PIN-protected. Works across all apps and browsers. Takes 5 minutes to set up.
Android 8+ · iPhone iOS 14+ · Free, no account needed
Works on Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, OnePlus, Pixel, Motorola and all other Android phones. The app detects your device and walks you through only the steps you need.
⬇ Download ShortBlock APKVersion 1.0 · ~6 MB · Android 8.0+
Tap the downloaded file in your notifications or open it from your Downloads folder. Android will ask permission to install apps from this source — this is a standard Android security prompt for any app not from the Play Store.
What you'll see: "Install blocked" or "For your security, your phone is not allowed to install unknown apps from this source."
Tap Settings in the prompt → toggle Allow from this source → go back → tap Install.
Google will show a warning saying it doesn't recognise the app. This appears for all apps not distributed through the Play Store — it is not a sign the app is unsafe.
Tap Install anyway (you may need to tap "More details" first to see this option).
Android 13 and 14 restrict certain permissions for downloaded apps until you explicitly unlock them. If your phone runs Android 12 or older, skip to Step 4.
To check your version: Settings → About phone → Android version.
If you're on Android 13 or 14:
Find System Block in your app drawer and open it.
Enter a PIN of at least 4 digits — this is what you'll use to toggle blocking on and off. Confirm it, then choose a security question and answer in case you forget your PIN.
Tap Activate. The app will now walk you through the remaining steps automatically, detecting your phone model and showing you exactly the right instructions.
A system dialog will appear asking you to activate "Device Administrator". Tap Activate.
This prevents your child from uninstalling the app. Without it, any child who knows how to navigate phone settings could remove it.
A system dialog will appear: "System Block wants to set up a VPN connection." Tap OK.
This enables the network filter that blocks TikTok. It does not route your traffic through any external server — the filter runs entirely on the device.
This is the main blocking engine. The app will prompt you to open Settings and guide you to the right place for your phone brand.
If you need to find it manually, select your phone brand below:
Once ON, press back, return to the System Block app, and tap Finish.
Some brands aggressively stop background apps to save battery. This will shut down the blocking service after a few minutes. You need to exempt System Block.
Samsung, Pixel, Motorola, Sony, Nokia users can skip this step.
MIUI and HyperOS prevent apps from restarting after a reboot unless you allow it explicitly. Without this, blocking stops working every time the phone is restarted.
All other brands can skip this step.
Once setup is complete, test each of these on the child's phone.
Open TikTok — should close immediately and return to home screen.
Open YouTube → tap Shorts tab → should jump back to Home feed.
Open Chrome → go to tiktok.com → page should fail to load.
Open Chrome → go to youtube.com/shorts → should redirect to YouTube home.
Open YouTube → watch a normal video → should work without interruption.
Open System Block → enter PIN → toggle OFF → TikTok works → toggle ON → blocked again.
iPhones cannot install APK files. Use one of the two methods below — they work on all iPhones and iPads running iOS 14 or later, with no app installation required.
Open TikTok → should show "Screen Time Limit Reached" or fail to open.
Open Safari → go to tiktok.com → should show "Website blocked".
Open Safari → go to youtube.com/shorts → should be blocked.
youtube.com (without /shorts) should work normally.
Common issues and fixes.