Most guides to blocking porn on iPhone give you one setup and expect it to suit everyone. It won't. Someone who occasionally ends up on a tube site late at night needs something different from someone who keeps finding porn on Reddit, in other browsers, or on sites they've never visited before.
All three levels below use Screen Time, which is built into iOS, so there's nothing to install and nothing to uninstall. Start with Level 1. If you find yourself getting around it, move up a level. Whichever level you choose, the last step locks the settings with a passcode you don't know, so the block holds when the urge comes back.
Before you start: set a temporary Screen Time passcode
Go to Settings > Screen Time > Lock Screen Time Settings and set a simple passcode like 1234. You'll replace it at the end. The settings below only stay locked once a passcode exists.
Level 1: Turn on the adult website filter
People who mostly end up on porn sites by typing them into a browser, often late at night or out of boredom, and who don't go hunting for workarounds once those sites are blocked. If that's you, start here.
This blocks most porn sites in every browser on your phone. Apps and the rest of the web work as normal.
- Go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions and turn it on.
- Open App Store, Media, Web & Games > Web Content.
- Choose Limit Adult Websites.
Apple's filter catches most well-known porn sites and removes Private Browsing from Safari. It does miss some. Whenever you find one it missed, add it under Never Allow on the same screen.
Then skip to locking it.
Level 2: Set apps to 13+
People who got around Level 1 through an app rather than a website: Reddit, X, Telegram, or a different browser. It also suits anyone who is willing to lose a few legitimate apps in exchange for a much tighter block.
Keep everything from Level 1, then:
- In Content & Privacy Restrictions > App Store, Media, Web & Games > Apps, choose 13+.
- In Content & Privacy Restrictions > App Installations & Purchases, set Installing Apps to Don't Allow.
The 13+ setting blocks every app rated higher than 13+ from opening. That includes most third-party browsers and apps where porn is easy to find, like Reddit and X. Safari, with the filter from Level 1, becomes the only way onto the web. Turning off installs stops you downloading lower-rated apps that get around it.
The cost is that some legitimate apps are rated above 13+ and stop working too. Slack and Reddit are common ones. Check the age ratings of the apps you rely on first, and install anything you'll need before you turn installs off. There's more on what the 13+ setting does here.
Then skip to locking it.
Level 3: Only allow websites you choose
People who keep finding porn on sites the filter doesn't know about, or who have tried the first two levels and still found a way around them.
Apple's filter works from a list, and there are always new sites it hasn't caught yet. At this level, your phone only opens websites you've approved, so every porn site is blocked, including ones that don't exist yet.
Keep the 13+ and Installing Apps settings from Level 2, then:
- In Web Content, choose Allowed Websites instead of Limit Adult Websites.
- iOS fills the list with a few sites aimed at children. Swipe left to delete any you don't want.
- Tap Add Website for each site you use: your email, your bank, and the news, shopping and work sites you visit most. Look through your Safari history for ideas.
Apps aren't affected, so WhatsApp, your banking app and the rest keep working. Image search is a common way back to explicit content, so think carefully before adding a search engine to the list.
This level is strict, and you'll run into sites you need that aren't on your list. Add as many as you can before you lock it. After that, you can add more when you unlock Screen Time.
Last step: replace the passcode with one you don't know
You know 1234, so right now you can undo any of these levels in a few seconds. Late at night is exactly when you'll want to. Replace it with a passcode you don't know. WaitToUnlock generates a random passcode, walks you through entering it under Change Screen Time Passcode without learning it, and only reveals it after a 6-hour wait. The urge has usually passed long before the 6 hours are up, and if you genuinely need to change a setting, you still can. Having someone you trust set the passcode works too.
Then close the recovery loophole: iOS lets you reset a Screen Time passcode with your own Apple Account unless you set things up carefully. Here's how to disable that.
If you have an iPad, turn on Share Across Devices in Screen Time so the same settings apply there. There's a separate guide for iPad here.
Common questions
What's the easiest way to block porn on iPhone?
Turn on Limit Adult Websites under Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > App Store, Media, Web & Games > Web Content, and add any sites it misses to the Never Allow list. Then lock it with a passcode you don't know.
Why set Screen Time to 13+?
It blocks apps rated above 13+ from opening, which includes most third-party browsers and apps like Reddit and X where porn is easy to find. It also removes Private Browsing from Safari. The cost is that some legitimate apps rated higher than 13+ stop working too.
What is the strictest porn block on iPhone?
Setting Web Content to Allowed Websites. Every browser on the phone will then only open sites on your list, so every porn site is blocked, including new ones.
How do I stop myself turning the block off?
Protect Screen Time with a passcode you don't know. Use WaitToUnlock or have someone you trust set it, and remove your own Apple Account from passcode recovery.