September 29, 2026 · 8 min read

How to Block Apps on a Kid's iPhone (and Allow the Rest)

Sooner or later every parent of a kid with an iPhone has the same thought: I don't want to limit this app. I want it gone. Maybe it's a game that turns homework time into a hostage negotiation, a chat app you never agreed to, or a browser that feels like leaving the front door wide open. You go looking for a big "Block" button next to each app, and it isn't there.

Good news: you can block specific apps on a child's iPhone, and you can do it without a third-party app. Apple just spreads the switches across a few different screens, and which one you want depends on what kind of app you're dealing with. This post stays narrow on purpose. It covers blocking and allowing individual apps. If you haven't set up Family Sharing or a Screen Time passcode yet, do that first with our step-by-step iPhone parental controls guide, then come back here.

First, figure out what kind of app it is

iPhone apps fall into three buckets, and each one gets blocked a different way:

• Apple's built-in apps, like Safari, Camera, FaceTime and the iTunes Store. These can be switched off completely.
• Apps you haven't let them install yet. The easiest app to block is the one that never lands on the phone.
• Apps already downloaded from the App Store, like a game or a video app. There's no simple on/off switch for these, but there's a reliable workaround.

All of the steps below live in Settings, then Screen Time, on your child's device (or on your own iPhone under your child's name in Family Sharing). Apple moves menu names around a little from one iOS version to the next, so if a label doesn't match exactly, look for the nearest cousin. The ideas stay the same.

How to block Apple's built-in apps

Built-in apps are the easy case. Go to Content & Privacy Restrictions, turn it on, and open Allowed Apps (on some versions it's called Allowed Apps & Features). You'll see a list of Apple's own apps with a toggle next to each. Switch one off and it disappears from the Home Screen entirely. No dimmed icon, no hourglass, just gone until you switch it back on.

The ones parents most often turn off:

• Safari, for younger kids who don't need open web access yet. Turning it off also takes away the easy workaround of watching a blocked app's website instead.
• FaceTime, if you'd rather handle video calls on a family device for now.
• Camera, occasionally, for a child who's using the phone mainly for school and texting.
• The iTunes Store and Books store, if purchases have gotten creative.

One practical note: when you switch off Safari, apps that open web links may behave a little differently. That's usually fine, and it's worth it for a younger child.

How to stop new apps from showing up

Blocking an app after the fact is always harder than never letting it in. You have two good options here, and they stack nicely.

Turn on Ask to Buy

In Family Sharing, Ask to Buy sends every download request to your phone, including free apps. Your kid taps Get, you get a notification, and you approve or decline it from wherever you are. This is the setting that turns "I just downloaded it, it was free" into a conversation that happens before the app arrives instead of after.

Turn off app installs completely

If you want a harder line, go to Content & Privacy Restrictions, then iTunes & App Store Purchases. There you can set Installing Apps to Don't Allow, which hides the App Store altogether. While you're there, consider:

• Deleting Apps: Don't Allow. This stops the "I'll delete it so you don't see it" trick, and keeps apps you've approved from vanishing.
• In-app Purchases: Don't Allow. Not strictly about blocking apps, but it saves a lot of surprise charges from the game you did approve.

Hide apps above an age rating

Under Content Restrictions, the Apps setting lets you choose the highest App Store age rating you're comfortable with. Apps rated above it are hidden from the Home Screen and can't be downloaded. It's a broad brush rather than a precise tool, and age ratings are set by developers, so treat it as a first filter, not the final word. It's still a good default for a younger child.

How to block a specific App Store app

Here's the part that trips most parents up. There's no toggle in Screen Time that says "block Roblox." The reliable workaround is an App Limit set to the smallest amount of time:

1. Go to App Limits and tap Add Limit.
2. Find the app by opening its category, or search for it, and select just that one app.
3. Set the time to 1 minute, the shortest limit available.
4. Make sure Block at End of Limit is on, so your child has to ask you for more time instead of dismissing the warning.

