How to block porn on iPhone and iPad, and keep it blocked

Block porn on iPhone in five minutes

iPhone has a free porn blocker built in: Screen Time's adult website filter. These steps follow Apple's guide for iOS 18 and iOS 26 and are the same on iPad with iPadOS 18 or 26. If you're on iOS 27, read the next section too.

1. Open Settings and tap Screen Time
2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions, then turn on Content & Privacy Restrictions
3. Tap App Store, Media, Web, & Games, then tap Web Content
4. Select Limit Adult WebsitesSafari now filters adult sites automatically.
5. Add anything it misses under Never AllowTap Add Website below Never Allow and enter the address. Add the sites you know you go to, not a list of every site you can think of.
6. Lock itIn Screen Time, scroll down and tap Lock Screen Time Settings. Better still, hand the phone to someone you trust and let them choose the passcode.

For the strictest setup, choose Only Approved Websites instead. Every site not on your list is blocked. It is a lot of upkeep for daily life, but some people use it for a few hard weeks.

On iOS 27: where the adult filter went

Apple redesigned Screen Time in iOS 27. Its iOS 27 guide for your own iPhone covers Content & Privacy Restrictions for explicit media in Music, the Apple TV app and Books (under Content Restrictions), plus Other Features and Siri, but it no longer spells out the website filter for adults. Apple's iOS 27 App Store page still lists App Store, Media, Web & Games under Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions, so check there for Web Content.

For children's accounts, iOS 27 turns Limit Adult Websites on by default for children with a Child Account under 18, managed under Settings > Family. That doesn't help an adult blocking for themselves, which is why the layers below matter more on iOS 27. The passcode on iOS 27 lives at Settings > Screen Time > Manage Screen Time > Lock Screen Time Settings.

Close the gaps: other browsers, apps and search

Screen Time's filter is a good first layer, not a wall. Apple documents its website controls for Safari, and most relapses come through a side door rather than the front one.

• Other browsers. Open a blocked site in every browser on your phone. If one loads it, delete that browser, and block new installs under Content & Privacy Restrictions > iTunes & App Store Purchases > Installing Apps.
• Apps with feeds. The web filter doesn't see inside apps. Social apps that allow adult content are a common back door; limit or delete them. See how to block apps on iPhone.
• Image search. Turn on SafeSearch: on google.com/safesearch, choose Filter. Google says it blocks explicit results, but only on Google Search, so check the default search engine too (Settings > Search > Search Engine on current iOS).
• Images in messages. Settings > Privacy & Security > Sensitive Content Warning makes iPhone check for sensitive images and warn you before you view them.

Add a DNS filter that covers every app and browser

A DNS filter refuses to look up adult domains, so they don't load anywhere: not in Safari, not in other browsers, not in an app's built-in browser. iPhone supports encrypted DNS set by an app or a configuration profile, and Apple says these system-wide settings apply to all apps and can cover Wi-Fi and cellular.

• Pick a filtering resolver with an adult-content category, set up through its app or profile.
• Some filtering resolvers also enforce SafeSearch, using the method Google itself documents: mapping Google's domains to forcesafesearch.google.com.
• Know the off switch. Installed profiles appear in Settings > General > VPN & Device Management, and whoever holds the phone can delete one there. A filter is a speed bump you chose, not a lock.

What a porn blocker can and can't do

A blocker removes the easy path. It turns a two-second impulse into several deliberate steps, and many urges fade in that gap. That is its real job.

It can't make the decision for you. Anyone who knows the passcode can switch it off, and a laptop, tablet or TV may be one room away. Block every device you use, and pair the block with a plan for the moment an urge hits. Our guide on how to stop porn addiction covers that plan, and explains why "porn addiction" is a common phrase rather than an official diagnosis.

It is also worth noticing how you feel. In a year-long study of 4,363 US adults, problematic porn use went together with anxiety and depression, and the link stayed stable over time. The study shows an association, not which causes which. If low mood, anxiety or loss of control weigh on you, a doctor or therapist is a good next step.

Make the block hard to undo

1. Let someone else set the Screen Time passcodeAnd decide together whose Apple Account goes into Screen Time Passcode Recovery, because that account can reset it.
2. Block on every deviceiPhone, iPad and Mac each need their own setup. See how to block websites on Mac.
3. Protect the late-night windowCharge the phone outside the bedroom. Tired and alone with a screen is when most blocks get tested.
4. Write down what you will do after a slipA slip is information, not the end. A short relapse prevention plan helps you restart the same day.