With modern smartphones we can access any Web page on the Internet without any type of filter or without blocking. If the smartphone will be used by minors, this could be a problem: in fact they have the entire Internet available without any form of control. If we want to put a stop to the sites that can be visited by the smartphone, in this guide we will show you how to block Internet sites on your mobile phone quickly and easily, both in the case of an Android smartphone and if you use an iPhone.
The filters that we are going to set are difficult to overcome, but not inviolable: it is better to combine them with a good form of parental control (we remain close to our children when they use the smartphone, especially if they are under 14 years of age).
READ ALSO: Parental control on your children's mobile with Google Family Link and similar apps
How to block Internet sites on your mobile phone
For this guide we will show you how to block websites manually (by choosing which sites should not be visible) and how to block websites automatically, through apps with preset filter systems.How to block websites on Android
On Android we have several methods to block one or more Internet sites; one of the fastest and fastest methods involves the use of Mozilla Firefox as a browser on the smartphone, in addition to the Block Site extension.
With this extension we can block access to one or more Web pages, setting a security password to bypass access and to modify the characteristics of the extension. Of course, it will only keep very young children or users away who don't even know what an extension is (it should be enough to keep them away from the sites we don't think should be visited).
To obtain much more effective protection on any type of browser or app capable of surfing the Internet, we recommend installing Blockada DNS, an app capable of diverting all phone connection requests to a virtual VPN (not 'is no active VPN, but uses the Android VPN system to be able to filter any connection), by applying customized DNS browsing.
Starting the app we will only have to choose which protective DNS to use to block inconvenient sites or that we do not want to see minors; for this purpose we recommend trying Comodo Secure DNS, OpenDNS (configurable from the official website) and Yandex.DNS Family . The app also allows you to add hosts manually, so as to filter all requests to a specific site. To learn more about the topic of protective DNS, we refer you to our guide to the fastest and safest DNS to protect your internet connection .
Other apps that can block Internet sites on your mobile phone can be found in the list below:
- Secure Web Parental Control
- BlockerX
- Pure Web
- Adult Block
- Norton Family parental control
If we are not satisfied with the solutions offered above, we can try all the recommended apps so as to find the most effective site blocking system for our smartphone or that of our underage children.
How to block websites on the iPhone
On iPhone, blocking Internet sites is much simpler, given that the operating system integrates a perfectly configurable filtering tool for unwanted Web content. In order to block websites on the iPhone, simply open the Settings app, go to the Time of use menu and select the Contents and Privacy menu.
In the new screen that will appear, activate the button next to the Content and privacy item, then tap on Content restrictions and scroll down the page until you find the item Web content, which is basically set to Unlimited access .
By clicking on the item we will be able to set two types of filter: Limit adult websites and Only allowed websites . With the first active item, all websites with adult content reported directly by Apple will be blocked, while with the second item, full access to web pages will be blocked, excluding authorized ones (therefore entered as a "white list").
Using the Limit filter adult websites will block all the main porn sites, but we can also add others (even sites that we do not want to be visited) using the Add website item, present under the Never allow section.
Instead, using the Only allowed websites filter, we will immediately see a list of authorized sites offered by Apple; we can remove them by swiping the site to be removed and we can add other allowed sites using the item at the bottom of the Add website list (remember that the filter in this case works in reverse, so the sites in the list can be viewed on the iPhone) .
To prevent the settings from being changed by particularly discerning children, let's go back to the Usage time menu and tap on Use "Usage time" code, so we can set a simple 4-digit PIN that can protect any type of modification to the sections (we will no longer be able to access the Content and privacy menu without knowing the unlock code).
Note : the filters set in the Usage time menu can be extended to all devices in the family, taking advantage of the specific functionality offered by Apple.
Conclusions
Blocking Internet sites on your mobile phone is not that difficult: if we leave the smartphone in the hands of children or we simply want to block some categories of websites, we can do it easily both on Android (using a properly configured browser or a VPN app to DNS modification) and on iPhone (which already offers everything needed to block adult sites or to block specific sites).If we want to extend this type of block also to our computers, we suggest you read our guides on how to block sites on the PC or limit the browsing time on Facebook, Youtube or others and how to block unwanted sites in Google search results .
