The fastest way to block a website on an iPhone is Screen Time. Open Settings, tap Screen Time, tap Content & Privacy Restrictions and turn it on, tap App Store, Media, Web, & Games, tap Web Content, select Limit Adult Websites, then tap Add Website under Never Allow and type the address. Set a Screen Time passcode afterwards, or the block can be undone in ten seconds.

Every step below was checked against Apple’s own support documentation on 11 September 2026, against iOS 26, the current public release. iOS 27 is scheduled for 14 September 2026. Apple has moved several of these menus recently, and this guide flags each move.

What This Guide Covers

• What Moved In iOS 26
• Two Audiences: Parents And Adults Blocking Their Own Phone
• Route 1: Block One Specific Website With Screen Time
• Route 2: Limit Adult Websites
• Route 3: Only Approved Websites
• Route 4: The Screen Time Passcode
• Route 5: Chrome And Other Browsers
• Route 6: Safari Content Blockers
• Route 7: Downtime, App Limits And Focus
• Route 8: Shortcuts Automation
• Route 9: Third-Party Filtering Apps
• Route 10: Router And DNS Blocking
• Screen Time For A Child: Family Sharing Or The Phone Itself
• How To Unblock Websites On iPhone
• What A Determined Teenager Can Defeat
• Every Route Compared
• Troubleshooting
• Frequently Asked Questions
• The Short Version

What Moved In iOS 26

If an older guide sent you to a menu that is not there, three things moved. Content Restrictions is now App Store, Media, Web, & Games, with Web Content inside it. The passcode control is now Lock Screen Time Settings. And a child managed through Family Sharing has their controls under a Restrictions heading with a Manage Screen Time entry. Apple also reworded the Web Content choices, now Unrestricted, Limit Adult Websites and Only Approved Websites. Older pages say “Allowed Websites Only” for the third. Same feature.

Update every device first: Apple states Screen Time settings sync reliably across a Family Sharing group only when all are on the latest software.

Two Audiences: Parents And Adults Blocking Their Own Phone

If you are a parent or guardian, your problem is durability: the block must survive a motivated person holding the device all day. That points to Screen Time managed from your own iPhone through Family Sharing, a passcode the child does not know, and a second layer on the network.

If you are an adult restricting your own phone, the problem is friction, not security. A Never Allow entry plus Downtime is usually enough, and the passcode can stay retrievable.

Everything here is visible to the person restricted. We do not cover covert monitoring: with a child, a control they know about survives the argument, and with another adult it is not yours to install.

Route 1: Block One Specific Website With Screen Time

This answers “how to block certain websites on iPhone”, following Apple’s page on blocking websites and purchases.

On Your Own iPhone

1. Open Settings and tap Screen Time.
2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions, then turn on the switch at the top.
3. Tap App Store, Media, Web, & Games, then Web Content.
4. Select Limit Adult Websites. Two lists appear underneath.
5. Under Never Allow, tap Add Website, type the address, then tap Done. Repeat for each site.

Enter the bare domain, for example example.com, not a full article URL, and add the www version too.

On A Child’s iPhone Through Family Sharing

1. On your own iPhone, open Settings > Screen Time and tap your child’s name under Family.
2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions, enter your Screen Time passcode if asked, then turn it on.
3. Tap App Store, Media, Web, & Games > Web Content, select Limit Adult Websites, then tap Add Website under Never Allow.

Do it from your device: the setting syncs to theirs, and you never hand over the passcode.

What Never Allow Does Not Catch

Apple’s documentation on content filtering states the built-in filter restricts “Safari and third-party apps”, which is why a Never Allow entry normally stops the same site in Chrome and Firefox. It cannot reach inside a native app, though: blocking a social network’s domain does not block its app. Use Allowed Apps & Features or an App Limit for that.

Route 2: Limit Adult Websites

This is the closest iOS gets to “how to block adult websites on my phone permanently”. Selecting Limit Adult Websites and adding nothing to Never Allow turns on Apple’s automatic filter across Safari and other browsers.

1. Follow steps 1 to 4 of Route 1 to reach Web Content and select Limit Adult Websites.
2. Add exceptions under Always Allow for legitimate health, medical or education sites the filter catches by mistake.
3. Set a Screen Time passcode, as in Route 4.

