Cutting back on social media means different things to different people. Some want to spend an hour a day instead of three. Some want one app gone and the rest left alone. Some want a clean break from all of it.
All three levels below use Screen Time, which is built into iOS, so there's nothing to install. 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 you can't extend a limit or turn it off when you're bored.
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. You need one now because the Block at End of Limit toggle only appears once a passcode exists.
Level 1: Set a daily limit
People who want to keep using social media, just less of it. You open the apps more than you'd like, but you don't feel unable to stop. If that's you, start here.
- Go to Settings > Screen Time > App Limits > Add Limit.
- Select the Social category, or open it and pick individual apps.
- Set a daily time, such as 30 minutes or 1 hour. The limit is shared across every app you selected.
- Turn on Block at End of Limit. Without it, you get a One More Minute button you can keep tapping.
Some messaging apps are in the Social category. Add any you need, like WhatsApp, under Settings > Screen Time > Always Allowed so they never count towards the limit.
Then turn off notifications for each social app under Settings > Notifications. Most sessions start with a notification, so this cuts down how often you open the apps in the first place.
Then skip to locking it.
Level 2: Block the worst apps and turn social media off at night
People who use up their daily limit early and spend the rest of the day wanting more, or who find one or two apps take most of their time. It also suits anyone whose scrolling mostly happens in bed.
Block the worst apps. Keep the Level 1 limit for the apps you use in moderation. For the apps you can't use in moderation, usually short-video feeds like TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, add a separate App Limit of 1 minute with Block at End of Limit on. Then add their websites to Never Allow under Content & Privacy Restrictions > App Store, Media, Web & Games > Web Content, so you can't switch to the browser. There are step-by-step guides for TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
Turn social media off at night. Go to Settings > Screen Time > Downtime, set a schedule such as 10pm to 7am, and turn on Block at Downtime. Only apps in Always Allowed work during Downtime, so check your alarm and messaging apps are on that list. There's more on stopping scrolling at night here.
Then skip to locking it.
Level 3: Delete the apps and stop them coming back
People who want a clean break from social media, or who have tried the first two levels and still found a way back to the feed.
- Install anything you'll need over the next few weeks first.
- Go to Content & Privacy Restrictions > App Installations & Purchases and set Installing Apps to Don't Allow. The App Store disappears from your home screen.
- Delete the social apps. They can't be reinstalled now.
- Add their websites to Never Allow, for example
instagram.com,tiktok.com,x.com,facebook.com,reddit.comandsnapchat.com.
Keep the Downtime schedule from Level 2 if you still use any apps at night. There's a full guide to blocking reinstalls here, and if you want to go further, here's how to turn your iPhone into a dumb phone.
Last step: replace the passcode with one you don't know
You know 1234, so right now you can extend a limit or undo any of these levels in a few seconds. 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 to scroll 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.
Common questions
How do I limit social media on iPhone?
Go to Settings > Screen Time > App Limits > Add Limit, choose your social apps, set a daily time, and turn on Block at End of Limit. Then lock Screen Time with a passcode you don't know so you can't extend the limit.
Will a Social category limit block WhatsApp and Messages?
It can, because some messaging apps are in the Social category. Add the apps you need for messaging to Always Allowed in Screen Time so they never count towards the limit.
What's the strictest way to quit social media on iPhone?
Delete the apps, set Installing Apps to Don't Allow so they can't come back, and add the websites to the Never Allow list. Then lock it with a passcode you don't know.
How do I stop myself turning the limits 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.