How to Block Websites on Android: Chrome Settings, Free Apps, and Parental Controls

Android does not have a single built-in toggle that blocks websites the way iOS Screen Time does. If you search the Settings app or Chrome's preferences expecting a native blocklist, you won't find one — that's the most common time-waster for parents and self-managers alike. What Android does offer is a browser-level safe-search switch inside Chrome, a supervised-device option through Google Family Link, and a wide range of third-party apps that can block specific URLs, entire content categories, or both.

The right method depends on who controls the device. If the phone belongs to a child and you want tamper-resistant blocking that survives a determined teenager, a parental-control app with password-lock is the only reliable path. If you're blocking sites on your own phone for focus or habit reasons, a lightweight browser extension or app with a self-imposed PIN works well enough. Either way, none of these require rooting the device or any technical workarounds — the options below are all standard installs. On the desktop side, block a website in Chrome covers the extension and OS routes.

Why Android has no built-in website blocker

Android's operating system does not include a universal website blocker. There is no Settings toggle, no system-level URL filter, and no built-in equivalent to iOS Screen Time's content restrictions.

Digital Wellbeing tracks apps, not URLs

Digital Wellbeing lets you set daily time limits per app and schedule Wind Down periods. That is where its content controls end. There is no URL input, no domain blacklist, and no web-content category selector — a child can open any browser and reach any site without restriction, regardless of how Digital Wellbeing is configured.

Chrome on Android has no site-blocking controls

Chrome's mobile settings let you manage per-site permissions — location, camera, notifications — but do not include any mechanism to prevent a site from loading. There is no blocklist field anywhere in the browser's settings menu.

Family Link is the one native exception

Google Family Link is the only Android-native path that comes close. When a child device uses a supervised Google account, a parent can approve or block specific URLs and filter explicit content through the Family Link parent app. It is free and requires no third-party install. The catch: the child's device must be running under a supervised Google account, and Family Link's web controls apply within that account context — not at the system level across every browser the child might install.

For devices without a supervised account, and for adults managing their own screen time, a third-party app is the only available route.

Step-by-step: Block Website Android

Google Family Link is the primary free, Android-native option that reaches URL-level blocking — and it requires a supervised Google account on the child's device. Here is the setup sequence, plus the fallback for personal devices.

1. Install the Family Link parent app on your own Android or iPhone. Sign in with the Google account you use as a parent.

2. Create a supervised Google account for the child. Accounts for children under 13 are automatically supervised in most regions when created through Family Link. Accounts for children 13 and older require the child to agree to supervision before the link is active.

3. Link the child's Android device to the supervised Google account — either during initial device setup or by sending a parent invitation through the Family Link app. The child must accept on their device.

4. Open the child's profile in Family Link and navigate to Controls, then Content restrictions, then Google Chrome. Choose either "Try to block explicit sites" or "Only allow certain sites" depending on how restrictive you need the filter to be.

5. Add specific URLs to block. Inside the Chrome content restrictions screen, enter each domain in the blocked-sites field. You can also build an approved-only list by adding allowed domains separately.

6. Add the child's device to a parent-managed group if you want to pause internet access entirely or apply downtime — both options are available from the child's main profile screen in Family Link.

7. Test the block immediately by opening a blocked URL on the child's device. Family Link's Chrome filter applies to Chrome only — if the child installs or opens another browser, those domain restrictions do not carry over automatically.

For blocking sites on your own Android device without a child account, Android's built-in settings offer no URL-level filter. A browser-level configuration or a third-party app is required for that use case.

How to block websites in Chrome on Android

Chrome's Settings menu on Android covers passwords, privacy, and notifications — there is no URL block option built into the browser itself.

Google Family Link is the closest native solution, and it's free. When a child under 13 (in most regions, with teen opt-in variations) is signed into a supervised Google account on the device, parents can approve or block specific URLs from the Family Link app on their own phone. Chrome on the child's device enforces those restrictions automatically, with no additional app needed on the child's end.

The condition is firm: Family Link web controls only apply when the child is signed into a supervised Google account. Chrome running under an unsupervised account — or with no account signed in at all — ignores Family Link site restrictions entirely. If a child can sign out and back in with a different account, the block disappears with it.

Free third-party apps that block websites on Android

If a child is using a supervised Google account, Family Link handles website blocking without installing anything extra. Parents can approve or block specific URLs and turn on SafeSearch from the Family Link parent app on their own phone. The setup requires the child's device to run a supervised Google account — which applies most cleanly to children under 13, though teen opt-in rules vary by region.

BlockSite: free tier and its limits

BlockSite installs from the Play Store and works without a supervised Google account. The free tier includes:

• Blocking URLs and domains by address
• An adult-content category filter
• A PIN lock to prevent disabling the app

Scheduling — blocking specific sites only during homework hours, for example — requires a paid upgrade. The free tier also caps the number of sites you can block simultaneously; that cap shifts with app updates, so confirm the current limit before building out a long blocklist.

Freedom: paid, but worth naming

Freedom is a paid subscription (listed at $39.99/year, with Android support) rather than a free tool, but it earns a mention for one specific use case: households that need the same blocklist enforced across a phone and a laptop at the same time. Locked mode prevents bypassing an active block session, which matters when the person being blocked is the one holding the phone. For single-device Android blocking, the free options above reach the same outcome without a subscription.

