Most "app blockers" on the App Store are solving a problem you don't have. Your iPhone already ships with a powerful, free, OS-level tool for blocking apps: Screen Time. It can hide apps, cut off access after a daily limit, and shut things down during set hours, all without downloading anything.
People still pay monthly for third-party blockers because Screen Time has one weakness. The blocking itself works, but you set the passcode yourself, so the moment you want back in, you just turn it off. This guide shows you how to block apps using only what's already on your phone, and then how to close that last loophole.
Why you don't need another app blocker
Installed app blockers share the same weakness: anything you can install, you can delete. When the urge hits, removing the blocker takes two taps, and you're straight back to scrolling. On top of that, many of them cost a recurring subscription for a feature your phone already has for free.
Screen Time is different in three ways:
- It's built into iOS. Nothing to download, nothing to delete, nothing to pay.
- It works at the operating-system level. It can block apps and websites more deeply than a third-party app can.
- It can be locked with a passcode. This is the part that makes it stick, if you use it right.
Step 1: Turn on Screen Time
Open Settings > Screen Time. If it isn't on yet, tap Turn On Screen Time and follow the prompts. This is the hub for every limit you're about to set.
Step 2: Block specific apps with App Limits
To cut off the apps that take most of your time:
- Go to Screen Time > App Limits and tap Add Limit.
- Pick a category (like Social or Entertainment) or drill into a single app.
- Set the daily allowance. Setting it to 1 minute effectively blocks the app for the day.
When you hit the limit, the app greys out and you get a "Time Limit" screen instead of the app.
Step 3: Block apps by time of day with Downtime
If your problem is more about when than how much, use Downtime. Go to Screen Time > Downtime and schedule the hours you want apps locked, typically late nights and early mornings. During Downtime, only the apps you've explicitly allowed stay open.
Step 4: Block websites and adult content
Screen Time blocks more than apps. Under Content & Privacy Restrictions > Content Restrictions > Web Content, you can set Limit Adult Websites and add specific sites to Never Allow. This applies across browsers on iOS, so switching to a different browser does not get around it.
Step 5: Lock it, the step everyone skips
Everything above can be undone in seconds, because you can go into Settings and switch it off whenever you feel like it. For the blocks to hold, you need to protect Screen Time with a passcode you can't simply type in from memory.
You can set a Screen Time passcode under Screen Time > Lock Screen Time Settings. But if you choose the code yourself, you'll remember it, and you'll use it to override your own limits the first time you're tempted. This is the reason people give up on Screen Time and go back to paid app blockers.
How to close the last loophole
We built WaitToUnlock for this. It doesn't block apps itself. It makes your iPhone's built-in blocking hold by removing your access to the passcode.
WaitToUnlock generates a random Screen Time passcode and walks you through entering it on your phone using a deliberately confusing sequence, so the code gets set but you never memorise it. It then stores that passcode encrypted. When you genuinely need it back, you can request it, but you have to wait first. By the time the wait is up, the 11pm urge that made you want to disable everything has passed.
You get the same blocking with no subscription and no app to delete, and you can no longer disable it on impulse.
The short version
You already own the best app blocker on your iPhone. Use App Limits and Downtime to block the apps, use Content Restrictions for websites, and then protect the whole thing with a passcode you can't bypass on impulse. Without that last step, every limit is optional.