How to Block Websites on iPhone (iOS 27 and Earlier)

On iOS 16 to 26, go to Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → App Store, Media, Web & Games → Web Content → Limit Adult Websites and add the address under Never Allow — it stops loading in Safari. On iOS 27, Apple rebuilt Screen Time: its guides now document website blocking under Settings → Family → [child's name] → Apps & Websites for a child's device, but not a block list for your own iPhone.

That split matters if you're an adult trying to block a site on yourself. Below: what iOS 27 actually offers, the full iOS 16–26 setup, and the holes — other browsers, in-app browsers, the site's own app — that every version leaves open.

What changed for website blocking in iOS 27?

iOS 27 (September 2026) replaced the old Screen Time layout. Per Apple's iOS 27 guides, App Limits became Time Allowances, Downtime became Screen Time Schedule, and website controls moved into a new Apps & Websites section that Apple describes for children's devices.

Blocking a website on a child's iPhone (iOS 27):

1. On your own iPhone, open Settings → Family and tap your child's name.
2. Tap Apps & Websites.
3. Tap the Add button, enter the website, and block it. Blocked sites appear under the Blocked tab.
4. For a broader filter, tap Restrictions → Filtering (under Websites) and choose Unrestricted, Limit Adult Websites or Approved Websites Only.

Apple says these block lists apply in Safari, and that the new Ask to Browse works "in Safari and other supported browser apps".

Blocking a website on your own iPhone (iOS 27): Apple's iOS 27 guide for your own device, Block features or content with Screen Time, covers media content restrictions, built-in features and Siri — it doesn't describe a website block list. Some guides report the older Web Content screen still appears under Content & Privacy Restrictions; if it's on your phone, the iOS 16–26 steps below apply. If it isn't, a third-party blocker is the way to block specific sites.

Limiting a website (iOS 27): Time Allowances work by app category (Entertainment, Games, Social Media), not by individual website. One useful change: Apple says that "if an app has an associated website it declares, the Time Allowance applies to both" — so an allowance on X can also count time on its website, provided the app declares it.

How do I block a website in Safari on iOS 16 to 26?

1. Open Settings → Screen Time. If Screen Time is off, turn on App & Website Activity first.
2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions and switch Content & Privacy Restrictions on.
3. Tap App Store, Media, Web & Games. On iOS 16 to 18.0 this menu is called Content Restrictions or Store, Web, Siri & Game Center Content.
4. Tap Web Content, then select Limit Adult Websites.
5. Under Never Allow, tap Add Website and type the address — for example x.com.
6. Repeat for every address the site uses.

Step 6 is where most blocks quietly fail. Many services answer on more than one domain, and you need each one you actually end up on:

• X / Twitter: x.com and twitter.com
• YouTube: youtube.com and m.youtube.com
• Facebook: facebook.com and m.facebook.com
• TikTok: tiktok.com
• Pinterest: pinterest.com, plus your country domain if Safari redirects you to one

The simplest check: after adding a site, open it in Safari, look at the address bar if it still loads, and add exactly what you see.

Choosing Limit Adult Websites also switches on Apple's automatic adult-content filter, which occasionally catches an innocent page — add those under Always Allow.

Can I set a time limit on a website on iOS 16 to 26?

Yes — and for sites you genuinely need, a limit often lasts longer than a ban.

1. Settings → Screen Time → App Limits → Add Limit.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the category list and open Websites.
3. Tap Add Website and enter the domain.
4. Tap Next, set the daily time, and tap Add.
5. Open the limit and make sure Block at End of Limit is on.

Then set a Screen Time passcode under Lock Screen Time Settings (called Use Screen Time Passcode on iOS 16). Without both, the limit screen offers Ignore Limit and the site comes straight back — we explain how to remove that button in how to turn off "Ignore Limit" in Screen Time.

Two things to know about website limits:

• It's a daily total. Ten minutes on reddit.com means ten minutes across the whole day, so quick checks in the morning can use it up by lunch.
• A one-minute limit works as a near-block for a site you rarely need, with an escape hatch you'll notice using.

Do these restrictions work in Chrome, Firefox and other browsers?

