How to Block Pinterest on iPhone (App and Website)

To block Pinterest on iPhone, set a Screen Time App Limit on the app, then block pinterest.com and your country's Pinterest domain in Safari, because Google search results will keep sending you back. If you use Pinterest for real planning, don't ban it: limit long browsing sessions and let quick searches through.

Quick answer

• App: Settings > Screen Time > App Limits > Add Limit > Pinterest, Block at End of Limit on.
• Browser: pinterest.com plus your local domain (pinterest.co.uk, pinterest.fr...) under Never Allow.
• Notifications: turn off "ideas for you" pushes and emails.
• Planning without the spiral: a session limit, or Pinterest allowed on weekends only.

Why is Pinterest so hard to put down?

Because it doesn't feel like social media. It feels like planning: a kitchen, a wedding, an outfit, a trip. Every pin leads to "More like this", another endless grid, and none of it feels wasted until you look at the clock.

Pinterest also comes to you. Its pages rank all over Google Images, so a search for paint colors drops you straight back into the grid.

How do you block the Pinterest app?

These steps work on iOS 16 through iOS 26.

1. Open Settings > Screen Time and turn it on if needed.
2. Tap App Limits > Add Limit.
3. Find Pinterest and select it.
4. Pick a time: 1 minute for a near-total block, around 20 minutes for a cap.
5. Turn on Block at End of Limit, which needs a Screen Time passcode (Settings > Screen Time > Lock Screen Time Settings, or Use Screen Time Passcode on iOS 16).

Without the passcode, you'll just see Ignore Limit. See how to remove "Ignore Limit".

Planning a project? A time window often beats a tight daily cap. Use Downtime (Settings > Screen Time > Downtime > Scheduled) to shut Pinterest on weekday evenings and keep it off Always Allowed.

How do you block Pinterest in Safari?

This is where most Pinterest blocks leak.

1. Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions, and turn it on.
2. App Store, Media, Web & Games > Web Content > Limit Adult Websites (on iOS 16 to 18.0, the first menu is Content Restrictions or Store, Web, Siri & Game Center Content).
3. Under Never Allow, add pinterest.com.
4. Add your country domain too. Search for something on Google Images, tap a Pinterest result, and note the address: pinterest.co.uk, pinterest.fr, pinterest.ca and so on.

The block is all or nothing in Safari and in apps using Apple's web view.

What can you change inside Pinterest?

Pinterest has no personal time limit. What helps:

• Turn off notifications. Profile > ⚙️ > Notifications, for both push and email. Pinterest sends a lot of "ideas for you".
• Narrow your feed. Tidy boards and interests so the home grid is less tempting.
• Search, save, leave. Go in for one thing, save it to a board, close the app. Browsing the home feed is where the hours go.

A Face ID lock (long-press the icon, Require Face ID) keeps others out but opens instantly for you.

Why don't these blocks hold?

Pinterest leaks through search and through extra domains. And every built-in block can be undone by the person who set it: "Ignore Limit", a passcode you know, a website rule you can switch off. Every gap is in Screen Time loopholes.

The daily limit is also the wrong shape. A quick search for one recipe is useful; a two-hour grid scroll isn't. A daily total counts both the same.

How do you block Pinterest so it holds?

Detox (iPhone and iPad) is built for the moment the built-in tools fail.

1. Add Pinterest to a Detox rule, plus pinterest.com and your country domain.
2. Set a session limit, say 20 minutes in a row. Looking up one idea and saving it is fine. Once you have browsed continuously past your limit, Pinterest locks for a short break.
3. Let short visits reset. A couple of minutes away and the count goes back to zero.
4. Add a schedule to block Pinterest on weekday evenings if that's when it gets you.
5. Turn on Strict mode so you can't edit or delete the rule mid-project. An urgent unblock covers real emergencies, once every 24 hours.

It's iOS only and paid, with a free trial.

The bottom line

Set an App Limit, block pinterest.com and your local domain, and turn off the "ideas for you" notifications. If Pinterest is genuinely useful but eats your evenings, limit continuous browsing rather than the day's total, and go in with a search, not the feed.

Related: How to block Instagram on iPhone · What to do instead of scrolling · How to block apps on iPhone: every method ranked