How to Block Apps on iPhone for Yourself: Checklist

How do you block apps on iPhone for yourself?

Open Settings, tap Screen Time, set a daily limit or a schedule for the apps you choose, then lock those settings with a passcode, ideally one somebody else keeps. If you keep tapping past the limit, or need an app for work but not for scrolling, add a blocker with timed access.

Blocking an app is easy. Blocking it from yourself, the person who knows the passcode, is the actual job.

Screen Time vs an app blocker: the comparison strip

Screen Time (built in)FocusPass

PriceFreeFree plan; Pro monthly or yearly

When you hit the blockLimit screen you can dismiss on your own deviceShield with Go Back or Use a Pass

Getting back inNo set length once dismissedA Pass you size, e.g. 5, 10 or 15 min

RelockNot after you dismiss itAutomatic when the Pass ends, even if FocusPass is closed

Counts good choicesNoOne Focus Save per Go Back

Works with Family SharingYes, built for itA parent's settings come first

The full checklist to block apps on your iPhone

Part A: Screen Time, about three minutes

Open Settings → Screen Time and make sure it is on.
Add a daily limit for one category or a few named apps. In iOS 27 the controls are labeled Time Allowances and Schedules; older versions say App Limits and Downtime.
Add a schedule for your worst hour, for example 9 PM to 11 PM, and mark which apps are always allowed (phone, maps, your alarm).
Lock it: {APPLE} lists Passcode & Management → Lock Screen Time Settings in iOS 27. Set up passcode recovery with your Apple Account too, or you may be locked out yourself.
Hand the passcode to someone else to type in. If you know it, you are not really locked out.

Part B: a blocker, about two minutes

Install a blocker that uses Apple's Screen Time frameworks, so the block is a real iOS shield.
Protect the one app you open on autopilot. Not ten. One.
Give it a daily number of timed Passes (in FocusPass, a Wallet) instead of a hard ban.
Add a Focus Zone for your worst hour.
Put anything you must reach in Essentials.

Who this is not for

This is for adults managing their own phone. Parents should start with Apple's Family Sharing, which manages a child's settings from your device. If you want an app gone forever, delete it. And FocusPass keeps an off switch by design: Turn Off All Protection always works.

A five-minute setup, start to finish

8:55 PM. Settings, Screen Time, a 45-minute daily limit on Social. Partner types the passcode.

8:58 PM. FocusPass: protect Instagram, Wallet of five 10-minute Passes, an Evening Zone from 9:30. Essentials: Messages, Maps.

9:41 PM. Instagram, out of habit. Shield. Go Back. One Focus Save.

A made-up evening to show the order of steps, not a user story.

Proof: the screens from Part B

FocusPass home showing PROTECTED, a Distractions Wallet with 5 Passes remaining and a first-week checklist — Step 8: a Wallet of five Passes a day.

FocusPass rules screen with an Evening Focus Zone from 9 PM and Resistance options Standard, Adaptive, Strong and Custom — Step 9: an Evening Zone. Extra zones are Pro.

FocusPass Protection Check confirming Screen Time access, apps selected, active rule and schedules — Protection Check tells you if a step did not take.

FocusPass Progress screen counting Passes left, Focus Saves and Zones done — Progress counts real taps, nothing guessed.

Blocking apps on your own iPhone: questions

Can you block apps on your own iPhone without another app?

Yes. Screen Time in Settings lets you set daily time limits and scheduled quiet hours for apps and categories. The catch is that a limit you set for yourself can be dismissed from the limit screen.

How do I stop myself from tapping Ignore Limit?

Lock Screen Time settings with a passcode someone else chooses and keeps, or use a blocker where every way back in has a set length and relocks on its own, such as a FocusPass Pass.

Where is the Screen Time passcode in iOS 27?

Apple's guide lists Settings, then Screen Time, then Passcode & Management, then Lock Screen Time Settings. Set up Screen Time Passcode Recovery with your Apple Account at the same time.

Can I block an app but still use it sometimes?

Yes. That is what FocusPass is for: the shield offers Go Back or Use a Pass, a Pass lasts the length you choose, and the app locks again when it ends.

Is blocking apps on iPhone free?

Screen Time is built in and free. FocusPass has a free plan with shields, timed Passes, automatic relock, one Wallet, one Focus Zone and one Deep Focus session a day; Pro is a monthly or yearly subscription for more.

Try it tonight

Do Part A now. If you tap past it twice this week, do Part B with FocusPass on the App Store.

Updated November 2026

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The 5-minute app lock.
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