I had suggested using a firewall or router service before but I wanted to add some further information because you can block it this way along with several other apps that have been listed in several of these posts.
I have EERO from Amazon. I use the paid program for 100$ a year. My network and every device I owned was compromised in 2020. I wasn’t sure where I picked up the problem or how it was introduced so I wanted very detailed control over any connections or device interactions to my Wi-Fi network. After paying thousands to replace everything 100$ a year to try to keep control was worth it to me personally. So I’m not sure what comes with the free version with the purchase of a EERO router but that would be a personal judgement call based on your homes needs.
First the app can be downloaded from the Apple Store and kept on your main device. Your setup will make you the administrator, but you can add a second person to make changes if you have another adult in the house to add the app to their phone.
I am clueless with other routers and how they can be customized through a web page, so I needed something that I could figure out through something simple in an app like way of preferences.
To set up a Profile to individualize what can be blocked or have a scheduled pause timeframe you have to connect the device(s) to the main Wi-Fi connection that allows it to see other connections on the network. Anything that you don’t want to be able to interact with anything else should be given the guest network which is also password protected. It doesn’t matter which one it is connected to if you want to apply pause or block the device.
For many of the issues I am seeing in this post I think you would need to go with a profile and add any devices that you want to have limits applied to control the connection. Roblox is listed as an app that can be blocked directly under games along with game systems and game companies. You can block YouTube and social media directly by just selecting them in the block apps section of the profile settings to apply to all devices assigned to that profile. That allows you to use certain web connections on the adult devices set up under a different profile. You can block or allow sites and control content types by age groups. You can further manage the device by time by setting up a scheduled pause that will block any Wi-Fi connection during a certain time. If the device has cell service then further turn off the app under cellular settings from connecting when not connected to Wi-Fi.
I know it is something that costs money and not part of the Apple Settings. So I know this will not be the right solution for everyone. It is however the best way I have ever found to really control my home network as a network systems dummy. It has also given me a control freaks dream way to micro manage things that I can’t stop any other way. Everything I own is Apple except for this router, so I’m very pro apple when possible btw.
I hope this helps someone!
