How to block apps on iPhone (and Android)

Updated November 1, 2026 · 6 min read · Blocking apps

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iPhone doesn't have a single "block this app" switch. What it has is Screen Time, which can cap how long you use apps, keep them unavailable during certain hours, and lock those settings behind a passcode. On iOS 27, Apple's guide sets those limits by category, like Social Media or Games, rather than app by app. If you need one specific app blocked on a schedule, a blocker app is the closer fit. Android has its own version in Digital Wellbeing.

1. Set a daily time limit

iPhone on iOS 27: Time Allowances

1. Open the Settings app and tap Screen Time.
2. Tap Time Allowances. If Screen Time is off, tap Turn On App & Website Activity first.
3. Drag the slider to set your total time on the phone each day.
4. Under Time Allowances, tap a category and drag its slider to set that category’s daily time.
5. To add a category, tap Manage Categories, tap the add button, then pick a category.

Apps in a category work until they hit that category’s allowance or your daily total, whichever comes first. If an app declares a website, the allowance covers the website too.

iPhone on iOS 26 and earlier: App Limits

1. Open the Settings app and tap Screen Time.
2. Tap App Limits, then Add Limit.
3. Tap a category name to see its apps, then select the app you want to limit. (You can select a whole category instead.)
4. Tap Next and set the time allowed. Customize Days lets you set a different limit for each day.

If you select several apps or categories, they share one limit.

Android: App timers

1. Open your phone’s Settings app.
2. Tap Digital Wellbeing, then App timers.
3. Next to the app, tap Set timer.
4. Choose how much time you get and tap OK.

When the time runs out, the app closes and its icon dims. Timers reset at midnight. Google notes that some steps vary by device, and some work and school accounts might not work with app timers.

A limit isn’t a block. You can open the app until the time is used up, and even then it’s easy to get around. Apple’s iOS 26 guide says Screen Time limits can be ignored once you reach them, by default. On Android, you can delete the timer to use the app again before midnight. Section 3 covers the fix.

2. Keep apps off during set hours

iPhone on iOS 27: Screen Time Schedule

1. In Settings, tap Screen Time, tap Screen Time Schedule, then turn on Schedule.
2. Tap Add Schedule, choose the days, then confirm.
3. Tap a time window to rename it, change its start and stop times, and pick which Time Allowance categories are available during it.
4. To keep an app usable at all times, go back to Screen Time → Always Allowed → Add Apps.

Apple’s example is a weekday schedule with windows for work, dinner and the evening. Each window shows icons for the categories you can use during it.

iPhone on iOS 26 and earlier: Downtime

1. In Settings, tap Screen Time.
2. Tap Downtime, then Scheduled.
3. Select Every Day or Customize Days, then set the start and end times.
4. Pick the apps that stay available under Always Allowed.

During downtime, only calls, messages and the apps you allowed are available. Once you have a Screen Time passcode, turn on Block at Downtime so the other apps can’t be opened at all. They show dimmed with an hourglass icon. With it off, you get a reminder and can keep using the app.

Android: Focus mode

1. Open Settings and tap Digital Wellbeing, then Focus mode.
2. Choose the apps to pause. While Focus mode is on, you can’t use them and their notifications stop.
3. Tap Set a schedule to have it turn on by itself, or Turn on now to start it right away.

These are blunt tools. Downtime blocks everything except what you allow, and on iOS 27 the schedule works by category, not by app. Android’s Focus mode has a Take a break button that unpauses your apps for a while, one tap away.

3. Lock your limits with a passcode or PIN

Without this step, you can change your own limits whenever you like.

• iPhone on iOS 27: Settings → Screen Time → Passcode & Management → Lock Screen Time Settings, then enter a four-digit passcode twice.
• iPhone on iOS 26: Settings → Screen Time, scroll down and tap Lock Screen Time Settings.
• Android: Settings → Digital Wellbeing → App limits → App limits PIN, turn on PIN for app time limits, and set a 4-digit PIN.

Once it’s set, the passcode has to be entered before anyone changes your Screen Time settings. If you set up Screen Time Passcode Recovery, you can reset a forgotten passcode with your Apple Account, which also means you can get past your own code. If you know you’d just type it in, ask someone else to pick it.

4. Lock an app behind Face ID

If “block” means keeping other people out of an app, iPhone can lock it:

1. Touch and hold the app on the Home Screen until the Quick Actions menu opens.
2. Tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode).
3. Tap Require Face ID again to lock it, or Hide and Require Face ID, then Hide App to also move it to a Hidden folder in App Library.

The app relocks every time you quit it. Only apps you downloaded can be hidden, not the ones that came with the iPhone. Children under 13 in a Family Sharing group can’t lock or hide apps.

For built-in apps and features such as AirDrop or Camera, go to Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → Other Features and block them there.

On Android 15 and up, the closest match is private space: Settings → Security & privacy → Private space. It’s a separate, locked area you install apps into. When it’s locked, its apps are hidden from the launcher and completely stopped.

Both are privacy features. Your own face or PIN opens them, so they won’t stop you from scrolling.

5. Block apps on a schedule with OpLoop

OpLoop is an app blocker for iPhone and Android. You choose which apps to block and when, and it’s free to start. On iPhone it works through Apple’s Screen Time API.

• Routines: pick the days and times once, like study hours or a wind-down at night, and blocking switches on and off by itself. On iPhone, websites can go on the list too.
• Sprint: block right now, no schedule. Soft blocks the apps you picked. Deep blocks everything except what you allow.
• Lockdown (Pro): a Sprint you can’t end early. It holds until the timer runs out.
• Passes: a few short passes a day for when you really do need the app. When they’re gone, the block holds.
• Challenges: in the Circles tab, everyone blocks the same apps for 1 to 7 days.

Open a blocked app and you get a card instead of a gray wall: a calm line, a gentle poke, sometimes a joke. On iPhone, OpLoop blocks whole apps. On Android, Pro can also block just the short-form feed and keep the rest of YouTube or Instagram (more in how to turn off YouTube Shorts).

Which one should you use?

Start with Screen Time or Digital Wellbeing and a passcode someone else knows. If you keep finding your way around it, try a schedule you set once, or a Lockdown you can’t end early.

Questions

How do I set an app limit for one app on iPhone?

On iOS 26 and earlier, go to Screen Time → App Limits → Add Limit, tap a category name and pick the app. Apple’s iOS 27 guide describes Time Allowances by category instead and doesn’t show a single-app limit, so on iOS 27 a blocker app is the way to target one app.

Why is my Screen Time app limit not working?

A few usual causes:

• The limit can be skipped. Apple’s iOS 26 guide says limits can be ignored once reached unless you change that. Set a Screen Time passcode and turn on Block at Downtime.
• Screen Time is off. Limits need App & Website Activity turned on.
• The setting lives on another device. On iOS 27, with Share Across Devices on, your limits and schedules apply to your iPhone, iPad and Mac together. With it off, each device keeps its own settings.