Be honest about “permanently”. The filter is good, not perfect, and no list covers the whole web. Without a passcode, anyone holding the phone reverses it in seconds. Apple turns Web Content limits on by default for child accounts under 18 in most countries, so a new child account may already be filtered.

Route 3: Only Approved Websites

The strictest built-in option: the phone reaches the sites on your list and nothing else. It suits a young child, a study device or a work phone.

1. Follow steps 1 to 3 of Route 1 to reach Web Content.
2. Select Only Approved Websites. iOS loads a short starter list.
3. Tap Add Website and enter a title and address for each site you want reachable.
4. Swipe left on any preloaded entry you do not want and tap Delete.
5. Set a Screen Time passcode.

Expect it to break things. In-app browsers hit the block, third-party sign-in flows fail, and school portals pull assets from domains you did not think to add.

Route 4: The Screen Time Passcode

Without this, the routes above are suggestions, not blocks. Apple’s guide to the Screen Time passcode has the current wording.

For Yourself

1. Go to Settings > Screen Time.
2. Scroll down and tap Lock Screen Time Settings.
3. Enter a four-digit passcode, then enter it again.
4. When iOS offers Screen Time Passcode Recovery, do not skip it. It is the only self-service way back in.

For A Child

1. On your iPhone, go to Settings > Screen Time and select the child from your Family Sharing group.
2. Scroll down, tap Manage Screen Time, then Lock Screen Time Settings.
3. Enter and confirm a four-digit code.

Use a code that is not your unlock passcode and not a birthday. On iOS 18.5 and later, a parent is notified when a child’s Screen Time passcode is entered on their device, the clearest signal a code has leaked. It sits under Manage Screen Time > Customize Notifications. Leave it on.

If You Forgot The Screen Time Passcode

Apple’s article on a forgotten Screen Time passcode gives two routes. For your own device, go to Settings > Screen Time > Change Screen Time Passcode, tap it again, then enter the Apple Account used for Screen Time Passcode Recovery. Apple warns this may not be the account currently signed in.

For a child on Family Sharing, the organiser resets it on their own device: Settings > Screen Time > [child’s name], then under Restrictions tap Manage Screen Time > Change Screen Time Passcode. Apple notes that Screen Time set up through Family Sharing on your device resets with your device passcode, Touch ID or Face ID, while Screen Time set up on the child’s own device needs the recovery Apple Account. If neither works, you erase the device, and restoring a backup taken while the passcode was active brings it back.

Route 5: Chrome And Other Browsers

“Block websites on Chrome mobile” is a common search, and on iPhone the honest answer is that Chrome is not where you do it. Apple’s filter covers third-party apps as well as Safari, so Never Allow, Limit Adult Websites and Only Approved Websites all normally apply in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and in-app browsers. Chrome for iOS has no blocklist of its own.

If a browser still slips past, remove it rather than fight it.

1. Go to Settings > Screen Time > [name] > Content & Privacy Restrictions > iTunes & App Store Purchases.
2. Set Installing Apps and Deleting Apps to Don’t Allow, so no replacement browser appears and no filtering app can be uninstalled.
3. Back in Screen Time, tap App Limits > Add Limit and set a one-minute daily limit on the browser you want gone.

Google’s SafeSearch filters explicit results rather than blocking sites, and it is locked only for supervised child Google Accounts. Treat it as a supplement.

Route 6: Safari Content Blockers

The answer to “how to block websites on Safari” beyond Screen Time. Safari supports content blocker extensions, some of which include site blocking.

1. In Safari, tap the page menu button left of the address field, then Manage Extensions.
2. Tap Browse Extensions to open the App Store, then install one.
3. Go to Settings > Apps > Safari > Extensions, tap the extension, then turn on Allow Extension.
4. If you use Safari profiles, turn it on for each profile separately.

Note the location: Safari settings moved into Settings > Apps > Safari, which is where older guides go wrong. Extensions apply to Safari only, and anyone can switch one off from that same screen, so this is friction for yourself, not a control for someone else.

