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What about a DNS based approach on iOS? You don't need MDM, just a VPN extension. You could send push notifications when your DNS server detects a site to block

What about a DNS based approach on iOS? You don't need MDM, just a VPN extension. You could send push notifications when your DNS server detects a site to block and mimic the same UX you have with a browser extension.

qiyuxuan96 7y ago
You are correct - that would work to send reminders (notifications). However, we wouldn't be able to prevent people from using their apps. This is definitely something we are considering.
- realtalk_sp 7y ago
  Love the idea. Absolutely needed. You should at least offer the VPN solution, even if it's not as feature rich as the desktop extension. The desktop problem is pretty solvable for programmers. I wrote a simple bash script to add/remove blocked sites to /etc/hosts. I mapped that script to aliases 'focus' and 'distract' that block and unblock sites, respectively (requiring the root password). Finally, I set up a root cron job that runs 'focus' every hour during desired time windows (for me that's morning until late evening on Mon-Sat inclusive). That system works exceedingly well, but I can't port it to iOS. Right now I use Lockdown (VPN-based) with a block list and it works okay, except when I want to unlock by disabling the firewall. There's no automatic reenable option making the whole system less effective. I considered writing my own VPN-based system but haven't got around to it. Would love to see Motion tackle it.
  - qiyuxuan96 7y ago
    Thanks. Yes - it's definitely an area we will tackle very soon. We just recently got our extension to a state where people are finding it useful; we plan on using our learnings on desktop and apply them to mobile.
- agrinman 7y ago
  You could effectively block the network connectivity for them though by mapping domains to 127.0.0.1. Why wouldn't that be just as good? nextdns.io does a really good job of running such a service.
  - ignoramous 7y ago
    > nextdns.io does a really good job of running such a service. It is not trivial to build, run, and operate a nextdns-esque service. The founders, Olivier and Romain, are some of the world's best at what they do, imo. That said, a client-side DNS re-write solution might be relatively cheaper to implement and might even be a tad-easier than deploying an global DNS resolver with per-user custom configurations and endpoints.
    - qiyuxuan96 7y ago
      Agreed; it's definitely not trivial. We will definitely tackle mobile very soon, and this is a potential solution. Thanks!
  - qiyuxuan96 7y ago
    Thanks for the suggestion - yes that is definitely something we've thought about and will possibly implement. We'll be tackling the mobile problem soon, and we hope to use our learnings from desktop to find the most effective solution in mobile.

qiyuxuan96 7y ago

You are correct - that would work to send reminders (notifications). However, we wouldn't be able to prevent people from using their apps. This is definitely something we are considering.

realtalk_sp 7y ago
Love the idea. Absolutely needed. You should at least offer the VPN solution, even if it's not as feature rich as the desktop extension. The desktop problem is pretty solvable for programmers. I wrote a simple bash script to add/remove blocked sites to /etc/hosts. I mapped that script to aliases 'focus' and 'distract' that block and unblock sites, respectively (requiring the root password). Finally, I set up a root cron job that runs 'focus' every hour during desired time windows (for me that's morning until late evening on Mon-Sat inclusive). That system works exceedingly well, but I can't port it to iOS. Right now I use Lockdown (VPN-based) with a block list and it works okay, except when I want to unlock by disabling the firewall. There's no automatic reenable option making the whole system less effective. I considered writing my own VPN-based system but haven't got around to it. Would love to see Motion tackle it.
- qiyuxuan96 7y ago
  Thanks. Yes - it's definitely an area we will tackle very soon. We just recently got our extension to a state where people are finding it useful; we plan on using our learnings on desktop and apply them to mobile.
agrinman 7y ago
You could effectively block the network connectivity for them though by mapping domains to 127.0.0.1. Why wouldn't that be just as good? nextdns.io does a really good job of running such a service.
- ignoramous 7y ago
  > nextdns.io does a really good job of running such a service. It is not trivial to build, run, and operate a nextdns-esque service. The founders, Olivier and Romain, are some of the world's best at what they do, imo. That said, a client-side DNS re-write solution might be relatively cheaper to implement and might even be a tad-easier than deploying an global DNS resolver with per-user custom configurations and endpoints.
  - qiyuxuan96 7y ago
    Agreed; it's definitely not trivial. We will definitely tackle mobile very soon, and this is a potential solution. Thanks!
- qiyuxuan96 7y ago
  Thanks for the suggestion - yes that is definitely something we've thought about and will possibly implement. We'll be tackling the mobile problem soon, and we hope to use our learnings from desktop to find the most effective solution in mobile.