AppBlock on iOS

If your scheduled blocks aren’t working as expected, you can refresh the blocking settings within the AppBlock app. Here’s how:

On appBlock version 3.7.0 and older:

• Open AppBlock: Launch the AppBlock application on your device.
• Navigate to the Blocking Tab: Tap on the “Blocking” tab within the app interface.
• Pull to Refresh: Simply swipe down on the screen to initiate the refresh process.

Once completed, a notification stating “Blocking refreshed” will appear at the bottom of your screen.

On AppBlock version > 3.8.0:

• Open AppBlock: Launch the AppBlock application on your device.
• Navigate to the Blocking Tab: Tap on the “Blocking” tab within the app interface.
• Tap at the refresh icon: Simply tap at the icon in the top right corner to refresh the blockings.

This refresh feature ensures that your blocking settings are up to date and functioning correctly, resolving any issues with app access according to your schedules.

First, let’s determine what is blocking your access.

• If a Schedule/Quick Block is blocking You: The easiest solution is to simply change the blocking parameters within the schedule.
• If you are in Strict Mode: The deactivation condition must be fulfilled before you can unblock your apps or websites. We currently offer 5 deactivation conditions: Charger, PIN code, Approval, Cooldown, and None (Timer + Follow Schedules).
• Emergency situation: If you’re in an emergency and have the Follow Schedules/Timer condition applied with no way to deactivate Strict Mode, please contact support and select the reason “Emergency unblocking” or “I need to unlock my device” on older versions of AppBlock. We will send you a one-time code that will deactivate Strict Mode and delete the PIN code to access AppBlock, if you have set one up.

If you encounter any other issues, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re here to help!

We understand how frustrating it is when the system screen crashes, preventing you from blocking apps. Unfortunately, these crashes are tied to the system’s Screen Time functionality and aren’t caused by our app.

To avoid this issue, we recommend using the search bar instead of the “Other” category to block apps and websites. If the screen crashes in the search bar as well, try typing an emoji before entering the app name to help prevent it. Once the app name is entered, you can delete the emoji and proceed.

We understand how frustrating it is when the search bar in AppBlock doesn’t work. This issue is often linked to the system’s Screen Time functionality, which our app relies on, and it affects other blocking apps as well.

As a workaround, try typing an emoji before entering the app name in the search bar to avoid the crash. Once the app name is entered, you can delete the emoji and proceed.

If apps that you did not block are being blocked, refreshing your blocking settings in the AppBlock app may resolve the issue.
Here’s how:

For AppBlock version 3.7.0 and older:

1. Open AppBlock: Launch the AppBlock app on your device.
2. Navigate to the Blocking Tab: Tap on the “Blocking” tab.
3. Pull to Refresh: Swipe down on the screen to refresh. A “Blocking refreshed” notification will appear at the bottom once completed.

For AppBlock version 3.8.0 and newer:

1. Open AppBlock: Launch the AppBlock app on your device.
2. Navigate to the Blocking Tab: Tap on the “Blocking” tab.
3. Tap the Refresh Icon: Tap the refresh icon in the top right corner to update your blockings.

Refreshing the settings helps ensure that only the apps you’ve selected are being blocked, correcting any unintended blockages.

If refreshing the settings doesn’t resolve the issue, please feel free to contact our support team for further assistance.

If your apps should be blocked but you can still access them, please refresh the blocking settings within the AppBlock app to resolve the issue.
Here’s how:

For AppBlock version 3.7.0 and older:

1. Open AppBlock: Launch the AppBlock app on your device.
2. Navigate to the Blocking Tab: Tap on the “Blocking” tab.
3. Pull to Refresh: Swipe down on the screen to refresh. A “Blocking refreshed” notification will appear at the bottom once completed.

For AppBlock version 3.8.0 and newer:

1. Open AppBlock: Launch the AppBlock app on your device.
2. Navigate to the Blocking Tab: Tap on the “Blocking” tab.
3. Tap the Refresh Icon: Tap the refresh icon in the top right corner to update your blockings.

This refresh process should help enforce the blocking settings, ensuring that apps are properly blocked according to your schedules. If the refresh does not resolve the issue, please contact our support and send us a short video (max 20MB) showing your blocking settings, so we can assist you further.

Blocking device settings directly is technically impossible because Apple does not allow any third-party app to block access to device settings. However, you can still block access to settings using the Shortcuts feature on your device.

For detailed instructions on how to do this, please refer to the following guides:

• How to Block Settings on iOS 16 and older with AppBlock
• How to Block Settings on iOS 17 with AppBlock
• How to Block Settings on iOS 18 with AppBlock

These guides will walk you through the steps to block settings effectively using Shortcuts on your device.