How to block adult and 18-plus content on Android

Google Family Link is the strongest native option for this use case. Under a supervised Google account, Family Link lets parents restrict explicit sites in Chrome, block or approve individual URLs, and enforce SafeSearch — all managed from the Family Link parent app on the parent's phone. It is free, built into Android, and available for children's supervised accounts (under 13 in most regions, with opt-in supervision available for teens).

The hard requirement is a supervised Google account on the child's device. If your child uses a personal, unsupervised Google account, Family Link's web content controls are not accessible through Google's native tools.

For unsupervised devices or households that want filtering across every network, a DNS-based content filter — applied either at the router or through the device's network settings — blocks adult content across all browsers and apps simultaneously. It also avoids the easy bypass of simply switching browsers, which a browser-only restriction cannot prevent.

SafeSearch is not a substitute for adult-content blocking. It filters explicit results from Google Search but leaves direct URL navigation, other search engines, and non-search browsing entirely open. It's a useful add-on layer once URL-level restrictions are already in place, not a standalone fix. A website and app blocking layer is what supplies those URL-level restrictions across every browser at once, so switching browsers no longer reopens the gap.

Setting Up NexSpy to Cover Website Android

The DNS-level and Family Link filtering covered in earlier sections confirm that blocked categories are rejected, but they produce no record of what a child actually opened or attempted. They also leave a practical gap: any filter tied to a single browser holds only until the child switches to another. On most Samsung Android phones, that switch means opening Samsung Internet — the device default — or moving to Firefox or Opera. A Chrome-only restriction doesn't follow them there.

For parents where that distinction matters, NexSpy may be worth a look. When the goal is blocking off-limits content across every browser a child is likely to reach for, NexSpy applies its adult, gambling, drugs, and violence category blocks at the device level rather than inside a single app, and enforces Safe Search across Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Samsung Internet, and Safari simultaneously — that reach closes the browser-switching bypass that per-app or per-browser filters leave open. The browsing history feature on Android logs what was actually visited rather than just what was rejected, so any follow-up conversation can be grounded in a real record. That feature is Android-only and is not available on iOS child devices.

How to set it up

1. Create a parent account at my.nexspy.com and install the NexSpy parent app on your device.
2. Install the NexSpy Kids app on the child's Android phone and pair it to your parent account.
3. In the parent dashboard, open Website Restrictions and enable the content categories you want blocked — adult, gambling, drugs, or violence — to apply them system-wide across browsers.
4. Add specific URLs to the custom blacklist for targeted blocks, and use the allowlist to preserve access to homework or other approved sites that might fall inside a blocked category.
5. Review the browsing history tab on the child's Android device periodically to see what was actually visited, not just what the filter stopped.

Android vs iPhone: how website blocking differs

iOS Screen Time includes native website blocking under Content & Privacy Restrictions. It can automatically filter explicit content in Safari and accepts custom blocked URLs — no third-party app required, and it applies at the OS level regardless of which browser the child opens.

Android has no equivalent at that layer. Digital Wellbeing tracks app usage and supports bedtime downtime but has no URL-level content filter, including on current Android versions.

Family Link: Android's closest native option

Google Family Link fills part of the gap for supervised accounts. Parents of children under 13 (with opt-in variations for teens) can approve or block specific URLs and toggle between filtering explicit content, allowing all sites, or using a custom allowlist. It is free and native to Android — but the child device must run a supervised Google account. A standard personal Google account is not eligible, which rules out Family Link for many older kids.

Cross-platform families need two separate setups

No single native tool covers both an iPhone and an Android phone under one dashboard. Screen Time handles the iOS device; the Android device needs its own solution independently.

The practical difference shows in tamper resistance. Screen Time is pinned to a parent passcode at the OS level and cannot be toggled off by the child. Android third-party apps vary significantly — some require device administrator privileges that block uninstallation, while others can be removed with a few taps if the child knows where to look. Choosing an Android solution with device administrator protection is not optional if the goal is persistent filtering.

For parents who need website filters that stay in place across every browser

A filter that lives inside one browser stops working the moment a child opens a different one. On Samsung Android devices, Samsung Internet ships as the factory default — it's already installed before Chrome is ever touched. A Chrome-only block leaves Samsung Internet wide open. From the Play Store, adding Brave, Firefox, Opera, or DuckDuckGo browser takes less than a minute, and none of them inherit another browser's block list.

This is why so many parents set up a Chrome filter and find it bypassed within a day or two.

What actually covers every browser

Filters that hold across all browsers operate below the browser layer — at the DNS level or through a local VPN tunnel that intercepts traffic before any browser handles it.

Three approaches that work that way:

• Router-level DNS filtering (CleanBrowsing, Cloudflare for Families at 1.1.1.3, NextDNS): set the DNS on the home router and every connected device gets filtered regardless of which browser is open. The gap is mobile data — the filter drops out when the phone leaves the Wi-Fi network.
• Parental control apps with local-VPN enforcement: a local VPN on the device routes all browser traffic through a filtering layer. The child's browser choice becomes irrelevant.
• Blocking browser installations via Google Family Link: a supervised child account that requires parent approval to install new apps closes the browser-switching escape route before it opens. Pair this with Chrome filtering in Family Link for the supervised account.

One limit worth naming honestly: in-app browsers inside social apps — Instagram, TikTok, Reddit — sit outside both Chrome filters and most DNS systems. Reliable coverage there means blocking the social app itself, not trying to filter what its embedded browser loads.