How to block apps on iPhone
Open Settings, tap Screen Time, then App Limits, and add a limit for the apps you want to block. Then set a Screen Time passcode, so the limit can’t be skipped with one tap.
Updated . Steps for iOS 18 and iOS 26, checked against Apple Support.
Four Screen Time settings that block apps
App Limits
Blocks an app once you’ve used it for a set time. Set one minute to block it almost entirely.
Downtime
Blocks every app except calls, messages and the ones you allow, during the hours you pick.
Content & Privacy Restrictions
Hides Apple’s built-in apps from your Home Screen and blocks websites you name.
Screen Time passcode
Stops the other three from being switched off, or skipped, without a code.
1. Block an app after a set time: App Limits
App Limits is the closest thing iPhone has to a built-in app blocker. It works per app or per category, such as Social Networking.
- Open Settings and tap Screen Time.
- If Screen Time is off, tap App & Website Activity, then Turn On App & Website Activity.
- Tap App Limits, then Add Limit.
- Select a category. To limit single apps, tap the category name and choose the apps, such as Instagram or TikTok.
- Tap Next and set the time allowed. To use different limits on some days, tap Customize Days.
- Tap Add (on iOS 26, Done).
Source: Apple, Set schedules with Screen Time on iPhone (iOS 18, iOS 26) and Get started with Screen Time.
2. Block apps at set hours: Downtime
Downtime blocks everything except calls, messages and the apps you allow. It suits nights and meals; for a workday it’s blunt.
- Go to Settings, then Screen Time.
- Tap Downtime.
- Tap Turn On Downtime Until Tomorrow, or turn on Scheduled to plan it ahead.
- For a schedule, choose Every Day or Customize Days, then set the start and end times.
- To keep some apps usable, go back to Screen Time and tap Always Allowed.
A scheduled Downtime sends a reminder five minutes before it starts.
Source: Apple, Set schedules with Screen Time on iPhone (iOS 18, iOS 26).
3. Hide built-in apps and block websites: Content & Privacy Restrictions
This hides Apple’s own apps, such as Safari or FaceTime, from your Home Screen until you turn them back on. Nothing is deleted. It’s also where you block websites.
- Go to Settings, then Screen Time.
- Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions and turn it on.
- Tap Allowed Apps & Features and turn off the apps you want hidden.
- To block a website, tap App Store, Media, Web, & Games, then Web Content. Choose Limit Adult Websites, tap Add Website under Never Allow, and enter the address.
Source: Apple, Block apps, app downloads, websites, and purchases on iPhone (iOS 18).
4. Make it stick: set a Screen Time passcode
Without a passcode, a limit can be ignored once it’s reached. Apple says so on its own Screen Time page.
- Go to Settings, then Screen Time.
- Scroll down and tap Lock Screen Time Settings.
- Enter a four-digit passcode, then enter it again.
- Tap Downtime and turn on Block at Downtime, so restricted apps can’t be opened during Downtime.
Want it to hold? Let someone else type the passcode, so you don’t know it.
Source: Apple, Create, manage, and keep track of a Screen Time passcode (iOS 18) and Set schedules with Screen Time (iOS 26).
Why do people turn Screen Time off?
Because the person who set the block can always lift it. A few ways that happens:
- Ignore Limit is one tap. By default, a limit can be skipped once it’s reached.
- You know the passcode. You set it, so you can change it or turn it off. Passcode Recovery even lets you reset it with your Apple Account.
- Downtime is all or nothing. It blocks almost everything, so the first time you need a map or your bank, it goes.
- Nobody notices. Switch it off and nothing happens. No one sees, and nothing is lost.
A block holds only while you still want it to. What helps is a reason to keep it on that isn’t willpower.
How a Stint session blocks apps
Stint is an iPhone app built on Screen Time. It blocks only the apps you choose, while a focus session runs, with a group and a prize pool behind it.
- Step 1
Pick your apps
In Apple’s own picker, choose the apps to block and the work apps where focus counts. Nothing else is touched.
- Step 2
Join a pool
A group with the same daily focus goal. Everyone pays the same entry fee into the prize pool.
- Step 3
Focus
Blocked apps show a block screen. Unlocking one anyway ends that day’s session, and Stint asks first.
- Step 4
Qualify and split
Meet the goal on the days the rules require. Everyone who qualifies splits the prize pool.
Screen Time or a Stint session?
What’s blocked
- Screen Time
- The apps you limit, or almost everything during Downtime
- Stint session
- Only the apps you choose, only while a session runs
Skipping the block
- Screen Time
- Ignore Limit, unless a passcode is set
- Stint session
- Unlock anyway ends that day’s session
Who notices
- Screen Time
- No one
- Stint session
- Your pool sees who has qualified today
Cost
- Screen Time
- Free and built in
- Stint session
- Free to download. A pool has an entry fee, and that’s the most you can lose
Money on the line has research behind it, for people who choose it. In a 2010 trial, smokers offered a savings account they would forfeit to charity if they failed a nicotine test were 3 percentage points more likely to pass at six months; 11% of those offered signed up (Giné, Karlan and Zinman, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics).
If a limit you can skip is enough for you, keep Screen Time. It’s free and already on your phone. Stint is for when it isn’t. More on the app blocker for iPhone page.
Questions
Can you block apps on iPhone without Screen Time?
Not with Apple’s built-in tools: Screen Time is how iPhone blocks apps. Third-party blockers, Stint included, work through Apple’s Screen Time framework too, and you pick the apps in Apple’s own picker.
How do I block an app completely?
Give it an App Limit of one minute a day and set a Screen Time passcode, so the limit can’t be ignored with a tap. For Apple’s built-in apps, you can also turn them off in Content & Privacy Restrictions, under Allowed Apps & Features, which hides them until you turn them back on.
How do I stop myself from skipping the limit?
Have someone else choose the Screen Time passcode, and skip Passcode Recovery, which lets you reset it with your Apple Account. Then turn on Block at Downtime. If you still find a way round it, a cost for quitting tends to work better than another setting.
Does locking an app with Face ID block it?
No. Require Face ID asks for Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode before the app opens. It keeps other people out, but you can still open the app whenever you like.
Is Stint free?
Stint is free to download for iPhone on iOS 18 or later. A pool has an entry fee, shown before you join, and Stint Pro (US$5.99 a month) is optional.
Block what you choose, with a group
Stint is free to download for iPhone on iOS 18 or later. You pay a pool’s entry fee only when you join one.