Route 7: Downtime, App Limits And Focus

Sometimes the goal is not “forbidden” but “not now”. Apple’s page on Screen Time schedules covers the first two. Downtime and App Limits stay greyed out until App & Website Activity is on.

Downtime

1. Go to Settings > Screen Time, tapping a child’s name first if needed.
2. Tap App & Website Activity and turn it on if it is off.
3. Tap Downtime, then Turn On Downtime Until Tomorrow or Scheduled.
4. Choose Every Day or Customize Days, then set start and end times.
5. Turn on Block at Downtime. With it off the limit is a reminder you can tap past.

App Limits

1. Go to Settings > Screen Time > App Limits > Add Limit.
2. Select categories, or tap a category name to choose individual apps.
3. Tap Next, set the time allowed, and use Customize Days for different weekday and weekend limits.

Always Allowed, Communication Limits And Focus

Under Always Allowed you pick the apps and contacts available during Downtime. Apple’s warning is worth repeating: if Messages is not always allowed, a child may be unable to message anyone during Downtime, including emergency contacts. Put Phone, Messages and any health or accessibility app on that list.

Communication Limits, at Settings > Screen Time > [child’s name] > Communication Limits, controls who a child can contact, and Manage [child’s name]’s contacts lets you review their contacts. The child approves that request on their own device.

Focus does not block websites. It silences notifications, can hide Home Screen pages and runs on a schedule. Set one up at Settings > Focus, then use People, Apps, Options, Add Schedule and Add Filter. Pairing it with a stripped-down Home Screen page removes the icon you reach for without thinking, though anyone can turn it off from Control Center.

Route 8: Shortcuts Automation

Shortcuts is often recommended as a website blocker. It is not one. Personal automations fire on event, travel, communication and setting triggers, including opening an app, but there is no trigger for visiting an address, so Shortcuts cannot see which site you are on. It can only add friction when you open a browser.

1. Open Shortcuts, tap Automation, tap the add button, then Create Personal Automation.
2. Choose the App trigger, select the browser, then choose Is Opened.
3. Tap Next, then Add Action, for example Show Notification or Set Focus.
4. Tap Next, tap Done, then turn off Ask Before Running if you want it silent.

Automations are device-specific, do not sync, and can be disabled in two taps. Use this for yourself.

Route 9: Third-Party Filtering Apps

Third-party filters plug into Apple’s official filtering interfaces, and iOS 26 added a URL filter that decides on the full address of a request, system-wide, rather than only the domain. That is why some filters now catch specific pages the built-in filter waves through. Look for four things:

• It uses Apple’s supported filtering interfaces, not a VPN profile routing all traffic through the vendor.
• It says plainly what data leaves the device and where it goes.
• It is visible to the person using the phone. Anything sold as hidden, undetectable, or a way to read someone’s messages without their knowledge is stalkerware, and we will not name any.
• It survives deletion, paired with iTunes & App Store Purchases > Deleting Apps > Don’t Allow.

A filtering app earns its place when you need category filtering with reporting, or one policy across phone, laptop and tablet. For one or two sites it is overkill. Our roundup of the best parental control apps compares the serious options side by side. Our guide to protecting a remote team from cyber threats applies the same layering at work.

Route 10: Router And DNS Blocking

Everything above is per-phone. Network filtering covers every device at once. If you are choosing hardware for the job, our list of the best parental control routers shows which models handle this well.

Block At The Router

1. Open your router’s admin address, usually printed on it, in a browser on that network, and sign in. Change the credentials from the factory default if you never have.
2. Find Parental Controls, Access Restrictions, URL Filtering or Content Filtering.
3. Add the domains to block, applying the rule to the whole network or to named devices.
4. If schedules are supported, limit the rule to the hours you care about, then save.

Filtered DNS On The iPhone

1. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi and tap the information button next to the connected network.
2. Tap Configure DNS, then Manual.
3. Remove the existing servers, tap Add Server, enter your filtering service’s addresses, then tap Save.

Apple’s deployment documentation notes filtered DNS can also arrive as a configuration profile using DNS over HTTPS or TLS, which is how the better consumer services install themselves. A profile is stronger, because it applies on cellular too, while the manual setting covers only that Wi-Fi network. Either way, network filtering stops at the front door: once the phone is on cellular it is unfiltered. Excellent second layer, poor only layer.

