By Eli Young, founder of Lock In Squad · Published September 22, 2026 · Updated October 13, 2026

How to Block Apps on Android (3 Ways, Step by Step)

To block an app on Android, open Settings, tap Digital Wellbeing, then App timers or Focus mode. An app timer closes an app once you reach a daily limit, and Focus mode pauses the apps you pick until you turn it off. For a block that one tap cannot undo, use an app blocker.

Which Android version these steps match

The Digital Wellbeing steps below follow Google's Android Help page as it read on October 13, 2026. Google does not tie them to one Android version and notes that they may vary by device, so the menu names on your phone can differ. The Pixel Help page gives the same steps for Pixel phones.

1. Set an app timer in Digital Wellbeing

1. Open your phone's Settings app.
2. Tap Digital Wellbeing, then App timers.
3. Next to the app you want to limit, tap Set timer.
4. Choose how much time you can spend in that app, then tap OK.

When the time runs out, the app closes and its icon dims. Timers reset at midnight, and Google's way to use the app again before then is to delete the timer. Google also notes that some work and school accounts might not work with app timers.

To make a limit harder to change, turn on an App limits PIN. In Settings, tap Digital Wellbeing, then App limits, then App limits PIN, and turn on PIN for app time limits. Google suggests this for blocking another person's access to an app on a shared phone, by setting the PIN and giving that app a timer of zero.

2. Pause apps with Focus mode

1. Open your phone's Settings app.
2. Tap Digital Wellbeing, then Focus mode.
3. Choose the apps you want to pause.
4. Tap Turn on now.

While Focus mode is on, you can't use those apps and won't get notifications from them. To have it turn on by itself, tap Set a schedule. Turn off now ends Focus mode with a single tap, and Take a break unpauses the apps for a time you choose. On some phones you can also add Focus mode to Quick Settings.

Newer Pixel phones have one more option. On the Pixel 11 series running Android 17 or later, Google's Pixel Help page describes Pause Point, which adds mindfulness prompts to an app to limit how much you use it. You find it under Settings, then Digital Wellbeing, then Ways to disconnect.

3. Use an app blocker with a slower way out

App timers and Focus mode are free, and a few taps undo either of them. An app blocker puts more between you and the app. Lock In Squad, which we make, is free on Android and works like this:

1. Install it from Google Play, where it is listed as Lock In. You can start as a guest.
2. Open the app. Its first screen, Choose apps to block, asks for two permissions, Usage access and Display over other apps. Tap each one, find Lock In Squad in Android Settings and switch it on.
3. Tap Continue, tap the apps to block, then tap Done. To keep only a few apps open instead, choose Allow only these apps at the top of the Block tab and tap the apps to keep.
4. To block websites too, tap Websites at the top of the Block tab's app list, then tap Agree. In Android's Accessibility settings, turn on Lock In Squad website blocking, then come back and add sites such as youtube.com. To block whole browsers instead, tap Browsers below it.
5. In Settings, under Focus timer, choose Stopwatch or Timer. Set the Lock out delay, from 1 to 10 seconds, in the same section.
6. Go to the Lock In tab in the middle of the tab bar and tap the Lock In button. The apps stay blocked until you press and hold Lock Out (Hold) for the delay you set.

If you open a blocked app, Lock In Squad comes to the front with an alert titled "App blocked" that names the app, such as "YouTube is blocked while you're locked in." The free version shows an ad when you end a stopwatch session or leave a timer early, and a $4.99 purchase, paid once, removes ads. The Android app blocker page explains why each permission is needed.

Which one to use

If you want blocks to start by themselves at set times, use Focus mode, because Lock In Squad has no schedules and starts a session only when you tap Lock In. If one tap is too easy a way out, an app blocker with a deliberate exit suits you better.