On iOS 16 and 17 you can also block only Screen Time permissions with Shortcuts:

• How to Block Screen Time on iOS 16 and older with AppBlock
• How to Block Screen Time on iOS 17 with AppBlock

If you’re unable to see the list of apps to block, try the following steps:

1. Restart the AppBlock Application: Close the AppBlock app completely and then reopen it.
2. Close and Reopen Settings: If you’re in the QuickBlock or Schedule settings, close those screens and try entering them again.
3. Restart Your Device: If the issue persists, try restarting your device to see if that resolves the problem.

Please note that iOS manages this component directly, so we can’t guarantee it will always work perfectly. If the issue continues to occur, please contact our support team for further assistance.

iOS manages this component directly, so we can’t guarantee that it will always work perfectly. If you notice that a deleted app remains on the blocking list, you can try refreshing your blocking settings within the AppBlock app. Here’s how:

For AppBlock version 3.7.0 and older:

1. Open AppBlock: Launch the AppBlock application on your device.
2. Navigate to the Blocking Tab: Tap on the “Blocking” tab within the app interface.
3. Pull to Refresh: Swipe down on the screen to initiate the refresh process.
4. Notification: Once completed, a notification stating “Blocking refreshed” will appear at the bottom of your screen.

For AppBlock version 3.8.0 and newer:

1. Open AppBlock: Launch the AppBlock application on your device.
2. Navigate to the Blocking Tab: Tap on the “Blocking” tab within the app interface.
3. Tap the Refresh Icon: Tap the icon in the top right corner to refresh the blockings.

If refreshing the blockings doesn’t resolve the issue, please contact our support team for further assistance.

This is due to system behavior. Certain system apps, such as Phone, Find My, Settings, and similar, will always be allowed, regardless of the Allowlist settings.

Additionally, there is an “Always Allowed” list in your device’s Settings > Screen Time that can interfere with AppBlock’s Allowlist. If you find that some apps (typically Messages) are not being blocked when they should be, please check the “Always Allowed” list and adjust it as needed.

This issue can occur if you are using AppBlock on multiple devices. When some apps are installed on one device but not on another, AppBlock might display these apps without icons or with strange names in the picker on the second device, even if the app isn’t downloaded on that device.

This behavior is a result of syncing across devices, and while it might look unusual, it doesn’t affect the functionality of the blocking settings.

Before activating the AppBlock Safari extension for keyword blocking, it’s essential to deactivate all currently active website blocks. If you are a Premium user, you can use the “Pause” feature to temporarily disable active website blocking.

Once you’ve successfully unblocked the websites, you can proceed to enable the Safari extension in your device settings and set up keyword blocking. This ensures that your selected keywords are accurately detected and that the associated apps or content are appropriately restricted.

In some cases, when you block Facebook through the app picker (instead of manually adding it as a website via Safari URL), AppBlock may also block the Messenger app due to a recognized connection between the two.

This typically happens when “facebook.com” or “m.facebook.com” is blocked in the app picker, causing Messenger to be blocked as well. To avoid this issue, we recommend unselecting all Facebook-related websites in the app picker and instead blocking them through the websites picker.

This method should prevent Messenger from being blocked while still allowing you to block Facebook.

Incognito mode on Safari is disabled when blocking websites to prevent bypassing the block. Since websites visited in incognito mode cannot be tracked, it would be impossible to block them. Disabling incognito mode ensures that the website blocking functions as intended.

If location schedules are not working, please try the following steps:

1. Check Location Permissions: Ensure that location permissions are granted for AppBlock.
2. Toggle Location Services: Try turning location services off and on again in your device settings.
3. Recreate the Location Schedule: Delete the existing location schedule and create a new one.
4. Extend the Radius: Increase the radius for the location schedule to improve accuracy.
5. Refresh the Blocking: Refresh the blocking settings as mentioned in the article to ensure everything is up to date.

If none of these steps resolve the issue, please send us a short video (max 20MB) of your blocking settings to our support team, so we can take a closer look and assist you further.

If AppBlock cannot be uninstalled, it is likely due to an active Strict Mode. To uninstall AppBlock, Strict Mode must be deactivated first. If deactivation isn’t possible on your own, please contact us and select “Emergency unblocking” or in case of older versions of AppBlock “I need to unlock my device” for contacting us.

If your apps are still blocked even after uninstalling AppBlock, it can sometimes happen because the system doesn’t immediately recognize that AppBlock is no longer managing the blocks.

iOS handles this component directly, so we can’t guarantee it will always work perfectly. If an app remains blocked, you can try refreshing your blocking settings within the AppBlock app. Here’s how:

For AppBlock version 3.7.0 and older:

1. Open AppBlock: Launch the AppBlock application on your device.
2. Navigate to the Blocking Tab: Tap on the “Blocking” tab within the app interface.
3. Pull to Refresh: Swipe down on the screen to initiate the refresh process.
4. Notification: Once completed, a notification stating “Blocking refreshed” will appear at the bottom of your screen.

