How to Blocklist / Allowlist apps in Android Enterprise enabled devices

Organizations may require certain groups of apps to be allowed while preventing access to the rest of the applications. Situations like these necessitate the administrators to allow/block access to a set of applications.

Hexnode, with its immense device management capabilities, allows you to create a blocklist, which is a list of apps to be hidden or rendered unusable, or a allowlist, which is a list of apps to be allowed access on the devices. This allows to prevent the users’ access to inappropriate apps or allows users to access only the required applications.

You can blocklist or allowlist applications on devices enrolled in Android Enterprise; a Google-led initiative for easy management of corporate deployed devices.

Android Enterprise can be configured either in Profile Owner mode or Device Owner Mode.

Blocklisting Apps in Profile Owner mode

1. Login to your Hexnode portal.
2. Go to Policies.
3. Select an existing policy or create a new policy by clicking on New Policy.
4. From Android Settings select App Management > Blocklist/Allowlist and click on Configure.
5. Change the Type to Blocklist.
6. Click on +Add to add either an app or App group.
7. Select the apps to be blocklisted and click on Done.
8. Next, associate the policy to the target devices by clicking on Policy Targets > +Add Device. Choose the device and click Save. The policy will be pushed to the device.

Allowlisting Apps in Profile Owner mode

1. Login to your Hexnode portal.
2. Go to Policies.
3. Select an existing policy or create a new policy by clicking on New Policy.
4. From Android select App Management > Blocklist/Allowlist and click on Configure.
5. Change the Type to Allowlist.
6. Enable the option Blocklist all non-launchable apps to blocklist the non-launchable applications (for example, Google Play services, Android System WebView, etc.) explicitly.
7. Click on +Add to add either an app or App group.
8. Select the apps to be allowlisted and click on Done.
9. Now, add the target devices under Policy Targets > +Add Device and save the policy.

Blocklisting Apps in Device Owner Mode

1. Login to your Hexnode portal.
2. Go to Policies.
3. Select an existing policy or create a new policy by clicking on New Policy.
4. From Android select App Management > Blocklist/Allowlist and click on Configure.
5. Select the Blocklist button.
6. Click on +Add to add either an app or App group.
7. Select the apps to be blocklisted and click on Done.
8. Apply the policy with the target devices by navigating to Policy Target > +Add Device.

Allowlisting Apps in Device Owner mode

1. Login to your Hexnode portal.
2. Go to Policies.
3. Select an existing policy or create a new policy by clicking on New Policy.
4. From Android select App Management > Blocklist/Allowlist and click on Configure.
5. Select the Allowlist button.
6. Enable the option Blocklist all non-launchable apps to blocklist the non-launchable applications (for example, Google Play services, Android System WebView, etc.) explicitly.
7. Click on +Add to add either an app or App group.
8. Select the apps to be allowlisted and click on Done.
9. Now, move to Policy Targets > +Add Device. Choose your device and save the policy.