Block an app

How to block any app on your iPhone

Pick the app that's eating your day. Each page gives you the exact taps — the free route through Apple's built-in Screen Time, and the automatic route with Paused — plus an honest line about why that particular app is so hard to close.

The short version, for any app

  1. Free, with Apple Screen Time. Settings → Screen Time → App Limits → Add Limit → search the app by name → set the allowance → then reopen the limit and turn on Block at End of Limit. For "off after 10pm" instead of a daily budget, use Screen Time → Downtime → Scheduled, and check the app isn't in Always Allowed.
  2. Automatic, with Paused. Create a Block Schedule, tick the apps, pick the days and hours, save. They switch themselves off and back on. Need silence right now instead? Start a Focus session and they're locked until the timer ends.

Both use the same Apple Screen Time (Family Controls) engine, so neither one reads your messages, your browsing, or anything inside the apps you block.

Block social apps on iPhone

Feeds, stories and group chats — the apps you open without deciding to.

Block video apps on iPhone

Vertical feeds and autoplay: the formats built so the next thing starts on its own.

Block streaming apps on iPhone

Next-episode countdowns and autoplaying queues, for TV and for audio.

Block games apps on iPhone

Timers that refill while you are away, so the game books slots in your day.

Block shopping apps on iPhone

Infinite catalogues, countdown deals and a feed that follows what you nearly bought.

Block news apps on iPhone

Alerts that feel urgent about things that will not change your day.

Block forums apps on iPhone

Comment threads, which means every post is really a hundred posts.

Block dating apps on iPhone

Swipe loops and expiring matches — a queue with deadlines attached.

Block sports apps on iPhone

Live scores and in-play odds that reward looking at your phone every few minutes.

Get Paused — free on the App Store Get →