.), make sure it’s specifically excluded from any broad blocks.

Good to know

If you’re stuck and can’t access AppBlock at all, see “Emergency — What should I do if I am blocked?” in the Strict Mode and unblocking section.

If you’ve created a dual or cloned version of a blocked app and it’s still accessible, here’s why.

Why this happens

It’s not technically possible to block Dual Apps. The “second app” created by dual-app or app-cloning features doesn’t actually exist as a separate app on your device — your device and AppBlock only see one app. The dual instance is invisible to AppBlock.

What you can do

• Block the original app — this is the only instance AppBlock can see and control.
• Check if your device’s Dual Apps feature can be disabled in its own settings — some manufacturers let you turn off app cloning entirely.
• Use Allowlist mode for stronger overall control during focus sessions — since dual apps aren’t on your Allowlist, they’ll still be blocked along with everything else.

Good to know

We’re keeping an eye on new technologies that could make this possible. For now, this is a limitation of how Android handles dual or cloned apps, not something we can fix on our end.

If you’ve found that blocked apps can still be opened in pop-up view or floating windows, here’s what’s going on.

Why this happens

We haven’t yet found a technology that reliably blocks apps running in pop-up view or floating windows across all devices. We’re continuously exploring solutions and hope to support this in the future.

What you can do

• Disable pop-up or floating window mode for the specific app. Many apps let you turn this off in their own settings. Search online for the app’s name plus “floating window,” “pop-up,” or “window in window” for guidance.
• Use Strict Mode’s Block recent apps option. This prevents apps from being opened in pop-up view or floating windows from the recent apps menu. This feature is only available for Samsung, Xiaomi, Pixel, Motorola, and Poco devices.
• Lock AppBlock in recent apps. This may improve AppBlock’s ability to block pop-up windows reliably.

Good to know

We appreciate your patience as we work toward a more robust solution. If you have a specific device or app where this is a problem, let us know — it helps us prioritize.

These are the browsers AppBlock supports for website and keyword blocking:

• Chrome
• Chrome Beta
• Firefox
• Firefox Beta
• Microsoft Edge
• Opera
• Opera Beta
• Opera Mini
• Opera Mini Beta
• Opera Touch
• Huawei Browser
• UC Browser
• UC Mini
• UC Turbo
• CM Browser
• Dolphin
• Ecosia
• Puffin
• Maxthon Browser
• Mint Browser
• Via
• Kiwi Browser
• Nox
• DuckDuckGo
• Bromite
• Spin Browser

Incognito statistics support

Some browsers also support incognito statistics tracking:

• Chrome
• Microsoft Edge
• Brave

If your browser isn’t listed

You have two options:

• Block the browser as an app — this prevents you from opening it at all.
• Turn on Block unsupported browsers in Extra options — AppBlock will block any browser that’s not on the supported list.

Either way, you stay protected — even with browsers AppBlock doesn’t control directly.

Android manufacturers like Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, and others add their own battery management and background app restrictions on top of stock Android. These can interfere with AppBlock’s Accessibility service and background blocking — even when everything looks correctly set up.

Why this happens

Many manufacturers aggressively manage background apps to save battery — sometimes more aggressively than stock Android recommends. This can:

• Turn off AppBlock’s Accessibility service without telling you.
• Stop AppBlock from running in the background.
• Prevent blocking from activating on schedule.

What to check

• Battery optimization — make sure it’s turned off for AppBlock (Profile → Help → Troubleshooting → Ignore battery optimizations).
• Autostart — make sure AppBlock is allowed to start automatically after a reboot (Profile → Help → Troubleshooting → Enable Autostart).
• Accessibility service — check that it’s still enabled for AppBlock (Settings → Accessibility → AppBlock).
• App lock / Recent apps lock — some manufacturers let you “pin” or “lock” apps in the recent apps screen so they don’t get killed. Try this for AppBlock.

Manufacturer-specific guidance

AppBlock is designed to work across all devices, but some phones behave differently due to custom software. Go to Profile → Help → Troubleshooting → Other issues for guidance on the most common manufacturers — search for your phone brand there if you’re having issues.

Good to know

This is one of the most common causes of AppBlock “randomly” stopping. If blocking stops working after a restart, an update, or a period of inactivity, this is the first thing to check.

Website blocking on Android works really well, but it does have a few limitations worth knowing about — most of them come from how Android browsers and the Accessibility service interact.

Where website blocking works

• Most major browsers — see “Which browsers are supported by AppBlock?” for the full list.
• Keyword blocking — works in supported browsers, with In domain and Anywhere in URL options.

Where website blocking may fall short

• Unsupported browsers may bypass blocking entirely. If a browser isn’t on our supported list, AppBlock can’t read its URLs.
• Browser updates can occasionally break detection. If a browser changes its internal structure, AppBlock may need an update to keep working with it.
• In-app browsers (inside social media or messaging apps) may not always be blocked.
• A page may flash briefly before the block screen appears. This is normal Accessibility-based behavior.
• Incognito or private browsing in unsupported browsers may bypass blocking. AppBlock supports tracking incognito statistics in some browsers (Chrome, Edge, Brave, and others), but blocking behavior in incognito mode can vary.

What you can do

• Use a supported browser for the most reliable blocking.
• Turn on Block unsupported browsers in Extra options — any browser AppBlock can’t control directly will be blocked entirely.
• For betting, adult, or other distracting categories, combine specific URLs, keywords, and the Porn sites blocking filter for maximum coverage.

AppBlock works hard to give you control over your screen time, but Android devices vary a lot between manufacturers — and some things are simply outside what any app can reliably control. Here’s an honest overview of what’s possible.

What AppBlock can block on Android

• Apps — almost any app, including several system apps on most devices.
• Websites in supported browsers — see “Which browsers are supported by AppBlock?” for the full list.
• Keywords — block any URL containing specific words, with In domain or Anywhere in URL scope.
• Specific in-app content — Instagram Reels and Stories, YouTube Shorts, and Snapchat Stories and Spotlight (from AppBlock 7.5.0).
• Adult content — via the Porn sites blocking feature.
• Newly installed apps — automatically, if you turn this option on.
• Apps based on time, usage, launch count, location, or Wi-Fi — and you can combine these conditions.

What AppBlock cannot fully block on Android

• Pop-up view / floating windows — we haven’t found a reliable way to block apps running in floating or pop-up mode on all devices.
• Dual apps — the “second” version of an app created by dual-app features isn’t visible to AppBlock as a separate app.
• Some manufacturer-specific behaviors — certain devices have custom settings that can interfere with blocking, Accessibility, or background activity.
• Settings on some devices — depending on the manufacturer, parts of Settings may remain accessible even with Strict Mode active.
• Safe Mode — third-party apps, including AppBlock, are disabled while your device is in Safe Mode.

Why these limits exist

AppBlock relies on Android’s Accessibility service, Usage access, and other system permissions to detect and block apps and websites. Android is open, but every manufacturer customizes it differently — which means behavior that works perfectly on one device might need a workaround on another.

Good to know

We continuously test AppBlock across devices and update it as we find new solutions. If something isn’t working as expected, check Profile → Help → Troubleshooting — many device-specific fixes are listed there.