Not reliably — and Apple doesn't fully say. For iOS 16–26, Apple's documentation doesn't spell out how website restrictions behave in third-party browsers, and user reports on Apple's forums are mixed. iOS 27's Ask to Browse names "other supported browser apps", without listing which. Some people find a Never Allow site blocked in Chrome too; others report that their website time limits stopped applying in Chrome while still working in Safari.

It's also no longer safe to assume every iPhone browser is Safari underneath. Since iOS 17.4 in the EU, and iOS 26.2 in Japan, Apple allows browsers built on their own engines rather than WebKit.

So the practical rule is:

1. After blocking a site, open it in every browser you have installed.
2. If it still loads in one, delete that browser, or on iOS 16–26 put the browser app itself under a 1-minute App Limit, which effectively disables it.
3. To stop yourself installing a new browser the moment you're blocked, on iOS 16–26 set Content & Privacy Restrictions → iTunes & App Store Purchases → Installing Apps to Don't Allow (and Deleting Apps to Don't Allow, so you can't delete and reinstall).

Does private browsing get around a website block?

Not in Safari. Turning on a web content filter has long removed Safari's Private tab option — and the ability to clear history — so you can't slip a blocked site into a private tab.

That setting only governs Safari, though. Incognito or private tabs in Chrome and other browsers aren't removed by it, which is one more reason the test in the previous section matters.

What are the common ways round a website block?

These are the usual routes round a block — and what to close if you're setting one on yourself:

• The site's own app. Blocking tiktok.com does nothing to the TikTok app, and vice versa. Block or limit both. Our per-app guides cover each pair: blocking Twitter (X) on iPhone, blocking YouTube on iPhone, blocking TikTok on iPhone and blocking Facebook on iPhone.
• Another browser. See above: test each one, then remove or limit it.
• In-app browsers. Links opened inside Instagram, Messages, Discord or a newsletter app open in that app's built-in browser, and reports suggest Screen Time's filter catches these only some of the time.
• A domain you didn't add. twitter.com when you only blocked x.com, or a mobile subdomain.
• Switching it off. If you know the Screen Time passcode — or never set one — the block is a few taps from gone.
• Another device. A website limit on your iPhone doesn't stop the same site on your Mac or iPad unless Share Across Devices is on.

We go through every one of these, with fixes, in Screen Time loopholes: how limits get bypassed.

What are the trade-offs of Screen Time's website blocking?

It's free and built in, so it's the right first step. But:

• A block is all-or-nothing. No "only after 6pm" — blocked means blocked until you remove it.
• Limits are a daily total. Ten quick checks and one 40-minute scroll count the same.
• Coverage is uneven outside Safari, as above.
• You set it, so you can unset it. Screen Time was built for parents locking a child's phone. When you're both the parent and the child, the passcode is only as strong as your resolve at 11pm.

How do I make a website block stick for self-control?

If you're blocking sites to manage your own habits rather than a child's, a few changes make a big difference:

• Have someone else type the Screen Time passcode, and use their Apple ID for passcode recovery — otherwise you can reset it yourself in a minute.
• Block the app and the site together, and every domain variant.
• Remove the browsers you don't need, and lock app installs.
• Pick the right shape. Block outright the sites you never need; give a small daily limit to the ones you do.

If you'd rather not depend on another person holding your passcode, a blocker built for self-control is the sturdier option. Detox blocks website domains as well as whole apps, and adds what Screen Time lacks for adults: a strict mode that stops you editing or deleting a block while it's active, protection against deleting the Detox app itself during a strict block, and an emergency unblock capped at one per 24 hours. Its consecutive-usage limit lets quick checks through and only steps in once you've been scrolling continuously too long. It's iPhone and iPad only, paid, with a free trial.

The bottom line

On iOS 16 to 26, block a website under Never Allow in Content & Privacy Restrictions → Web Content, or limit it under App Limits → Websites with Block at End of Limit on. On iOS 27, Apple documents per-site blocking under Family → Apps & Websites for a child's device; for your own iPhone, look for the Web Content screen or use a dedicated blocker. Either way, do the part that actually decides whether it works: add every domain the site uses, block its app too, test every browser you have, and make sure you can't simply turn it all off again.