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Restricting internet access for apps on a smartphone or tablet

The FRITZ!Box parental controls not only allow you to limit internet access time, you can also block particular applications from accessing the internet.

You can use the FRITZ!Box's filter lists for websites to regulate internet access for individual apps such as WhatsApp or Facebook. However, many apps establish connections to numerous servers with different internet addresses (URLs and IP addresses). You must block or allow all of the corresponding addresses for these apps. Since only a few manufacturers publish all addresses used by their apps, in practice it is often not possible to regulate internet access.

Normally, the network application filter cannot be used to regulate internet access for apps because it can only block specific ports. However, if ports are blocked, most apps automatically use different ports instead, which means that you would have to completely block the respective device from accessing the internet.

It therefore makes more sense to block the apps directly on the smartphone or tablet. This is faster and more reliable than configuring blocks in an upstream router, and has the advantage that the block then also applies to the mobile internet connection.

With Apple iOS, you can use iOS' parental controls to block the use of apps as well as access to inappropriate content and websites.

In Android, you can use Google Family Link to regulate internet use. As an alternative, you can also use a different parental control app, for example Applock, App Locker: Lock w/ fingerprint, Parental Control, or Applock Pro.