While digital services and mobile devices have been a boon in this time of the pandemic, they have also significantly increased the screen time for users. This means that more and more users have spent more and more time idling at their phones while reducing productivity. This is the reason why Digital Wellbeing as a utility was introduced by Google for Android devices.
Digital Wellbeing allows you to manage your screen time on your mobile devices while allowing you to view a detailed data set of the time you spend with each app and service on your mobile device.
Have you been looking to prevent yourself from accessing websites or games that reduce productivity? Do you have a kid for whom you need to block websites on an Android device? Then here’s all you need to know about it!
Can you block websites on Android?
Yes, with the recent update and additions to Digital Wellbeing, you can now block websites on Android. Previously you needed to enable experimental flags with Chrome for this to work but that is no longer the case.
The latest stable version of Chrome supports this feature and here’s how you can make the most of it on your device.
Related: 7 Ways Block a Number on Android
How to block websites on Android
Here’s how you can block selected websites on an Android device. Needless to say that there are a few requirements that your device needs to meet for this to work.
Refer to the requirements below to ensure that your device can avail of this feature and subsequently use the guide below to help you block websites on Android.
Requirements
- Android 10 or higher
If your device meets these requirements then use the guide below to help you block websites on your device.
Step-by-step guide
Open the Settings app on your device and tap on ‘Digital Wellbeing and parental controls’.
Now tap on ‘Dashboard’.
You will now be shown a list of all the apps installed on your device. Look for ‘Chrome’ in this list and tap on ‘Show sites that you visit’ underneath it.
Tap on ‘Show’ to confirm your choice.
You will now be shown all the sites you visited in the browser along with the time you spent on each one of them. Find the site that you wish to block and tap on the hourglass beside it.
Now enter the minimum time you wish to allow this site for, upon the completion of the timer you will no longer be allowed to access the website. If you wish to completely block the website, then you can choose ‘0 hours, 0 mins’ as your timer.
Tap on ‘Ok’ once you are done.
And that’s it! The selected website will now be limited or blocked completely on your device depending on your preferences.
Can I block websites in browsers other than Chrome?
Unfortunately, this feature is currently only supported by Chrome. Popular mobile browsers like Opera, Brave, Edge, or Firefox do not support this feature.
Can I unblock a website?
Yes, you can easily unblock a website. Simply follow the guide above and once you tap on the hourglass, tap on ‘Delete timer’ instead. This will delete the timer thus unblocking the website on your device.
FAQs
With so many new features in digital wellbeing on the horizon, you are bound to have a few questions. Here are a few commonly asked ones to help you get up to speed.
How private is digital wellbeing?
Not at all private, Digital Wellbeing is one of the notorious stock Android apps that is heavily baked into Android and tied into most Google services. Digital wellbeing essentially creates, tracks, and stores your every move so that you can avail of its features. However, this would have been ideal if the data was stored locally, but digital wellbeing is one of those apps that you can not disable, has the exclusive permission to access your network always, and constantly phones home to Google services.
Can I block apps using digital wellbeing?
Yes, you can easily block apps using digital wellbeing on your device. Just like for websites, tap on the hourglass beside the concerned app and set your desired timer. If you wish to completely block the app then you can set your timer as ‘0 hours, 0 mins’.
What other features are offered by digital wellbeing?
Digital wellbeing offers you the following features when using the latest version of the app on your device.
- Customized notifications
- Daily app and site limits
- Pause distracting apps
- Bedtime mode
- Flip to shh
- Grayscale mode
- Create a work profile that can be paused whenever needed
We hope this post helped you easily block websites on your Android device. If you have any more questions, feel free to drop them in the comments section below.
RELATED:
- Android 12: How to Use a Toggle to Block Camera and Microphone Access Quickly
- How to Block Apps from Tracking You on Android Using DuckDuckGo
- How To Block Someone on Google Chat and Hangouts on Phone or PC
- How To Keep Running an App in Background on Samsung With ‘Lock This App’
- How to block all ads on your Android device without rooting
- How to Block Someone on Google Drive and What Happens When You Do That