Screen Time For A Child: Family Sharing Or The Phone Itself

Two ways, and the difference matters. Apple’s page on Screen Time for a child covers both, and our walkthrough of how to set up parental controls covers the same ground across every platform a family uses.

Through Family Sharing, from your own iPhone, is better in almost every case. Controls sit on your device, changes sync to theirs, requests for more time or a new app arrive in Messages so you can approve or decline remotely, and a forgotten passcode resets with your own device passcode, Touch ID or Face ID. Go to Settings > Screen Time, scroll to Family, tap the child’s name.

On the child’s phone directly is for when there is no Family Sharing group. Set everything in Settings > Screen Time on their device, including Lock Screen Time Settings. The catch is recovery: forget that passcode and you need the recovery Apple Account.

Apple presets age-appropriate restrictions from the birth date entered at account creation, so check what is already on before adding rules. The rest of the Screen Time menu is worth a pass too, and our full guide to parental controls on iPhone and iPad goes through every screen in order. And talk to the child: a rule that is explained, with a visible way to ask for an exception, generates far less workaround energy. ReVerb has a separate piece on screen time and balance.

How To Unblock Websites On iPhone

1. Remove one site: go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > App Store, Media, Web, & Games > Web Content, swipe left on the entry under Never Allow, and tap Delete.
2. Drop web filtering only: on the same Web Content screen, select Unrestricted.
3. Turn off all restrictions: at Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions, turn the top switch off. Apple says the settings pause rather than vanish, so switching it back on restores the same rules.
4. Remove the passcode: tap Change Screen Time Passcode, then Turn Off Screen Time Passcode. For a child, tap their name, then Manage Screen Time, then the same two options.

Elsewhere: turn a Safari extension off at Settings > Apps > Safari > Extensions, reset DNS with Configure DNS > Automatic, remove a filtering profile at Settings > General > VPN & Device Management, delete automations in Shortcuts, and undo router rules in the router’s admin page.

If you do not control the block, for example on a school or employer device, ask the administrator. Our piece on getting around a paywall shows how quickly determined users get past soft restrictions.

What A Determined Teenager Can Defeat

Any guide promising an unbeatable block is selling something.

Easy to defeat: a Screen Time restriction with no passcode, a Safari extension, a Shortcuts automation, manual Wi-Fi DNS, any router rule once the phone is on cellular, and Focus modes.

Harder, but well documented: reading the passcode over a shoulder, the most common failure by a wide margin, or reaching a site through a cached copy, an archive, an alternative domain, a search engine preview, or an in-app browser.

What actually holds: Screen Time managed from the parent’s device with a passcode the child has never seen and passcode-use notifications on, Installing Apps and Deleting Apps set to Don’t Allow, filtered DNS as a profile so it follows the phone onto cellular, and Only Approved Websites where warranted. Two layers is where defeating it stops being casual. The other thing that holds is an agreement, which is why Apple built an exception request flow into Messages in iOS 26.

Every Route Compared

Route	What it blocks	Can a child undo it	Covers cellular data
Screen Time Never Allow list	Named sites, in Safari and other browsers	No, if a passcode they do not know is set	Yes
Limit Adult Websites	Apple’s automatic adult list, plus your additions	No, with a passcode set	Yes
Only Approved Websites	Everything except your allow list	No, with a passcode set	Yes
Allowed Apps & Features, App Limits	Whole apps, including browsers	No, with a passcode set	Yes
Safari content blocker extension	Sites and content in Safari only	Yes, in two taps	Yes
Downtime and Focus	Apps by schedule, not sites	Focus yes. Downtime no, with Block at Downtime set	Yes
Shortcuts automation	Nothing, it adds friction only	Yes, easily	Yes
Third-party filtering app	Sites, categories, and in iOS 26 full URLs	Only if Deleting Apps is set to Don’t Allow	Yes
Router parental controls	Sites for every device on that network	Not from the phone, but cellular bypasses it	No
Manual DNS on a Wi-Fi network	Sites the DNS service filters, on that network	Yes, by switching DNS back to Automatic	No
Filtered DNS as a configuration profile	Sites the DNS service filters, system-wide	Only if profile removal is restricted	Yes

Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Blocked site still loads	Address entered in a different form, or the page is cached	Add the plain domain and the www version, close all tabs, then use Settings > Apps > Safari > Clear History and Website Data
Forgot Screen Time passcode	No recovery Apple Account, or a different one was used	Settings > Screen Time > Change Screen Time Passcode twice, then the Apple Account used at setup. For a child on Family Sharing, reset from the organiser’s device with their device passcode, Touch ID or Face ID
Child changed the settings back	No passcode, or the child has learned it	Change the passcode, turn on passcode-use notifications, and manage the child from your device rather than theirs
Blocking works in Safari but not Chrome	Applied in Safari settings or an extension, not in Screen Time	Apply it under App Store, Media, Web, & Games, which covers third-party browsers. If one still slips through, set an App Limit on it and set Installing Apps to Don’t Allow
Downtime or App Limits greyed out	App & Website Activity is off	Settings > Screen Time > App & Website Activity, turn it on, then set Downtime
A legitimate site is caught by the filter	The automatic adult list is over-broad	Add the site under Always Allow in Web Content
The block stops working outside the house	Filtering is at the router, so it covers home Wi-Fi only	Add a Screen Time layer, or filtered DNS as a profile so it applies on cellular

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I block a website on iPhone without Screen Time?

Yes, with trade-offs. A Safari content blocker works in Safari only, and router or DNS filtering covers the home network but not cellular. Screen Time is the only built-in route covering every browser, working on cellular and lockable with a passcode.

Does blocking a website on iPhone block it in Chrome too?

Usually yes. Apple describes the built-in filter as restricting Safari and third-party apps, so a Never Allow entry normally applies in Chrome, Edge and Firefox. If one slips through, set an App Limit on it.

How do I block adult websites on my phone permanently?

Turn on Limit Adult Websites, set a Screen Time passcode so it cannot be reversed, and add filtered DNS as a second layer. No filter catches everything, and nothing is literally permanent, but that is the strongest built-in combination.

Will the person see that a site is blocked?

Yes. A blocked page shows a restriction message, often with an option to request access. That is by design, and it is why these tools suit parenting and self-control, not monitoring another adult.

Can I block a website only at certain times?

Not with Web Content, which is on or off. Use Downtime with Block at Downtime, or an App Limit on the browser. Screen Time works on cellular as well as Wi-Fi, because it is applied on the device.

How do I unblock a website on my iPhone?

Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > App Store, Media, Web, & Games > Web Content, then swipe left on the Never Allow entry and delete it, or select Unrestricted. You need the Screen Time passcode.

Can my child turn off Screen Time?

Not without the passcode, though they can watch you enter it or restore the phone. Passcode-use notifications tell you when the code has been used on their device, the earliest sign it has leaked. If you forget it and never set up recovery, there is no self-service reset.

Is a VPN a good way to block websites?

Generally no. A VPN moves your traffic somewhere else, and filtering apps that install as a VPN profile route everything through a third party. Prefer Apple’s supported filtering interfaces or a reputable filtering DNS resolver.

Will iOS 27 change any of this?

iOS 27 ships on 14 September 2026, three days after this guide was verified. Apple has moved these menus in each recent release, so if a path does not match your screen, look for the nearest equivalent inside Content & Privacy Restrictions before assuming the feature is gone.

The Short Version

To block one site: Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions, turn it on, then App Store, Media, Web, & Games > Web Content > Limit Adult Websites, and tap Add Website under Never Allow. For adult sites broadly, choose Limit Adult Websites and add nothing. For a short allow list, choose Only Approved Websites.

Then set a passcode with Lock Screen Time Settings and add Screen Time Passcode Recovery. Without a passcode, none of it is a block. For a child, manage it from your own iPhone through Family Sharing and set Installing Apps and Deleting Apps to Don’t Allow.

Screen Time covers Chrome as well as Safari and works on cellular, while router and Wi-Fi DNS filtering do not follow the phone out of the house. To undo it, return to Web Content and delete the entry or choose Unrestricted. And tell the person whose phone it is.