How to block apps on iPhone
You can block apps on iPhone with Apple's built-in Screen Time (Settings › Screen Time › App Limits) or with an app blocker like blokr. Screen Time is free and good enough for a nudge, but the Ignore Limit button makes it easy to override. A blocker adds schedules, daily limits and Deep focus blocks you cannot edit while they run.
- Open Settings › Screen Time and turn it on if it is off.
- Tap App Limits › Add Limit, pick the apps or categories, set a time, tap Add.
- Set a Screen Time passcode so limits cannot be dismissed without it.
- For blocks that hold, install blokr and create a Schedule or a Deep focus session.
Most people who want to block an app on iPhone have already tried deleting it. It comes back a week later. This guide covers the four options that actually hold: three inside Apple’s Screen Time, and one with a dedicated blocker.
Why Screen Time alone usually fails
Screen Time can limit or block any app. The problem is the Ignore Limit button. When a limit runs out, iOS shows a “Time Limit” screen with options to get one more minute, be reminded in 15 minutes, or ignore the limit for the day. If you have not set a Screen Time passcode, one tap and you are back in.
Setting a passcode helps, but you know your own passcode. For a lot of people the real fix is a block they cannot talk themselves out of. That is what Method 4 is for.
Method 1: App Limits in Screen Time
App Limits give an app, or a whole category, a daily time budget.
- Open Settings › Screen Time. If Screen Time is off, turn it on.
- Tap App Limits › Add Limit.
- Pick categories (Social, Games) or expand a category and tick single apps.
- Tap Next, set the daily time, and tap Add.
- Go back to Screen Time and tap Lock Screen Time Settings to set a passcode. Without it, limits are a suggestion.
The smallest limit you can set is one minute, which is as close to a full block as App Limits get. Limits reset at midnight.
Method 2: Downtime
Downtime blocks everything except the apps you allow, on a schedule. It is the right tool for sleep or work hours.
- Open Settings › Screen Time › Downtime.
- Turn on Scheduled and set the days and hours.
- Under Always Allowed, add the apps that should keep working (Phone, Messages, Maps).
- Turn on Block at Downtime so the passcode is required to get past it.
Downtime is all-or-nothing within the window. If you want Instagram blocked but Slack open, use App Limits or a blocker instead.
Method 3: Hide apps by age rating
Content & Privacy Restrictions can hide every app above an age rating. It is blunt, but it removes the icon from the Home Screen entirely.
- Open Settings › Screen Time › Content & Privacy Restrictions and turn it on.
- Tap Content Restrictions › Apps.
- Pick an age rating. Everything rated above it disappears.
Most social apps are rated 12+ or 17+, so choosing 9+ hides them. It also hides everything else above that rating, which is why this works better for a kid’s device than your own.
Method 4: Use an app blocker
An app blocker like blokr sits on top of the same Screen Time framework, so a blocked app is genuinely blocked. The difference is control over how and when.
- Schedule: block apps during fixed hours, every day or on selected days. Set it once and forget it.
- Limit: a daily budget per app or group. When it runs out the app stays blocked until tomorrow.
- Focus session: a one-off block for the next hour or the next afternoon.
- Deep focus: a block that is locked while it runs. There is no Ignore Limit button and no way to edit it; one emergency unblock a week is the only way out.
When a block ends on your terms, you decide what that means: wait for the timer, unlock manually, scan a QR code or an NFC tag you keep in another room, or open an approved app first. Templates like Study mode, Night shield and Balanced breaks set the common cases up in one tap.
Which method should you use?
| You want to | Use |
|---|---|
| A gentle nudge when you have been scrolling too long | Screen Time App Limits |
| Everything off at night or during work | Screen Time Downtime, or a blokr Schedule |
| One app gone, the rest working | App Limits with a passcode, or a blokr Schedule |
| A block you cannot override in a weak moment | blokr Deep focus |
| Hide apps on a child’s device | Content & Privacy Restrictions |
Three mistakes that undo the block
No passcode. Every Screen Time method falls apart without one. Set it, and if you can, have someone else choose it.
Forgetting Safari. Blocking the Instagram app does nothing about instagram.com. Add the site under App Limits › Websites, or use a blocker that covers websites.
The reinstall loophole. Deleting an app is not blocking it. If you go that route, also turn off app installs under Content & Privacy Restrictions › iTunes & App Store Purchases, so the App Store cannot bring it straight back.
Questions, answered
Can I block apps on iPhone without Screen Time?
Not completely. Every app blocker on iOS, including blokr, relies on Apple's Screen Time framework to actually block an app. What a blocker adds on top is scheduling, allow lists, NFC or QR unlocking and Deep focus blocks that cannot be edited while they run.
Can I block an app completely, not just limit it?
Yes. In Screen Time, set an App Limit of one minute and the app is effectively blocked for the day. In blokr, a Schedule blocks the app for the whole time window and a Deep focus session blocks it until the timer ends.
Why can I still open a blocked app?
Usually because the limit was ignored. Without a Screen Time passcode, anyone can tap Ignore Limit. Set a passcode, or use a blocker with Deep focus, which locks a block while it runs.
Does blocking an app also block it in Safari?
No. Screen Time App Limits only cover the app. Add the website under Websites in App Limits, or use a blocker that covers websites too.
Can I block apps on iPad the same way?
Yes. Screen Time and app blockers work the same on iPad. If Share Across Devices is on in Screen Time, limits apply to every device signed in with your Apple Account.