How to Block Websites on iPhone (Safari and Other Browsers)

To block websites on iPhone, open Settings › Screen Time › Content & Privacy Restrictions › App Store, Media, Web & Games › Web Content and add the sites under Never Allow. That blocks them in Safari and in other browsers that use Apple's web engine settings. Below are the exact steps, two softer alternatives and how to block sites only while you work.

Block websites on iPhone with Content & Privacy Restrictions

This is the built-in way to block a website permanently. Open Settings › Screen Time and turn it on. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions and switch it on. Then tap App Store, Media, Web & Games › Web Content and choose Limit Adult Websites.

Under Never Allow, tap Add Website and enter the address, for example reddit.com. Repeat for every site you want to block. From now on, opening the site shows a restriction message instead of the page.

The setting also blocks the site in most other browsers on the iPhone. If you want to make it stick, set a Screen Time passcode that someone else knows – otherwise you can remove the site in ten seconds when you're bored.

• Best for: sites you never want to open on this iPhone
• Weak spot: it's all or nothing, there's no "only during work"

Set a daily time limit for a website

Sometimes you don't want to ban a site, just to cap it. Screen Time can do that too. Go to Settings › Screen Time › App Limits › Add Limit, open the Websites section at the bottom of the list, and pick sites you've visited recently or add one manually.

Set the daily time and tap Add. When the time is up, the site is blocked for the rest of the day unless you tap Ignore Limit. This suits news sites or YouTube, where some use is fine and endless use is the problem.

How to block a website in Safari on iPhone

1. Open Screen TimeSettings › Screen Time, and turn it on if needed.
2. Turn on restrictionsTap Content & Privacy Restrictions and switch it on.
3. Open Web ContentTap App Store, Media, Web & Games › Web Content › Limit Adult Websites.
4. Add the websiteUnder Never Allow, tap Add Website and type the address.
5. Protect the settingSet a Screen Time passcode so the block can't be removed on impulse.

Block websites only while you work

Permanent blocks and daily limits both have the same gap: they don't care whether you're studying or relaxing. A focus blocker connects blocking to your work sessions instead.

In Tasker, you add websites to the focus blocker together with apps and app categories. When a Pomodoro session starts, iOS blocks them; when the break starts, they're available again. The blocking is done through Screen Time, so it works across browsers, and Tasker never sees your browsing history.

This is the gentlest strict option: you don't lose the site, you just can't use it during the 25 minutes you promised to something else. See how it works on the app blocker page.

• Add websites, apps and categories in one list
• Blocked during focus sessions, open on breaks
• No browsing data leaves your iPhone

Block websites on iPhone in other browsers

Screen Time restrictions are set at the system level, so they also cover browsers such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge on iPhone. That matters, because the first thing most of us do when Safari refuses a site is open another browser.

Private browsing is a different story: if you use Limit Adult Websites, Safari turns off private browsing so restrictions can be enforced. If you rely on a third-party browser, test your blocked list in it once, including in its private mode, to be sure nothing slips through.

Remember that some apps open links in their own in-app browser. A link to a blocked site sent in a chat may open inside that app. If that becomes your loophole, block the app itself during work sessions as well.

• Chrome, Firefox and Edge follow Screen Time web restrictions
• Test the block once in every browser you use
• In-app browsers can be a loophole – block the app too

Which websites should you block?

Look at Settings › Screen Time › See All App & Website Activity for the last week. The sites at the top of the list that you didn't plan to spend time on are your candidates. For most people it's a handful: social feeds, video sites, news, shopping and forums.

Block the site you open on autopilot, not the one you use deliberately. If you need YouTube for a course, block it only during sessions when you're working on something else.

• Feeds: reddit.com, x.com, instagram.com, facebook.com
• Video: youtube.com, twitch.tv
• News and shopping sites you check out of habit

Why a blocked website still opens

If a site you blocked still loads, check three things. First, the exact address: blocking example.com also blocks its pages, but a separate domain such as m.example.com or a short link domain may need its own entry. Second, Content & Privacy Restrictions must be switched on as a whole, not just configured. Third, the site may be open inside another app's built-in browser, such as a link opened from a chat app.

Apps are separate from websites. Blocking instagram.com doesn't block the Instagram app – block the app as well, or block the whole Social category.

Blocking websites on iPhone: FAQ