How to Block Instagram and TikTok on iPhone (That Sticks)

To block Instagram and TikTok on iPhone, put both in one Screen Time App Limit, add a Downtime window for the evening, and kill their notifications. The catch with two feeds is that you hop: Instagram hits its limit, so you open TikTok, and the scroll never really stops. The block that works treats both apps as one scroll.

Quick answer

• Daily cap: Settings > Screen Time > App Limits > Add Limit, select both apps (or the Social category), turn on Block at End of Limit.
• Evenings: Downtime, with neither app on Always Allowed.
• Less pull: move both off your home screen and turn off their notifications.
• The hop problem: use a limit that counts time across both apps.

Why is blocking one of them not enough?

Because the habit is the scroll, not the app. Block Instagram and your thumb finds TikTok; block TikTok and you're back in Reels. Both serve the same thing: short, unpredictable videos with no end.

So whatever you set up, set it up for both at once, and ideally with one shared limit rather than two separate budgets.

How do you block both with Screen Time?

These steps work on iOS 16 through iOS 26.

One shared daily limit

1. Open Settings > Screen Time.
2. Tap App Limits > Add Limit.
3. Select Instagram and TikTok together (or tick Social to catch every social app).
4. Set a duration, for example 20 minutes a day.
5. Turn on Block at End of Limit.

Because both apps sit in the same limit, they share one budget. When it's gone, both icons grey out.

An evening window

1. In Screen Time, tap Downtime.
2. Turn on Scheduled and choose your hours, say 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
3. Under Always Allowed, make sure neither app is listed.

Hide them and silence them

• Move both apps off your home screen into the App Library. Out of thumb's reach means fewer reflex opens.
• Turn off their notifications entirely. Every badge is an invitation back.

Why do built-in blocks rarely last a week?

When the limit hits, the screen shows "Ignore Limit". One tap and you're back for 15 minutes or the whole day, right when willpower is lowest.

Two more problems:

• It's all or nothing. The whole app locks, so a glance counts like an hour. You unblock "just to reply to a message" and end up in Reels.
• The passcode is weak. If it matches your phone passcode, or you just know it, the block offers no real resistance.

More on this in how to block apps on iPhone.

How do you block Instagram and TikTok so it sticks?

Separate the glance from the doomscroll. Opening Instagram to reply to a friend isn't the problem; staying stuck for forty minutes is. Detox (iPhone and iPad, paid with a free trial) is built around that.

1. Put Instagram and TikTok in one Detox rule. Messages, Maps and work apps stay untouched.
2. Set a session limit, say 15 minutes in a row, then blocked for 5. Time in either app adds to the same count, so hopping from Instagram to TikTok doesn't start it over. For your attention, it's the same scroll.
3. Let quick checks through. Put the phone down or use other apps for a couple of minutes and the count resets to zero.
4. Add a schedule to block both outright in the evening.
5. Turn on Strict mode so you can't loosen the rule in a weak moment. An urgent unblock covers real emergencies, once every 24 hours.

Which setup should you choose?

• A light, free nudge: one shared App Limit, apps off the home screen, notifications off.
• Nights only: Downtime on your danger window.
• To make it stick: a session limit across both apps, plus a strict schedule for the evening.

Combining works best: native settings for the baseline, a real barrier for the compulsive scrolling. For app-specific settings, see how to block Instagram on iPhone and how to block TikTok on iPhone. If the endless feed stays your weak point, read how to stop scrolling.