After that one minute, the app locks for the rest of the day, every day. In practice that's a block. The app stays on the phone, which is actually handy if the plan is "not on school nights" rather than "never again," because you can loosen the limit on weekends instead of deleting and re-approving.

If you'd rather the app be completely unusable, you can delete it and then set Installing Apps to Don't Allow, or rely on Ask to Buy to decline it when it's requested again.

Don't forget the website version

Limiting an app does nothing to its website. Plenty of popular apps work perfectly well in Safari, and kids figure this out fast. If you've kept Safari on, go to Content Restrictions, then Web Content, and add the site under Never Allow. For younger kids, the Allowed Websites option flips things around: nothing loads except the sites you list.

How to allow only the apps you choose

Some families find it easier to think in reverse. Instead of chasing down every app to block, you decide the short list of apps that are always fine, and everything else is off by default. Screen Time can do that too.

Set up an App Limit on All Apps & Categories (or schedule Downtime for the hours you care about), then add your approved apps to Always Allowed. Phone, Messages with the contacts you've chosen, maybe a reading app and a maps app. Those keep working. Everything else locks when the limit or schedule kicks in.

If you're not sure whether an App Limit or Downtime fits your situation better, our explainer on Downtime vs App Limits on iPhone walks through when to use each. The short version: Downtime is about when, App Limits are about how much.

The workarounds kids find, and how to close them

No setting survives contact with a motivated ten-year-old unless you close the obvious gaps:

• A passcode they've watched you type. Use a Screen Time passcode that isn't your phone's passcode, and type it somewhere other than the kitchen counter.
• Deleting and reinstalling to reset a limit. Turning off Installing Apps, or keeping Ask to Buy on, shuts this down.
• The website version. Covered above. Add it to Never Allow.
• A crowded Always Allowed list. Apps on it skip Downtime entirely. Check it every few months.
• A second device. If there's an iPad in the house, make sure the setting to share across devices is on, or the block only covers half the problem.

If you've done everything right and a block still isn't holding, our Apple Screen Time troubleshooting guide goes through the usual fixes in order.

When blocking isn't really the answer

Blocking is the right tool for apps that simply aren't okay for your kid yet. It's a clumsier tool for the apps that are fine in moderation, like the game their whole class plays or the video app they use for Minecraft tutorials. Block those outright and you tend to get a lot of lobbying, a lot of "but everyone else has it," and a kid who's more interested in the app because it's forbidden.

For that middle category, a lot of families have more luck turning the app into something kids earn. That's the idea behind ScreenTime Nanny. It's built on Apple's own Screen Time framework, so the blocking is the same system you just set up, but fun apps cost credits by the minute, and reading and chores earn credits back. The game isn't banned. It's just paid for with twenty minutes of reading or an emptied dishwasher. You can see how the earning system works in about a minute.

Frequently asked questions

Can I block an app on my child's iPhone without them knowing?

Built-in apps you switch off simply disappear, and apps above the age rating you picked are hidden, so there's nothing to notice except an absence. A one-minute App Limit is more visible, because your child will see the hourglass. Most parents find it goes better to say it out loud anyway: "That one's not on your phone for now, and here's why."

Why can't I find a way to turn off a specific downloaded app?

Because Screen Time only offers on/off switches for Apple's own apps. For App Store apps, the workaround is an App Limit set to one minute with Block at End of Limit turned on, or deleting the app and turning off new installs.

Will blocking an app delete my child's data or game progress?

An App Limit or a hidden built-in app leaves everything in place, so progress is waiting whenever you loosen the rule. Deleting an app is different: some apps sync progress to an account, others don't. If you might allow the app again later, a one-minute limit is the gentler choice.

If you'd like to keep the blocks for the apps that truly need them and let your kids earn the rest, ScreenTime Nanny is on the App Store. It's free for seven days, with a one-time free extra week if you want longer to see how it fits your family, and then $9.99 a month for the whole family, up to five kids. Give it a try alongside the settings above and see whether "can I have that app?" turns into "how many credits do I need?"