How to Block an App from Accessing the Internet

In today's world, our entire digital experience revolves around apps. From mobile to desktop apps, we all use different kinds of applications on a daily basis.

Though, sometimes these apps can be addictive and often tampers with our work. They can also access our data behind our back as well. If you have a kid in the house, then you should certainly control the kind of apps they access. If you wish to control these apps, then you should learn how to block an app from accessing the internet.

This is because most of the applications out there rely on the internet to function. In this guide, we will teach you how to block an app from accessing the internet on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.

Why do I want to block apps from accessing the internet?

There could be different reasons for blocking apps from accessing the net. Mostly, we do it so that the app can't function. In this way, we can stop using the app too much. This can also help you if your kids are getting addicted to an app.

Some of these applications can get unlimited access to the internet. This can slow down the network speed. If you are given a particular limit to access the network data, then these apps can consume a substantial amount of it.

Also, it will help you protect your data too. Some of these apps can invade your privacy by running in the background. Once you have blocked their access to the internet, they can't track your activities and your data would be protected.

How to block an app from accessing the internet on Windows?

Not just smartphones, these days Windows computers also rely on applications for their working. In order to learn how to block an app from accessing the internet on Windows, we will take the assistance of its native firewall settings.

1. Log-in to the administrator account and visit your system's security settings > Windows Firewall. From here, you can go to its "Advanced Settings".

2. From the advanced settings, you need to go to the Outbound Rules option.

3. Choose to create a new rule from here.

4. This will launch a wizard to create new outbound rules. Select "Program" and click on the "Next" button.

5. Select the "This program path" option and provide the path of the application you wish to block. You can browse to the location where the application is stored. Just make sure you select its .exe file.

6. Once you proceed to the next option, you can choose to block the connection for the application.

7. Go to the "Profile" section and block the connection for all kinds of domains to complete the wizard.

How to block an app from accessing the internet on Mac?

Just like Windows, you can learn how to block an app from accessing the internet on Mac as well. All you need to do is follow these steps:

1. To start with, go to your Mac's System Preferences > Security & Privacy.

2. From here, you can turn on the Firewall option. Just make sure that you are signed in as an administrator.

3. Just click on the add button to create a restriction.

4. Select an app from the list and choose to block all the incoming connections. Save your changes and add a new restriction (if needed).

In this way, the app can only request for a connection, but all the incoming connections would be blocked. The technique is quite simple and might vary from one version of macOS to another.

How to block an app from accessing the internet on Android?

It is quite important to block unwanted apps from accessing the internet on our Android devices. This is because most of us get a limited data bandwidth and it is recommended not to exploit it. There are different ways to learn how to block an app from accessing the internet on Android. You can either use a third-party app or simply go to your phone's native settings to make the needed changes.

1. To restrict a certain app, go to the Apps option on your phone's settings and tap on the respective app. From here, you can turn on the option for "Restrict app background data". Now, the app can only access data when it is running.

2. In order to further control it, go to the Data Usage option on your phone and tap on the Restrict background data option. Here, you can provide a maximum monthly limit for the data access.

3. If you use an Android 7.0 or a newer version, then you can also find a "Data Saver" option on your device settings. Just turn it on to further optimize the data access on your device.

How to block an app from accessing the internet on the iPhone?

There are different ways to block apps from accessing the internet on the iPhone as well. Besides using a third-party tool, you can go to your iOS device settings and meet your requirements.

1. To begin with, go to your iPhone Settings > Cellular.

2. Here, you will get a list of all the apps that can access cellular data. Simply turn off the option for any app and it won't be able to access your device's cellular data henceforth.

3. Similarly, you can just go to your device settings and select the app of your choice. From here as well, you can disable the cellular data option for the app.

FamiSafe - The Best Family Parental Control for Android and iPhone

If you are a concerned parent, then you might already know that blocking an app from accessing the internet is not enough. Therefore, you need to use a dedicated parental control and monitoring tool to make sure your kids would only access restricted content. FamiSafe is a highly sophisticated parental control and monitoring tool that is packed with tons of features. Using it is extremely easy and you would be able to remotely monitor your kid's smartphone from yours.

A Reliable and Handy Parental Control App

• Location Tracking & Geo-fencing
• App Blocker & Web Filtering
• Web Filtering
• Screen Time Control
• Smart Parental Control Setting

• FamiSafe can block or unblock any app, website, or the entire device remotely from your phone.
• With its intelligent scheduler, you can make sure that your kids would only access the device when they are available.
• It can also block the device for a particular location.
• You can set a maximum daily screen limit for any app.
• The app tracks the target device on a real-time basis.
• You can also track the past locations of your kids and the routes they have taken.
• By setting geofences, you can get instant alerts whenever your kid would enter or leave an area.
• You can also monitor their device activity remotely.
• No need to root or jailbreak the device to use this parental control tool.
• Compatible with leading iOS and Android devices, it comes with a free trial version.

Now when you know how to block an app from accessing the internet on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS – you can certainly fulfill your needs. Furthermore, you can try FamiSafe to make sure your kids would access their smartphones in an ideal way.