How to block an app or website

This article will show you the step-by-step process on how to block an app or site on your child's device.

Before we get started, make sure that you've set up mobile or in-home screen time & filtering on your kid's devices.


childChild profiles

These are the kids you've added to Bark. They have a Screen Time tile under their name in your parent app / dashboard.

Block apps and sites for kids

  1. Open up your parent app / dashboard.
  2. Tap your kid's avatar at the top.
  3. Tap the Screen Time tile.
  4. Tap on Apps & websites.
  5. Use the search bar to find the app or site:
    sites and apps - search bar.png
  6. Block it, if applicable.
  7. Wait a few minutes for changes to take effect.

When an app or site is blocked, it may look like...

  • It's not refreshing
  • It's loading slowly
  • It's not sending or receiving messages
  • There's a network error

Add URL Exceptions for kids

If you don't see a toggle for a particular app or site, it's likely covered by a category like Social Media or Games.

  1. Search the website at the top (e.g. "discord.gg") and Bark will show its category.
  2. If it doesn't belong to a category, you can add it as an exception:
  3. You can also manage how Bark handles future uncategorized sites with the Unknown Sites & Apps category. 
  4. Wait a few minutes for changes to take effect.

home Home profiles

Home profiles are found under the Bark Home on your parent app / dashboard with a 👋 or 🏠:

dads

Block apps and sites for home profiles

  1. Open up your parent app / dashboard.
  2. Tap Bark Home at the top.
  3. Tap on the home profile (e.g. Shared, Guest).
  4. Tap Rules at the top.
  5. Tap Apps & websites.
  6. Use the search bar to find the app or site:sites
  7. Block it, if applicable.
  8. Wait a few minutes for changes to take effect.

When an app or site is blocked, it may look like...

  • It's not refreshing
  • It's loading slowly
  • It's not sending or receiving messages
  • There's a network error

Add URL exceptions for home profiles

If you don't see a toggle for a particular app or site, it's likely covered by a category like Social Media or Games.

  1. Search the website at the top (e.g. "discord.gg") and Bark will show its category.
  2. If that URL is not categorized in our system, you will see the option to add it as an exception:sites
  3. You can also manage how Bark handles future uncategorized sites with the Unknown Sites & Apps category.
  4. Wait a few minutes for changes to take effect.

Need more help?

Check out our screen time troubleshooting guide. If still no luck, don't hesitate to reach out to us!