For AppBlock version 3.8.0 and newer:

1. Open AppBlock: Launch the AppBlock application on your device.
2. Navigate to the Blocking Tab: Tap on the “Blocking” tab within the app interface.
3. Tap the Refresh Icon: Tap the icon in the top right corner to refresh the blockings.

If refreshing the blockings doesn’t resolve the issue, please contact our support team for further assistance.

Before activating the AppBlock Safari extension for keyword blocking, it’s essential to deactivate all currently active website blocks. If you are a Premium user, you can use the “Pause” feature to temporarily disable active website blocking. Once you’ve successfully unblocked the websites, you can proceed to enable the Safari extension in your device settings and set up keyword blocking. This ensures that your selected keywords are accurately detected and that the associated apps or content are appropriately restricted.

If you’ve already done this, please make sure you are using the Safari browser to open the sites that should be blocked by keyword blocking. If the issue persists, please contact our support team and send us a short video (max 20MB) displaying your blocking settings so we can take a closer look.

If websites are not being blocked and you’re using usage limits, please ensure that you are using the Safari browser to open the sites. Usage limit website blocking only works on Safari.

If you are using Safari and the issue persists, please try refreshing your blocking settings within the AppBlock app.

Here’s how:

For AppBlock version 3.7.0 and older:

1. Open AppBlock: Launch the AppBlock app on your device.
2. Navigate to the Blocking Tab: Tap on the “Blocking” tab within the app interface.
3. Pull to Refresh: Swipe down on the screen to initiate the refresh process.
4. Notification: Once completed, a notification stating “Blocking refreshed” will appear at the bottom of your screen.

For AppBlock version 3.8.0 and newer:

1. Open AppBlock: Launch the AppBlock app on your device.
2. Navigate to the Blocking Tab: Tap on the “Blocking” tab within the app interface.
3. Tap the Refresh Icon: Tap the icon in the top right corner to refresh the blockings.

If refreshing the blockings doesn’t resolve the issue, please contact our support team and send us a short video (max 20MB) displaying your blocking settings so we can take a closer look.

If the apps on your Allowlist are still being blocked, please check if you have more than 50 apps allowed across all your schedules. Unfortunately, the system may struggle to reliably block or allow more than 50 apps at once, which can cause inconsistencies.

Please try adjusting your blocking settings, or consider removing the current Allowlist and setting it up again, with one or two changes to the apps included.

With the release of iOS 18, there have been changes that affect how Screen Time can be blocked using shortcuts. Previously, you could block Screen Time through shortcuts to help manage your device usage. However, in iOS 18, this method no longer works because Screen Time is disabled before the system redirects you to the Shortcuts app, making it impossible to block.

Alternative Solution: Block the Entire Settings App

While blocking Screen Time directly through shortcuts is no longer possible, you can still block the entire Settings app using shortcuts. This way, you can prevent access to important settings like Screen Time and reduce the likelihood of bypassing AppBlock restrictions.

Starting with iOS 16.4, you can use the built-in search in blocklist to find your system apps (for instance Safari) even when they are not visible on the list. This will allow you to choose these apps for blocking.
Please note that your keywords blockings will have no effect with the entire Safari blocked.

It is also not possible to add system apps to allowlist.

Starting with iOS 16.4, you can now use the built-in search feature in the blocklist to find Safari or other system apps. This makes it easier to select and block apps that aren’t immediately visible in the list (without searching first). Please keep in mind that blocking Safari entirely will override any keyword blockings you have set up.

Additionally, Safari blocking won’t be effective if you are using the Allowlist feature.

Absolutely! On all devices running iOS 16 and above, when you use QuickBlock or set up a Schedule to block a specific app, it not only blocks the app itself but also blocks any notifications from that app. This ensures that you’re fully protected from distractions, as you won’t receive any alerts or notifications from the blocked app while it’s being restricted. 

The websites you see in the blocklist are system suggestions based on your browsing activity in Safari. They appear in the list because iOS manages the entire blocklist, and we do not have control over what is displayed. This is normal behavior managed by the iOS system.

If you want to ensure a specific website is visible on the blocklist, simply open the website in Safari, then go to the “Other” category in AppBlock to add it to the list.

Starting from version 3.7.0, it is now possible to synchronize your blocking settings across devices. To do this, you need to be signed in to the app and have an active internet connection to create a backup. You can easily create a backup by going to AppBlock > Profile > Backup > New Backup. This will allow you to transfer your Schedules and QuickBlock settings to another device, ensuring your preferences are maintained across all your iOS mobile devices.