How to block iOS apps

March 20, 2023

For Android users: read our Introduction to app blocking in Android

Smartphones have become integral parts of our daily lives. With millions of apps available on the App Store and Big Tech spending billions on making these apps as addicting and interactive as possible, it's difficult to fight the battle of self-control every day. Here are some techniques for blocking apps that can help make it easier to untether from your smartphone. Whether it's because of their content or the amount of time you spend on them, there are several ways to block iOS apps and reduce their undesired impact on your life.

Delete the app

The most straightforward way to block an app is to delete it. Press and hold on the app icon until the app starts to shake, then tap "Remove App" in the menu that shows up and tap "Delete App" on the confirmation modal. This will permanently delete the app from your device, and it won't be accessible until you reinstall it. Note that this may also delete lcal data associated with the app.

Hide the app

If you don't want to delete the app entirely, you can also hide it from view. To do this, tap and hold on the app icon until it starts to shake, then tap "Remove App" in the menu that shows up and "Remove from home screen" in the modal that shows up. This will hide the app from the home screen. However, the app will still show up in App Library and also when searching for the app. You can get around this by going to Settings > Siri and Search and scroll down to find your app. We'll want to disable a few settings to make the hiding more effective:

Show App in Search
Show on Home Screen
Suggest App
Suggestion Notifications

Use Apple Screen Time

For a more foolproof block, Apple's Screen Time feature allows you to limit the amount of time you spend on certain apps and can set hard limits. You can also use it to hide or shield an app after a certain amount of time or schedule blocks throughout the day. To do this, go to Settings > Screen Time > App Limits, and select the app or apps you want to block.

For extra power, you can set a screen time passcode that is difficult to guess and write it down somewhere so it is difficult to circumvent.

See our In-depth guide on iOS screen time

Use iOS Shortcuts

If you want to add an extra layer of security to an app, you can use iOS Shortcuts. This feature allows you to create a shortcut that requires a PIN to access the app. To do this, go to Settings > Shortcuts > Add Action > Scripting > Ask for Input > Number.

For full effect, you'll need to also update a few iOS Settings -- see our guide on Using iOS Shortcuts to block apps with a PIN

Use an app from the App Store

If all else fails, you can consider an app from the App Store which often have advanced functionalities beyond iOS screen time such as scheduling, location-based blocking, motivating graphs on your progress, and more. There are several third-party paid apps available on the App Store that allow you to block apps such as Opal and Grace. These apps allow you to set up schedules, timers, and app blocks, and they offer several other features as well.

Learn how to select the right app for blocking in our Ultimate guide to selecting a self-control app.

The nuclear option -- a flip phone

A flip phone or so-called "Dumb phone" can be an ultimate solution for dealing with smartphone addiction. And they are typically cheaper too. However, they are a complete paradigm shift and you might lose out on being able to do any of these following activities as effectively:

Ordering food at a restaurant using QR codes
Translating text while traveling
Navigating with Google Maps
Booking flights when they suddenly go on sale while you are AFK

Some (but not all) feature phones may have features that solve the above problems, but these phones are often difficult to use, do not get software or security updates, and the ones that can access smartphone features or data can still be quite distracting.

Want the best of a smartphone but be able to disconnect from it? Here's our comparison of Untethered vs dumbphones

untethered