Duolingo/Picsart blocked as social media

I've seen something kind of similar, but that was due to embedded ads in the app being blocked. Have you tried disabling the blocking profile on the affected iPad to see if the apps show back up when it's not on? Would there be any other restriction profile that might be interfering with the app?

Or how about your restrictions profile and the settings 'Allowed Content Ratings' under 'Media Restrictions' tab? The screen clip below is what we set ours at to keep from blocking some apps that are considered "education" but still not for the 12+ age group. 

I hope this helps some.

Thanks for the response, Greg! Yeah, if I disable the profile that's blocking the social media category on the affected devices, they come back. The app content restrictions on that profile are set to "allow all apps". Seems a bit buggy as the apps work fine on most; I've ruled out parents/teacher restrictions too. Only other thing I've seen in the past is screen time being enabled having an adverse affect (even without app restrictions enabled), but it doesn't seem to be the case here.

Hey Jamf Community,

It sounds like you're facing an issue with app restrictions on iPads, specifically with Picsart and Duolingo being blocked despite being categorized differently. It's frustrating when policies don't align perfectly with app categorizations. While I haven't heard of this exact issue before, it might be helpful to delve into the specific settings in Jamf or your mobile device management system. Sometimes there are hidden rules or conflicts that can cause these discrepancies.

As for a workaround or suggestion, since you're dealing with a restricted access situation, you might want to consider exploring alternatives. For example, Picsart Premium Gold APK could be an option for those who need advanced photo editing capabilities. It's not a direct solution, but it could provide similar functionalities outside of the blocked category.

Has anyone else encountered a similar situation or found a different workaround? Sharing experiences and solutions can often shed light on these tricky issues.

Thanks for this Topic that you raised!

• First, check the Jamf app categorization in your MDM profile — sometimes apps like Duolingo or Picsart are incorrectly grouped under “Social Media” due to updates in Apple’s App Store metadata.

• Verify the App Store category mapping for Duolingo (Education) and Picsart (Photo & Video) directly in ASM to confirm the system isn’t misreading them.

• Clear the device-level restrictions cache by restarting the affected iPads; sometimes cached profiles trigger false restrictions.

• Confirm that the Content Filter payload in Jamf isn’t broadly set to block “social networking domains,” as Duolingo uses login services that may resemble social sign-in APIs.

• Cross-check whether your school network firewall is applying category-based filtering separately from Jamf, leading to duplicate restrictions.

• Update the affected iPads to the latest iPadOS version, as outdated OS profiles sometimes misinterpret MDM restrictions.

• Try scoping a new test configuration profile that blocks only Social Media business seo but allows both Duolingo and Picsart as exceptions, then deploy to a test device.

• Look into whether the apps use in-app social features (Duolingo has leaderboards, Picsart has sharing) which can confuse filtering rules.

• Use Jamf’s logs and diagnostic reports to see the exact reason why the apps were blocked on certain devices.

• If inconsistencies remain, remove the MDM profile completely, factory reset one iPad, then re-enroll through ASM to see if the miscategorization persists.

• Consider contacting Apple School Manager support to confirm the correct App Store categories are being pushed to Jamf, as this has been reported in similar cases.

• As an SEO example, if you’re documenting this fix in a school IT blog, use keywords like “Jamf iPad restrictions troubleshooting,” “Duolingo blocked by social media filter,” or “Picsart school MDM category issue” to help educators and IT admins find your solution faster.