How-To By Anthony Calise Updated August 15, 2026

How to block Reddit on iPhone

Reddit is a specific problem. It isn't a feed you finish - it's an infinite branching tree of other people's conversations, and the thing that pulls you back is genuinely interesting, which is exactly what makes it hard to quit. It's also unusually hard to block properly, because deleting the app does nothing: old.reddit.com is one Safari tab away, and Google will happily hand you a thread from the search results. Here are four methods, from the 60-second version to the one that actually holds.

Quick Answer

The fastest method is Screen Time: Settings → Screen Time → App Limits → add Reddit with a 1-minute daily limit. That takes under a minute, but it has an "Ignore Limit" button and it doesn't touch Safari. To block Reddit properly you need to do both halves - limit the app and add reddit.com to Screen Time's restricted websites list. If you keep tapping Ignore, the method that works is a blocker you have to earn past rather than dismiss: FightMode locks the app until you finish a 60-second boxing round.

Method 1: Screen Time App Limits (60 seconds, free)

The built-in option. Good enough for a lot of people, and free.

Open Settings → Screen Time.
Tap App Limits → Add Limit.
Expand Social, tick Reddit, tap Next.
Set the limit to 1 minute (not zero - a 1-minute limit is effectively a block, and it's the lowest setting available).
Turn on Block at End of Limit, then tap Add.

Then set a passcode you don't use elsewhere: Screen Time → Lock Screen Time Settings. Without it, disabling the limit is three taps and no friction at all.

The honest limitation

When the limit hits, iOS shows an Ignore Limit button offering "One More Minute" or "Ignore Limit For Today." That's by design - Apple won't lock you out of your own phone. For a mild habit it's enough. For a real one, you'll tap Ignore, and the passcode above is the only thing standing between you and a relapse.

Method 2: Close the Safari loophole (this is the step people skip)

Blocking the Reddit app and stopping there is the single most common mistake. Reddit's website works fine on mobile, so an app-only block just moves the habit into a browser tab where you have no limits at all. Close it:

Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions.
Turn Content & Privacy Restrictions on.
Tap Content Restrictions → Web Content.
Choose Limit Adult Websites - this unlocks the NEVER ALLOW list.
Under NEVER ALLOW, tap Add Website and add reddit.com.
Add these too, or the block leaks: old.reddit.com, np.reddit.com, m.reddit.com, redd.it.

Note the trade-off: choosing "Limit Adult Websites" turns on Apple's general web filter, which occasionally blocks pages you actually wanted. That's the cost of getting access to the block list. If it becomes annoying you can add exceptions under ALWAYS ALLOW.

Also worth knowing: this restriction applies to Safari and most apps using Apple's web view, but a third-party browser like Chrome or Firefox can route around it. If you have those installed, either delete them or add them to your App Limits as well.

Method 3: Third-party blockers (more control, usually a subscription)

Dedicated blockers give you what Screen Time won't: better scheduling, cross-device blocklists, and locked sessions that are genuinely awkward to end.

Freedom - blocks Reddit on phone and laptop at the same time, which matters a lot for this particular site. Locked sessions can't be casually cancelled.
ScreenZen - free, adds a delay and an intention prompt before Reddit opens. Good for reflex opens.
one sec - a breathing pause before the app loads. Surprisingly effective against autopilot, useless against a decision.
Brick - an NFC tag you tap to lock and must physically return to in order to unlock.

Full comparison in best app blockers and the free-only list in best free app blockers for iPhone.

Method 4: Make the block cost something

Every method above shares one weakness: the way past is a decision. Tap Ignore. Enter the passcode. End the session. When you want Reddit badly enough, you will make that decision, and you'll make it in about a second and a half.

FightMode changes what's on the other side of the block. Reddit stays locked, and the way in isn't a button - it's a 60-second boxing round, coach calling combos, AI scorecard checking that you actually threw them. There's nothing to argue with, because there's no argument available. Most of the time you're 30 seconds into the round before you remember which thread you were going back to.

It also solves the specific Reddit problem, which is that the pull is boredom-shaped. A blocker that leaves you bored has only relocated the urge. One that hands you something physical to do has replaced it.

Which method should you use?

Pick by how the habit actually behaves

You open Reddit out of boredom, a few minutes at a time - Screen Time App Limits plus the Safari block. Free, done in five minutes.

You disappear into comment threads for an hour - a locked-session tool like Freedom, because the problem is duration, not frequency.

You keep tapping Ignore Limit - FightMode. Another button you can press is not the answer.

You browse on a laptop as much as on your phone - Freedom, or you're only fixing half of it.

Things that will make any of these stick better

Log out on every device before you block. A logged-out Reddit is a much weaker pull, and re-entering a password is real friction.
Delete the app even if you're using Screen Time. The icon itself is a cue. Removing it removes hundreds of tiny prompts per week.
Turn off all Reddit notifications first. Blocking the app while leaving reply alerts on is fighting yourself.
Decide what replaces it. Reddit fills dead time. If you block it and leave the dead time, something else fills it within a week - usually something worse.

More on the underlying pattern in how to stop doomscrolling and why you can't stop scrolling.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I block Reddit on iPhone for free?

Use Screen Time, and do both halves. First add an App Limit: Settings, Screen Time, App Limits, Add Limit, Social, Reddit, set it to 1 minute and enable Block at End of Limit. Then block the website: Screen Time, Content and Privacy Restrictions, Content Restrictions, Web Content, Limit Adult Websites, and add reddit.com, old.reddit.com and redd.it under NEVER ALLOW. Set a Screen Time passcode you don't use elsewhere, or the whole thing is three taps from being off.

Why can I still get to Reddit after blocking the app?

Because the app and the website are separate doors. Reddit's mobile site works perfectly in Safari, and Google search results link straight into threads, so an app-only block just relocates the habit to a browser tab with no limits on it. You have to add reddit.com and its subdomains to Screen Time's restricted websites list as well. If you have Chrome or Firefox installed, those can bypass Apple's web filter, so limit or remove them too.

What is the best app to block Reddit on iPhone?

It depends on how the habit behaves. For occasional boredom-scrolling, Screen Time plus a Safari block is free and sufficient. For hour-long comment-thread sessions, a locked-session tool like Freedom is better because it also covers your laptop, where Reddit use tends to be heaviest. If you keep dismissing whatever block you set, an exercise-to-unlock app like FightMode works differently - the apps open after you complete a 60-second boxing round rather than after you press a button.

Does deleting the Reddit app actually help?

It helps more than people expect, but not for the reason they assume. Deleting doesn't make Reddit inaccessible - the website is right there. What it removes is the icon, which is a visual cue you encounter dozens of times a day, and each of those cues is a chance to open it without deciding to. Delete the app, log out of the site, and block the domain, and you've removed the cue, the convenience, and the door in one go.

Scope

Menu paths described here reflect iOS as of August 2026. Apple moves Screen Time settings between releases, so if a step does not match your device, search the Settings app for the setting name rather than the path.