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How to Blocklist/Allowlist apps on iOS devices
Hexnode UEM allows the user to build either a blocklist of apps not to be shown or run on the device, or an allowlist of apps allowing only the specified apps to appear on the device. This provides the capability to either block a set of inappropriate apps or shows a chosen list of active allowlisted apps.
Applying policy to Blocklist or Allowlist apps
Follow the steps below to either blocklist or allowlist apps:
- Login to your Hexnode UEM portal.
- Tap on Policies > New Policy > iOS > App Management > Blocklist/Allowlist. Click on Configure.
- Enter the policy name and description.
- Policy name – Enter an appropriate name for the policy. This is a mandatory field.
- Description – Add a brief description of the policy.
- Choose the blocklist or allowlist button based on the requirement.
- Click on +Add to add either an app or a group of apps to be either blocklisted/allowlisted. You can see all the apps listed in your app inventory.
- After selecting the desired apps, click Done.
- Next, associate the policy with the target devices by clicking on Policy Targets > +Add Devices. Choose the device and click Save. The policy will be pushed to the device.
In case the user chooses to add an app group, all the apps included in the group can be either blocklisted or allowlisted.
Notes:
- System apps, except Phone and Settings apps, can be blocklisted on supervised iOS devices.
- To enable QR code scanning with the Camera app, you need to allowlist the Camera app, the Code Scanner app, and the Safari web browser app.
- To block QR code scanning with the Camera app, you need to blocklist the Code Scanner app. You might be required to restart the device for the blocklist policy to take effect.
- If both blocklisting and allowlisting policies are applied on a device, apps common to both policies will be blocked.
Exceptions:
- If the user tries to install a blocklisted app, upon installation, when the user tries to access the app, a pop-up message emerges specifying the restriction.
- If the user blocklists an already installed app, the app will be hidden from the device once the policy is pushed to the device.
- If the blocklisted app is installed on an unsupervised device, MDM marks the device as non-compliant as MDM cannot block the users from using it.
- Conversely, if the user tries to allowlist a set of apps, all the other apps not included in the list will be hidden displaying only the allowlisted apps.
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