PeeboHow to block apps on iPhone, and keep them blocked
Your iPhone can already block apps. The hard part is that it also lets you unblock them in one tap. Here's how to set it up, and how to make it stick.
1. Set an app limit with Screen Time
Screen Time is built into every iPhone. An app limit gives an app, or a whole category such as Social, a daily allowance.
- Open Settings and tap Screen Time. Turn it on if you haven't.
- Tap App Limits, then Add Limit.
- Pick a category, or open one and pick single apps. Tap Next.
- Choose how much time a day, and tap Add.
When the time runs out, the app shows a "Time Limit" screen instead of opening.
2. Block apps at night with Downtime
Settings, Screen Time, Downtime blocks every app except the ones you allow, between the times you choose. It's the closest thing to switching the phone off at bedtime without missing calls.
3. Why the limits stop working after a week
Every Screen Time limit comes with a way out: One More Minute, Remind Me in 15 Minutes or Ignore Limit for Today. If you set the Screen Time passcode yourself, you also know how to get past it. Most people tap through the limit a few times, and within a week it no longer slows them down. The block is fine; the problem is that skipping it costs nothing.
4. Make skipping it cost something
- Hand over the passcode. Let a friend set the Screen Time passcode. It works, but asking them every time gets awkward, and most people turn it off.
- Move the apps. Take them off your Home Screen and out of your Dock, so opening one takes a search.
- Go grey. Settings, Accessibility, Display and Text Size, Color Filters, Grayscale makes feeds a lot less tempting.
- Use an app blocker with a reason to stay on. Apps built on Screen Time can lock apps more firmly and give you a reason not to turn them off.
5. How Peebo does it
Peebo uses Apple's Screen Time to guard the apps and websites you pick. Opening one shows a small pet instead of the feed. Each day you get a few hearts: one heart opens an app for 15 minutes, then it locks again. Walk away instead, and your pet keeps the heart, earns coins and grows up over about 100 days. There's always a way in when you need it, and Peebo never sees what you do inside your apps.
Questions
Can I block apps on iPhone without another app?
Yes. Settings, Screen Time, App Limits lets you cap an app or a whole category, and Downtime blocks most apps on a schedule. Both have a button to get past them, so they work best as reminders.
Why do my Screen Time limits stop working?
When a limit runs out, iOS offers One More Minute, Remind Me in 15 Minutes and Ignore Limit for Today. If you set the Screen Time passcode yourself, you can always type it. After a few days, tapping past the limit becomes a habit.
Can I block websites too?
Yes. In Settings, Screen Time, Content and Privacy Restrictions, App Store and Web Content, you can limit websites. Peebo can guard websites as well: pick them in the same list as your apps.
Does blocking an app delete its data?
No. Blocked apps keep everything; they just can't be opened until the block lifts.