How to Block Internet Access in Specific Applications on Android – Guide
As a frequent internet user on Android mobile devices, you may have noticed that as soon as you turn on your data connection, all apps installed on your device immediately try to connect to the internet. This behavior is necessary for some applications to get the most up-updated information from your internet servers such as news app, weather app and messaging app etc. and also to keep the mobile updated device software. But some apps don’t need to be connected to the internet that often for their functionality as unnecessary data transfer can result in some undesirable consequences for the user like mobile phone balance shock, security concerns, unwanted notifications and ads. This article is about How to allow certain apps to access the internet and restrict or block those with unwanted data transfers. Let’s start with how this can be done natively on Android without the need for additional third-party software first. Later I will also discuss using a third party tool for this purpose.
Restrict Background Data on Android Natively
You can easily set background data restrictions for specific apps on Android. All you have to do is go to Settings->Apps and select the app you want to lock background data for. On the app info page, you can tap on “Data Usage” and here, enable “Restrict App Background Data”. This ensures that the application does not search for any mobile data while running in the background. However, if you open the app, it will use the internet. If you want to restrict background data for all apps, go to Settings->Data Usage, press the three dots button and tap “Restrict background data”. Here, you can also set a monthly amount mobile data cap, so you know when your mobile the data is close to running out. Android N includes a data saver mode, which basically restricts background data in all apps. However, you can select the apps for which you want to enable unrestricted data access. Although Android’s native methods work fine if you want to restrict usage to only mobile data, there are third-party applications that allow you to block mobile data as well as Wi-Fi connectivity for certain apps:
Block Mobile Data and WiFi with 3rd party apps
While there are some good apps that allow you to block the internet for specific apps, we suggest Mobiwol because it’s free and brings most of the features you would need. So, install Mobiwol on your Android smartphone and follow the steps: Other than that, you can check the app settings to ensure it starts automatically on restart, accept or block newly installed apps, get log notifications and their frequency, and get tips about the app. if you would like more feature rich app, you can try the apps mentioned below that also let you block internet in specific apps:
NetGuard
NetGuard is another great firewall app that not only blocks internet access for specific apps but lets you use conditions like allow WiFi/mobile data when the screen is on and block internet roaming. It also supports multiple device users, tethering and more. Some would say that NetGuard is even better than Mobiwol, but the problem is that the unique NetGuard features how to get out of outgoing traffic, network speed, ability to block addresses, etc. are only available in the paid version of the app.
NoRoot Firewall
NoRoot Firewall is a highly popular firewall application that brings advanced features to the table. The app not only allows you to block mobile data/WiFi access for applications, also allows you to define custom filters and conditions based on IP address, domain name and host address. While the app’s interface may seem clunky, it’s available for free, so you can try it out.
Final note
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