If apps aren't being blocked as expected, make sure your device is correctly connected and check your traffic logs to ensure filtering is working as expected.
Follow these troubleshooting steps:
- Verify Connection to Cloudflare's DNS: Ensure that your device's internet traffic is routing through Cloudflare.
- Check your Traffic Logs and investigate whether the App is being blocked correctly.
- Verify your Content Policy Rules are configured correctly
It's important to note that blocking an app using DNS app blocking disables an app's internet connection, but does not prevent it from being opened.
Traffic Logs are going to be a massive help. Use the Apps filter option to sort by the App you're troubleshooting.
Search for an App to filter by:
Accounting for App Caching with Native Apps
If you are trying to disable internet access to an app that you download from an App Store, it's common that those apps will "cache" data, so that blocking might not be as immediate as blocking a website.
- Apps that are blocked with DNS might still show data that was already loaded on the device. For example, Instagram posts that have already been viewed or parts of social media feeds that have already been loaded. DNS App blocking should prevent new content from being loaded, but cannot restrict data that has already been loaded. You would need to clear the app's cache to not see previously viewed content.
- Apps can cache DNS to keep the connection alive longer than you might expect. If the app is opened when the block rule is applied (like with a schedule), then it might take up to 15 minutes before the app stops working. The app would need to be closed and re-opened to get around this. Consider adjusting your block schedule by 15-30 minutes to account for this if it is an ongoing issue.
Consider combining DNS app blocking with other app blocking techniques for a more comprehensive app blocking setup.