Three kinds of app problems, one tool
Apps cause parents three distinct headaches. Some apps simply shouldn't be on a child's phone yet — the 17+ game, the anonymous chat app, the gambling-adjacent "casino" games. Some apps are fine in themselves but bottomless — the video feed that turns ten minutes into ninety. And some apps haven't even arrived yet — the download your child makes on the bus that you find out about three weeks later.
MyParental's app blocker handles all three: block the apps that aren't appropriate, budget the ones that are, and review the new ones before first launch.
Block: a clear "not yet" that doesn't rely on willpower
Blocking an app takes one toggle from your parent dashboard. The app stays on the device but won't open — your child sees a clear screen explaining the app is blocked by their family's settings, not a mysterious crash. Blocks are per-child, so banning the anonymous chat app on the eleven-year-old's phone doesn't touch the sixteen-year-old's.
The most effective parents we hear from pair every block with a sentence of explanation — "this one's 17+ and you're twelve, we'll revisit at fourteen" — and the app's visibility makes that conversation natural, because the block is honest and out in the open.
Budget: time limits for the bottomless apps
Most apps don't need banning, just a fence. Per-app time budgets let you allow a game or video app with a daily allowance — 45 minutes of the feed, an hour of the game — with the countdown visible to your child. When the budget runs out, that app pauses while everything else keeps working. Budgets stack with your overall screen time limit: the daily limit caps the total, and per-app budgets shape what's inside it.
This is the tool for the "it's not the phone, it's that one app" problem — and app usage tracking will tell you exactly which app that is before you set a single budget.
Review: approve new downloads before first use
With new app install alerts switched on, you're notified the moment a new app lands on your child's device, with its store rating and age band, and you can approve or block it before it's opened. It turns the app store from a back door into a doorbell — and spares you the archaeology of discovering month-old downloads in a usage report.
How blocking works on Android and iPhone
On Android, MyParental enforces blocks and budgets directly and can act within seconds of your change. On iPhone, blocking works through Apple's Screen Time framework, which the app configures from your choices — Apple manages the block screen itself, and a small number of system apps can't be blocked by any parental tool. The app shows you exactly what's enforceable on each child's device, so there are no surprises.
Free vs Premium
Basic app blocking — block/allow toggles — is included in the Free plan. Premium adds per-app time budgets, new-app approval, and category-level rules through age-based content filters.
📲 How to set up App Blocker
- Download MyParental from the App Store or Google Play and create your free parent account.
- Install the app on your child's phone and link it with the one-time pairing code.
- Switch on App Blocker from the parent dashboard — the app guides you through any permissions.