AppBlock on iOS

If you’re experiencing issues when trying to save your usage limit schedule after selecting apps or categories and tapping “Continue,” this issue is related to a recent change in iOS 18.4. This happens due to a change in Apple’s internal system picker, which is causing the app to unexpectedly close at this stage of the process.

Our team is aware of the issue and fixed this bug in version 3.13.2. In case you are experiencing these issues, please make sure to update AppBlock app.

In case you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out.

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.

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.

If your schedules aren’t starting when they should, first check your schedule settings and the times of the blockings to ensure everything is set correctly. If everything looks good, 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 for further assistance.

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.

Usage limits may sometimes be inaccurate by a few seconds, as the system can send the information with a slight delay. If you experience issues with usage limits, 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 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 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 the PIN code to open AppBlock is forgotten, follow these steps to reset it:

1. Open AppBlock: Launch the AppBlock app to display the PIN code screen.
2. Tap the AppBlock Logo: Swiftly tap five times on the AppBlock logo above the PIN entry bar.
3. Enter the Unlock Code: A pop-up window will appear where you can enter an unlock code.

To receive this unlock code, please contact our support team using the “Emergency unblocking” or in case of older versions of AppBlock “I need to unlock my device” reason for contacting us to receive a one-time unblocking code.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

If you’ve opened the AppBlock app and noticed that the Insights feature is missing, don’t worry — you’re not alone. There’s a simple explanation, and in most cases, an easy fix.

📱 iOS Version Matters

The availability of Insights depends on the version of iOS you’re using. Currently, Insights are supported on iOS 17.4 and above. If you’re running an older version, the feature may not appear in your app.

There was an exception with iOS 17.2, where Insights were available in AppBlock versions <3.13.0. However, due to some performance issues, we had to remove support for that version in 3.13.0 to maintain overall stability.

This means that if you’re using iOS 16 or iOS 17.0 to 17.3, the Insights feature unfortunately isn’t available.

✅ iOS Compatibility Overview

• ✅ Supported: iOS 17.4 and higher
• ❌ Not supported: iOS 16, iOS 17.0, iOS 17.1, iOS 17.2, iOS 17.3
• ⚠️ No longer supported: iOS 17.2
  (Insights were previously available in AppBlock versions <3.13.0, but had to be removed in version 3.13.0 due to stability concerns.)

🔧 What You Can Do

To access Insights, we recommend the following:

• Make sure your device is updated to iOS 17.4 or later.
• Confirm that you’re using the latest version of AppBlock from the App Store.

If both your iOS and AppBlock app are up to date and you still can’t access Insights, feel free to reach out to our Support Team — we’ll be happy to help!

📆 Only Seeing “Today” but not “Week” and “Trend”

If you can see Insights for “Today” but not for the “Week” or “Trend” view, don’t worry. AppBlock uses the iOS Screen Time API to collect statistics, and it may take a few days before there’s enough data to display weekly trends.

Additionally, keep in mind that reinstalling the app may cause previously collected trend data to be lost, since this information is not stored on a server.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.