How to block NSFW content on X and Reddit on iPhone

Written by the developer of The Blocker. Facts checked 21 October 2026 against X’s and Reddit’s help pages, Apple’s documentation and the app itself (version 2.9). App menus change often.

Why a feed can’t be blocked like a website

A website blocker works on web addresses: it decides which pages may load. A post in your X or Reddit feed isn’t a page you open; it arrives inside the app, so these tools never get to see it. The Blocker blocks web pages and can close whole apps, but it doesn’t filter posts, images or videos inside other apps.

Apple’s own nudity filter doesn’t reach these feeds either. Sensitive Content Warning (Settings › Privacy & Security › Sensitive Content Warning, iOS 17 or later) blurs photos and videos that may contain nudity in Messages, AirDrop, FaceTime and other Apple apps, but in other companies’ apps it only checks “when you select a photo or video to share in some third-party apps” (Apple). It is still worth turning on.

A few paid accountability apps take a different route. When we checked in September 2026, Ever Accountable said that while its protection is switched on, “an AI right on your phone looks at what’s on the screen” (Ever Accountable), and that weekly reports go to a partner you choose (Ever Accountable). If that is what you want, see the best porn blockers for iPhone.

On X: switch off sensitive media

X allows adult content as long as it is labeled: its Adult Content Policy says such content is “allowed on X when labeled with a content warning” (X). So X’s own setting matters most:

1. In the X app, tap your profile icon or the menu, then go to Settings and privacy › Privacy and safety › Safety.
2. Make sure Display media that may contain sensitive content is not checked.
3. On X.com the same box is under Privacy and safety › Content you see (X Help).

Its limits: it depends on labels. X says that if a post has no warning label, “it’s possible that it doesn’t meet our threshold for a warning on the media.” Anyone signed in to the account can tick the box again. X also suggests that you “unfollow or block accounts” that bother you.

On Reddit: the setting lives on the website

The Reddit iPhone app has no NSFW switch. Reddit’s help page explains: “In order to comply with Apple Guidelines, the settings to manage NSFW content are managed through our desktop site” (Reddit Help).

1. Sign in at reddit.com in a browser and open your preferences.
2. Under Content, make sure Show NSFW Content (18+) is off.
3. Turn on Blur mature (18+) images and media as a second layer: mature posts that still appear stay blurred until you tap them.
4. Restart the Reddit app so it picks up the change.

Reddit also says it tries to keep mature content out of your recommendations “unless you are subscribed to the communities that content originates from or you have otherwise expressed an interest” (Reddit Help). Leaving those communities helps. As on X, the account owner can switch everything back.

Links you open from X or Reddit

Tap a link in a post and it may open inside the app rather than in Safari, where Safari blockers don’t reach (why in-app browsers slip past them). The Blocker Pro’s Strong protection uses Apple’s Screen Time to block adult sites, plus up to 50 of your own sites, in every browser and in links you open inside apps like X. It relies on iOS to apply the filter, and Apple doesn’t publish a list of the apps it covers.

Close the app, or block the websites

• Blocked apps (Pro). Choose X or Reddit in Apple’s app picker and the app stays closed while Strong protection is on. Of everything here, this is what stops the feed, because the app doesn’t open.
• Hard moment (Pro). In a bad moment, one tap blocks every website and your blocked apps for one hour. It can’t be ended early.
• The websites in every browser (Pro). Add x.com, twitter.com and reddit.com to your own block list. With Strong protection on, the first 50 sites on that list are blocked in every browser too.
• The websites in Safari. The Social Media category (Pro) blocks seven sites in Safari: facebook.com, instagram.com, tiktok.com, x.com, twitter.com, snapchat.com and reddit.com. It works in Safari only; Strong protection doesn’t include categories. On the free plan you can add up to 10 sites of your own in Safari.

Strong protection is turned on from Block every browser and app on The Blocker’s Home screen. Pro is $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year or $49.99 once (US prices; the App Store shows your local price). Safari blocking is free: get The Blocker.

At a glance

Honest limits

• No setting here can promise a clean feed. Platform settings depend on labels, and Strong protection doesn’t filter posts inside apps.
• Whoever holds your Screen Time passcode can undo Strong protection, and anyone with your account can change X’s and Reddit’s settings. A trusted person keeping the passcode helps: see a porn blocker that can’t be deleted.
• Links from these apps may also open in Chrome or another browser; here is how to cover those.

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