How to block apps on iPhone so you cannot just turn it off

Updated September 13, 2026 · By the Stint team

Short answer

No app blocker on iPhone is impossible to bypass, because Apple lets the owner of the phone change Screen Time at any time. What works is adding a cost to unlocking: a session where opening a blocked app ends your focus and costs you your share of a prize pool. Stint does exactly that. You pay an entry fee to join a focus challenge, your chosen apps are shielded through Screen Time while you work, and opening one ends the session. The block is real, but the thing that keeps you inside it is the money on the line.

Download on theApp Store

Stint shields your apps with Screen Time and puts an entry fee behind the unlock.

Why every iPhone blocker can be bypassed

Screen Time, and every third-party blocker built on Apple's Family Controls framework, runs with your permission. You granted it, and iOS lets you revoke it. Most blockers add friction on top: a Screen Time passcode you are meant to forget, a delay before the block lifts, a breathing exercise, a long-press. All of it is speed bumps. A determined person clears a speed bump in under a minute.

This is the complaint behind thousands of one-star reviews: "I just deleted the app", "I turned it off after two days", "the limit pops up and I tap Ignore". The blocker was working. The problem was that turning it off cost nothing.

What actually holds: make unlocking cost something

Behaviour changes when the exit has a price. A focus session with stakes flips the question from "can I get around this?" to "is it worth it?". For a five-minute scroll, the honest answer is almost always no.

Stint runs this as a challenge. A pool is a small group of people who each pay an entry fee and commit to the same daily focus goal for the length of the challenge. During a session, the apps you chose to block are shielded by Screen Time. If you open one, the session ends. Miss the goal and you do not qualify. Everyone who does qualify splits the prize pool at the end. Nobody is charged extra for missing; you simply forfeit the share you could have had.

Setting it up in five minutes

Download Stint and allow Screen Time when asked. Stint only ever sees opaque tokens for the apps you pick, never their names or your usage.
Pick your work apps: the ones where focus time counts, such as your IDE, Figma, Notion or a writing app.
Pick the apps to block: social, video, games, anything that ends a session if opened.
Join a public pool or make a private one with friends. Set the entry fee and daily goal together.
Start a session when you sit down to work. The Live Activity on your lock screen shows the countdown; blocked apps show a shield.

When a plain blocker is still the right tool

If you only want to trim evening scrolling and you are not fighting yourself very hard, Apple's built-in Screen Time limits are free and enough. Stakes are for the work that matters: the thesis, the launch, the exam, the deep work you keep postponing. Use the free tool for the small stuff and a challenge for the big stuff.

Questions people ask

Can I turn Stint off during a session?

Yes. You can end a session or revoke Screen Time at any time; iOS guarantees that. Doing so ends the session, and a session that ends early does not count toward your daily goal.

Is Stint a game of chance?

No. It is a skill-based focus challenge. Whether you qualify depends entirely on whether you do the focused work, and you are never charged for missing a goal.

Does Stint see what I do in my apps?

No. App selection happens through Apple's Family Controls picker, which gives Stint opaque tokens. Stint counts focus time; it never sees app names or content.

Focus with money on the line.