How to block porn on your child’s iPhone

Written by the developer of The Blocker. The Blocker is a Safari blocker, not a parental-control app. Settings names can differ with your iOS version and language.

1. Start with Apple’s Family settings

Apple’s parental controls work through Family Sharing. You manage your child’s iPhone from your own. The path depends on the iOS version.

• iOS 26. On your iPhone, go to Settings → Screen Time, scroll down and choose your child below Family. From there you can set a Screen Time passcode and block apps, downloads and websites. For websites, turn on Content & Privacy Restrictions, then go to App Store, Media, Web, & Games → Web Content and choose Limit Adult Websites. See Apple’s guides to Screen Time for a child and blocking websites.
• iOS 27. Apple added new parental controls. Go to Settings → Family → your child’s name → Apps & Websites → Restrictions. Under Websites, use Filtering to choose Limit Adult Websites. This needs every device in your Family Sharing group on iOS 27 (or iPadOS, macOS, watchOS or visionOS 27). If you can’t update them all, the previous version of Screen Time keeps working. See Apple’s parental controls guide.

Apple’s defaults help. Limit Adult Websites is on by default for children under 18, and Ask to Buy and Ask to Browse are on by default for children under 13. The age can vary by country or region. Still, open the setting and check it yourself.

Know its limits. Apple says the filter limits “many adult websites”, not all of them (Apple). By default, your child can still visit wellness and safety websites (Apple).

2. Keep the Screen Time passcode with you

The Screen Time passcode protects everything above. Choose one your child doesn’t know. Anyone who knows it can change these settings or switch them off.

If you forget it, Apple says the Family Sharing organizer or a parent or guardian resets it on their own device, not on the child’s device (Apple).

Stop app deletion and installs. Apple’s steps: go to Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions, turn it on, tap iTunes & App Store Purchases, then choose restrictions for installing or deleting apps. With Family Sharing, the organizer or another parent or guardian sets this for the child (iOS 26, iOS 27). This matters: a blocker that can be deleted is easy to remove, and The Blocker doesn’t cover other browsers.

3. Add The Blocker as a second Safari layer (optional)

The Blocker adds its own adult-site list in Safari, on top of Apple’s filter. The free version includes the adult category and up to 10 websites you choose. Pro adds more categories and unlimited sites. The Test it button shows whether Safari is blocking. Rules stay on the device, and there is no account. Follow the setup guide to turn it on.

Because Limit Adult Websites is usually already on for a child, note what The Blocker’s own setup says: this setting keeps Safari extensions switched on, and to change extensions you set Web Content back to Unrestricted, make the change, then choose Limit Adult Websites again (names can differ on iOS 27). That needs your Screen Time passcode, which is also what stops your child switching The Blocker off in Settings.

What it doesn’t do:

• Not a spy. It doesn’t report to anyone and has no accountability partner. You get no reports, alerts or browsing history.
• Safari only. It works in Safari and in apps that open web pages in a Safari view. Chrome, Firefox and other browsers are not covered.
• The app lock is not a parent lock. The lock asks to “Unlock The Blocker” and accepts Face ID, Touch ID or the phone’s passcode. On your child’s iPhone, that means your child can open the app with their own face or passcode and change its lists.

So The Blocker fits best when your child knows it is there and agrees with it. Apple’s settings, behind your passcode, stay the main layer. To make any blocker harder to remove, read how to make a porn blocker hard to turn off.

4. When you need a full parental-control app

If you want reports, app time limits, location, or filtering beyond Safari, look at a parental-control suite. Two examples:

• Qustodio uses a parent app and a kids app on the child’s iPhone. The kids app asks you to install a special MDM profile, and a VPN symbol appears when it is connected. Qustodio’s terms say that on iOS, all data to and from the device goes through its servers. It adds web filtering, app blocking, daily time limits, alerts, reports and location (App Store). There is a free plan for 1 device (Qustodio); paid plans start at $59.95 a year (Qustodio).
• Canopy uses a control app and Canopy Shield on the child’s device. On iPhone, you accept the Canopy MDM profile and tap “Trust and Install” (Canopy). Canopy says it checks images, videos and websites in real time. It adds removal alerts, photo monitoring alerts, app management and location (App Store). Plans start at $8.33 a month, billed annually, with a one-week free trial (Canopy).

These apps see much more of your child’s activity, need an account, and mostly need a paid plan. Prices were checked on 28 September 2026 and change often. See the comparison of porn blockers for iPhone.

5. Talk with your child

A filter is one layer. No list catches every page, and your child may use other phones or networks. Tell your child what you set up and why. Keep the conversation open, so they can come to you if they see something that upsets them. A calm talk now makes the next one easier.

Checklist

Setting up an iPad too? See how to block porn on iPad.

Download for iPhone

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