Screen Time
How to block YouTube and TikTok on your child's iPhone
Three ways to block or limit specific apps on an iPhone — app limits, Content Restrictions and Always Allowed — plus which one survives a determined child and which quietly doesn't.
The short answer: you can block a single app on an iPhone in three ways — an App Limit set to one minute, an age-rating restriction that removes it from the App Store and the device, or a Communication/Content restriction for the web version. The rating route is the sturdiest, because App Limits can be worked around by reinstalling unless you also block app deletion.
Key takeaways
- App Limits alone are leaky. Delete-and-reinstall can clear accumulated usage unless deletion and installation are also restricted.
- Age ratings are the sturdier block. Setting the allowed rating below an app's rating removes it outright.
- Blocking the app doesn't block the website. YouTube in Safari is a separate hole that needs web content restrictions.
- A total block is not always the right answer. For older children a shared limit tends to hold better than a ban they will route around.
Can I block just one app and leave the rest alone? Yes — App Limits work per app, not only per category, so a single app can be limited without touching anything else.
Will they know it was me? Yes. iOS shows a clear "Time Limit" or restriction screen. That's usually a feature: a visible system rule argues less than an invisible one.
Option 1 — App Limit set to one minute
The quickest route, and reversible.
- Settings → Screen Time → App Limits → Add Limit.
- Choose the app individually, or its whole category.
- Set the limit to 1 minute, and turn on Block at End of Limit.
The app becomes effectively unusable within a minute a day. The weakness: without further settings, an app that is deleted and reinstalled can come back with its usage cleared. Close that under Content & Privacy Restrictions → Deleting Apps → Don't Allow and Installing Apps → Don't Allow. This and the other common workarounds are covered in can kids bypass Apple Screen Time.
Option 2 — Age-rating restriction
Sturdier, and blunter.
- Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → Content Restrictions → Apps.
- Set the allowed age rating below the app's own rating.
The app disappears from the device and can't be reinstalled. The trade-off is collateral damage — a rating threshold that removes TikTok removes everything else at that rating too, which for a twelve-year-old can be a lot of otherwise unobjectionable apps.
Option 3 — Block the web version too
Blocking an app does nothing about its website, and children work this out quickly.
- Content Restrictions → Web Content → Limit Adult Websites, then add the specific domains under Never Allow.
- Note that this filters Safari; if another browser is installed, it needs restricting or removing as well.
| Approach | Strength | Main weakness |
|---|---|---|
| App Limit, 1 minute | Precise, reversible, per-app | Leaky unless deletion/installation are blocked |
| Age rating | Removes the app entirely | Removes unrelated apps at the same rating |
| Web content block | Closes the browser route | Only covers browsers that are actually installed |
| All three together | Comprehensive | Takes about ten minutes to set up |
Before you block it entirely
Worth a moment's thought, because a total ban is a strong move with side effects.
For younger children, a clean block is usually right and rarely contested. For a child old enough that the app is part of their social life, an outright ban tends to move the activity somewhere you can't see — a friend's phone, a school device, a second account — rather than ending it. A shared daily limit often holds better than a ban, particularly one where extra time can be earned rather than argued for.
The general principle from the age-by-age guidance applies here too: what a limit displaces matters more than the number itself. An hour of YouTube that replaces boredom is a different thing from an hour that replaces sleep.
Frequently asked questions
Can my child just reinstall the app?
Not if you set Installing Apps and Deleting Apps to "Don't Allow" under Content & Privacy Restrictions. With an App Limit and nothing else, reinstalling is the standard workaround.
Does blocking the app block the website too?
No — these are separate controls. YouTube in Safari keeps working until you add web content restrictions as well.
Can I block an app only on school nights?
Yes. App Limits can be customised by day, and Downtime can be scheduled differently for different days, so a weekday block with weekend access is straightforward.
Will they get a notification that I blocked it?
They'll see a restriction or time-limit screen when they open the app. iOS doesn't send an announcement, but the block is visible rather than silent.
What about YouTube Kids instead?
A reasonable middle path for younger children — a narrower content pool, though not a perfect filter. It still benefits from a time limit, since the displacement question doesn't change with the content.
<p class="note-disclaimer">Apple moves these settings between iOS versions. If a menu isn't where described, check Apple's current Screen Time documentation for your version.</p>
