How to Block Apps on iPhone (and Make the Block Stick)

You can block apps on iPhone with Screen Time, no download needed. Go to Settings > Screen Time, add a limit for the app, and turn on Block at End of Limit. On iOS 27, the same settings are called Time Allowances and Screen Time Schedule.

The catch: you set the passcode, so you know it. When you really want to open Instagram, it's easy to just type it in.

Below are the steps, then how to make a block harder to undo.

#How to block apps on iPhone with Screen Time

Screen Time comes with every iPhone. It can block any app you've installed. Here's how on iOS 26:

1. Open Settings and tap Screen Time. If it's off, tap App & Website Activity and turn it on.
2. Tap Lock Screen Time Settings and pick a passcode.
3. Go back and tap App Limits, then Add Limit.
4. Pick what to block. To block certain apps instead of a whole category, open a category like Social and pick single apps. Tap Next.
5. Set the time. One minute is the usual lowest setting, and iOS 26 also allows a full block (TechLockdown).
6. Turn on Block at End of Limit and tap Add.

Don't skip step 2. Block at End of Limit only shows up once you have a Screen Time passcode (TechLockdown). Without it, your limit is just a reminder.

#On iOS 27

Apple renamed things in iOS 27. App Limits are now Time Allowances. Downtime is now Screen Time Schedule. Both are still in Settings > Screen Time (Apple).

The idea is the same. Set the time, set a passcode, and make sure the limit blocks the app instead of just reminding you.

#How to block Apple's own apps like Safari or Camera

You can switch off Apple's own apps completely. They disappear from your Home Screen until you turn them back on.

1. Go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions and turn it on.
2. Tap Allowed Apps & Features.
3. Turn off the apps you want gone, like Safari, FaceTime or Camera.

This only works for apps that came with your iPhone (Apple). For Instagram, TikTok or other downloaded apps, use a limit instead.

#How to block apps at certain times

If you scroll most at night, block apps at night. For this, a schedule works better than a daily limit. Downtime blocks everything except the apps you choose, during the hours you set.

1. Go to Settings > Screen Time > Downtime. On iOS 27, it's Screen Time Schedule.
2. Pick the days and hours. For example, 10:30 pm to 7 am.
3. Turn on Block at Downtime. This also needs the passcode. Without it, Downtime is a reminder you can tap past (detox.so).
4. Under Always Allowed, keep the apps you need, like Phone, Messages and Maps.

Keep the Always Allowed list short. Any app on it ignores both Downtime and your limits.

#Can you block an app permanently?

Not with one switch. But you can get close.

First, delete the app. Then stop it from being installed again:

1. Go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions.
2. Tap iTunes & App Store Purchases, then Installing Apps.
3. Choose Don't Allow (Apple).

This blocks all new downloads, not just that one app. You'll have to switch it back each time you want to install something.

#Why Screen Time blocks don't stick when you set them yourself

Screen Time was built for parents. The parent knows the passcode. The kid doesn't.

When you block your own apps, you know the passcode. So the block only works as long as you want it to.

Say you give Instagram 30 minutes a day. Here's what happens when the time is up:

• Without a passcode: you get an Ignore Limit button. It lets you take one more minute, 15 more minutes, or the rest of the day (TechLockdown).
• With a passcode and Block at End of Limit: you get one more minute, once. After that, your iPhone asks for the passcode (The Mac Observer).

The passcode helps. But since you picked it, you can type it in and keep scrolling.

There's also a gap in the browser. Limits cover the app, not the website. So Instagram still works in Safari unless you add the site to a limit too (TechLockdown).

Some people ask a partner or friend to set the passcode for them. That works. The downside is you have to ask them every time you want to change a limit.

#What makes a block stick

A 2023 study in PNAS gives a good answer. Researchers followed 280 people for six weeks. They all used one sec, an app that makes you wait 10 seconds before a chosen app opens. Then it asks if you still want to go in.

The results:

• People opened the blocked apps 57% less by the end of the six weeks.
• 36% of the time, people closed the app after the pause.
• People said they spent less time in the apps and felt better about how they used them.

The researchers then ran a second test with 500 people to see which part mattered. The 10 second wait helped. A message asking people to think it over didn't help at all. What helped most was a clear button to back out.

So a good block makes stopping easy and getting past it hard. A passcode you already know doesn't do that.

Fine print: a later study followed 1,039 people using the same app (Haliburton et al., CHI 2024). Over time, they opened their apps less. But they also got used to the pause and tapped through it more often.

That's why we built Ripple. You can set a block to make you wait 10 seconds. Or you can set it to ask your group. Then a friend gets your request and decides if the app opens. There's no passcode for you to type. Ripple works on iOS 26 and later.

#Which method should you use?

Just want a nudge? Screen Time without a passcode is fine. Already tried that and typed your way past it? Try an app blocker from further down the table, or see our comparison of app blockers for iPhone.

Want to know why these apps are so hard to put down? Read why social media is so addictive.

#Sources

• Grüning D. J., Riedel F. & Lorenz-Spreen P., Directing smartphone use through the self-nudge app one sec, PNAS, 2023.
• Haliburton L. et al., A Longitudinal In-the-Wild Investigation of Design Frictions to Prevent Smartphone Overuse, CHI 2024.
• Apple, Set Screen Time Schedules and Time Allowances on iPhone.
• Apple, Block features or content with Screen Time on iPhone.
• Apple, Change settings and restrictions in the App Store on iPhone.
• TechLockdown, iOS 26 Screen Time changes.
• TechLockdown, How to Fix the "Ignore Limit" Screen Time Bypass.
• TechLockdown, How to Fix Screen Time App Limits Not Working.
• The Mac Observer, How to Disable the "One More Minute" Screen Time Limit on iPhone.
• detox.so, Downtime Not Working on iPhone?