How to Block Facebook on iPhone (Without Deleting It)

Most people who want to block Facebook don't want to delete it. There's the family group, the local marketplace, the event invites, the photos from ten years ago. What they want gone is the feed — the video, the suggested posts, the quiet half hour that disappears every evening.

Here's how to block or limit Facebook on iPhone, step by step, without deleting your account.

Quick answer: on iPhone, the most reliable built-in way to block Facebook is Settings → Screen Time → App Limits, with Block at End of Limit on and a Screen Time passcode someone else holds. Add facebook.com and m.facebook.com to the blocked websites so the browser isn't a back door. If you want a block that holds even when you're mid-scroll, use a dedicated blocker (more below).

Why is Facebook so hard to put down?

Facebook's feed has shifted a long way from "what your friends are doing". Much of it is now recommended content — short videos, suggested groups and pages — which means there's always more. Add notifications engineered to pull you back ("You have 5 new notifications", memories, group activity) and you get an app you open for one reason and stay in for another.

How do I block Facebook with Screen Time App Limits?

These steps work on iOS 16 through iOS 26.

1. Open Settings → Screen Time. If it's off, turn it on.
2. Tap App Limits → Add Limit.
3. Find Facebook — open the categories or use the search bar — and select it.
4. Set a time. To block it almost completely, choose 1 minute; to cap it, choose something like 15 minutes.
5. Turn on Block at End of Limit. (You need a Screen Time passcode for this — Settings → Screen Time → Lock Screen Time Settings, or Use Screen Time Passcode on iOS 16.)

When the limit hits, Facebook greys out on your Home Screen. Without a passcode, though, the limit screen just offers Ignore Limit — which is why the passcode matters. See how to remove "Ignore Limit".

How do I block Facebook at certain times?

For a time window — nights, work hours, dinner — use Downtime:

1. Settings → Screen Time → Downtime.
2. Turn on Scheduled and pick your hours (e.g. 9:00pm → 7:00am).
3. Under Always Allowed, make sure Facebook is not on the list.

If you use Facebook mainly for groups or Marketplace, a scheduled window — say, allowed only 12–1pm — can be more useful than a daily total.

How do I block Facebook in Safari and other browsers?

An App Limit only covers the app. Facebook works perfectly well in a browser, so close that door too:

1. Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions (turn it on).
2. App Store, Media, Web & Games → Web Content → Limit Adult Websites (on iOS 16 to 18.0, the first menu is called Content Restrictions or Store, Web, Siri & Game Center Content).
3. Under Never Allow, add facebook.com and m.facebook.com.

This blocks the site completely in Safari and in apps that use Apple's web view. It's all-or-nothing — there's no time limit option for websites here.

Does Facebook have its own time limit?

Facebook has time tools under Menu → Settings & privacy → Your time on Facebook (the exact path changes between versions). You can see your usage, set a daily time reminder, and turn on Quiet mode to pause most notifications.

The bigger win is often notifications: go to Settings & privacy → Settings → Notifications and turn off everything except messages from people. Much of your Facebook use is Facebook calling you back.

These are reminders and filters — nothing here blocks the app.

Can I lock Facebook behind Face ID?

Yes. On iOS 18 and later, long-press the Facebook icon, tap Require Face ID, and confirm. You can also choose Hide and Require Face ID to move it into a hidden folder in the App Library.

It adds a second of friction and stops other people opening the app — but your own face unlocks it instantly, so it won't stop you.

Why don't these blocks hold?

Facebook blocks tend to break through side doors: Messenger is a separate app, so blocking Facebook doesn't block Messenger (which may be what you want); links from friends open facebook.com in a browser; and group notifications keep pulling you back even when the app is limited.

More broadly, every built-in method has the same weakness: you set it, so you can undo it. The App Limit has an "Ignore Limit" button or a passcode you know; Downtime has "Ignore Limit" too; the website block can be switched off in Settings; Face ID is your own face. We cover every gap in Screen Time loopholes.

And a daily limit is the wrong shape for Facebook. You probably use Facebook for a few specific, quick things — a group, an event, a Marketplace message. A daily total doesn't care; it counts the feed and the useful bits together.

What's a way to block Facebook that actually holds?

Detox is an iPhone and iPad app built for the moment the built-in tools fail: mid-scroll, low willpower.

• Consecutive-usage limit: check an event or reply in a group — that's fine. Once you've been scrolling Facebook continuously past your limit (say 20 minutes), Detox hard-blocks the Facebook app for a cooldown. Step away for about a minute and the counter resets, so quick checks never add up to a lockout.
• Schedules: block Facebook completely at set times — e.g. every evening, or all day except lunchtime.
• Focus sessions: a countdown block for deep work or study.
• Websites too: add facebook.com and m.facebook.com so the browser isn't a way round.
• Strict mode: while a block is active you can't edit or delete it, and Detox can stop you deleting the Detox app itself during a strict block. The emergency unblock is capped at one per 24 hours.

Detox blocks the whole Facebook app, not individual parts of it. It's iOS only, paid, with a free trial.

Which method should you use?

The bottom line

To block Facebook on iPhone, set a Screen Time App Limit with Block at End of Limit and a passcode someone else holds, add facebook.com and m.facebook.com to Never Allow, and cut Facebook's notifications down to people only. That takes away most of the pull. If you still find yourself lost in the feed, a limit on continuous scrolling lets you keep the useful parts without the half-hour spiral.

Related: How to block Instagram on iPhone · How to block social media · How to block apps on iPhone: every method ranked