In today’s market, there is a wide array of smartphones and tablets, and Android mobile devices have become ubiquitous. These devices are not only used for personal purposes but also for work and business. Particularly, young adults and teenagers, often referred to as the smartphone generation, spend a significant amount of their time on these gadgets.
Consequently, parents and schools recognize the importance of imposing certain restrictions and implementing control systems for device usage. Whether for personal or business use, it is essential to understand how to block websites on Android devices, whether within a corporate network or to ensure the safety of children from accessing inappropriate websites or adult websites.
Understanding the Need for Website Blocking
The need to block websites on Android isn’t about limiting users—it’s about protection. Some websites might be breeding grounds for malware or phishing threats. Blocking these can be a vital step to prevent security issues. Plus, some sites can be a distraction, reducing productivity. And let’s not forget the data used up by unnecessary web surfing.
While in organizations for enterprise mobility, small, medium, or large organizations provide smartphones and tablets to their employees. This has led to better employee productivity, which has no doubt resulted in good ROI. However, to ensure that productivity stays high, companies expect their employees to use these mobile devices only for work purposes and not misuse them by surfing irrelevant websites.
The solution to this concern of the employers can be best met by blocking all the irrelevant websites on corporate-owned Android devices. Blocking unwanted website access allows organizations to limit the time employees spend on nonwork-related websites, such as social networking, games, and videos & movies. It also protects your mobile devices from Internet attacks which can happen when the employee visits these types of websites.
Tools and Ways to Block Websites on Your Android Phones
There are several ways to block a website on Android devices. Android provides built-in settings for this, but if you need more comprehensive features, you can consider third-party apps. For managing multiple devices, Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions are your go-to.
Built-in Parental Controls: Some Android devices come with built-in parental control features that allow you to block specific websites. You can usually find these settings in the device’s system settings or the “Digital Wellbeing” or “Parental Controls” section.
Third-Party Parental Control Apps: There are many third-party apps available on the Google Play Store that offer website blocking and filtering features. These apps allow you to set up restrictions and customize the list of blocked websites.
DNS-based Website Blocking: You can use a DNS-based website blocking method to block websites on your Android device. This involves changing the DNS settings on your device to use a DNS service that filters and blocks certain websites. You can change the DNS settings in the Wi-Fi or mobile network settings of your device.
Browser Extensions: If you want to block websites specifically within a web browser, you can use browser extensions. For example, on Google Chrome, you can install website blocker extensions to block or limit access to specific websites.
Hosts File Modification: Advanced Android users can modify the hosts file on their Android device to block websites. By adding entries to the hosts file, you can redirect specific website domains to localhost or another IP address, effectively blocking them. However, modifying the hosts file requires rooting your device and should be done with caution.
Mobile Device Management (MDM) Solutions: If you’re grappling with the question, “how to block sites on Android for numerous devices?”—MDM solutions are your answer. These solutions, such as ‘Scalefusion’, provide you with a central dashboard from which you can control multiple devices.
How To Block Websites on Android Using Scalefusion
Scalefusion browser enables you to whitelist websites. By whitelisting, it means that you can select and allow access to specific websites for employees with corporate-owned devices. After whitelisting websites, you can access the website from the Scalefusion browser and have a controlled browsing experience. In other words, you get to know how to block websites on Android phones or tablets. Here are the steps by which website(s) can be whitelisted on devices that are enrolled in the Scalefusion browser.
To block websites on Android devices with Scalefusion, please follow the step-by-step instructions below:
Step 1
Browse to www.scalefusion.com and click on login to access your Scalefusion account via personal email ID, G-suite, or Office 365.
Click on Enroll Devices located on the left-hand side of the dashboard and select the Android OS platform. Follow the enrollment method on screen and start managing your devices virtually into Kiosk mode after configuring the device profiles to be pushed.
Step 2
Launch the Scalefusion App on the enrolled Android device and access the menu tab by tapping on the three dots located in the upper right-hand corner portion of the screen. Then, enter the passcode to access the settings option (as shown on the right side of the screenshot). To obtain detailed information about the passcode, click here.
Step – 3
In the settings panel, tap on “Manage Apps” and then select the Scalefusion Browser. After selecting the browser, tap on “Save Selected Apps”.
Step – 4
To block unauthorized websites for the end-user and whitelist a URL, click on “Browser shortcuts” and then tap on the “+” icon located at the bottom right corner of the screen to add an authorized/whitelisted URL.
Step – 5
Enter the required details, such as the Name and URL of the website that needs to be whitelisted, in the field box. Afterward, tap on “Save” to save the inserted website URL. The settings will be successfully saved, and the end-user will only be able to access the whitelisted website on the Scalefusion browser, preventing access to any other websites.
| Note: The below Screenshot depicts what will happen if the end-user attempts to access any other website apart from the Whitelisted URL. |
With the above procedure, you have successfully blocked access to unauthorized websites on Android phone and tablet devices.
Conclusion
That’s it, IT admins! We hope this guide helps you understand the ins and outs of website blocking on Android. Scalefusion kiosk browser enables organizations to easily block websites on Android phones & tablets which are not relevant for the work purpose simply by following all the above simple steps. Again, it also gives you the option to block the websites on Android phones and tablets from web-based dashboards i.e from a PC or laptop.
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