How to block a website on iPhone using Screen Time

To answer how to block a website on iPhone, start with Apple’s built-in Screen Time web-content settings. You can add a specific address to the blocked list without treating every browser problem as the same issue. Use these settings on your own device or on a child’s device you are authorized to manage.

A website restriction is different from hiding an app or limiting its daily use. The steps below target web addresses; they do not promise that one entry blocks every related app, alternate domain or online service.

Open the correct Screen Time profile

Open Settings → Screen Time. If managing a child through the family setup, select the child’s name or open the child’s Screen Time settings through Family, as shown for your installed iOS version. Confirm which device and person the settings affect.

Open Content & Privacy Restrictions and turn the restrictions on if they are not already enabled. If a Screen Time passcode is required, use the authorized code. Do not confuse it with the ordinary iPhone unlock code.

Add the website to the blocked list

In Apple’s current guide, open App Store, Media, Web, & Games → Web Content. Select Limit Adult Websites, then choose Add Website under Never Allow and enter the website URL you intend to block. The menu wording can differ on older iOS versions.

Use the actual address rather than only the site’s display name. Check the entry for typing errors. If the service redirects between domains, record which address is actually reached and evaluate whether another explicit entry is needed.

Protect the settings against casual changes

If these controls are for a child, use the official Screen Time passcode setup for that child’s profile. Apple provides a separate procedure to lock Screen Time settings and associate an account for recovery.

Keep recovery information under the responsible adult’s control. A restriction that can be immediately changed by anyone holding the device does not meet the same goal as a managed setting. Do not promise that any parental control is impossible to bypass.

Test the result in the intended context

Try opening the exact blocked URL on the device. Then test a normal allowed site so you can distinguish a targeted restriction from a general connection failure. If the blocked service opens through a different address, note it rather than repeatedly retyping the original.

Check any relevant apps separately. An app may use network endpoints and content flows that do not behave like entering the public website address in Safari. If the goal is to limit an app, examine its own Screen Time controls instead of assuming a web entry covers it.

If a necessary page is blocked

Review the selected web-content mode and the explicit Never Allow entries. Adjust only the rule responsible for the problem. A stricter approved-sites mode and a specific blocked address are different settings.

For a school or work-managed phone, a separate management policy may apply. Use the organization’s support process for its controls; a personal Screen Time change does not necessarily override them.

Review as needs change

Revisit the list when a site changes address or the device is updated. Keep the aim clear: restrict selected content while preserving necessary access. Apple’s official guide is the reference for the menu path on the installed version.

Sources and further information

Apple iPhone guide: block websites by URL through Screen Time web-content restrictions.

Apple: setting and recovering an authorized Screen Time passcode.