App blockers and alternatives
App that locks apps on iPhone: what actually works
On iOS 18 or later, lock a supported app by touching and holding its Home Screen icon, tapping “Require Face ID” (or “Touch ID or Passcode”), tapping that control again, then authenticating with Face ID, Touch ID, or the device passcode, as set out in Apple’s app-lock instructions.
That is the privacy answer when somebody else may pick up your iPhone. A third-party app cannot add its own unrestricted password screen in front of arbitrary iPhone apps. For an app you want to keep out of sight, use Apple’s hide control. For an app you repeatedly open yourself, set a boundary that makes the next tap a deliberate decision.
No app can add passwords
iPhone blockers work within Apple’s controlled Screen Time frameworks. Apple’s ManagedSettings documentation describes shields as constraints applied to selected apps and websites, rather than a third party placing a private passcode gate inside another app. Before such an app can manage settings, it needs Family Controls authorization.
This distinction matters. A shield, delay, schedule, or focus session can interrupt your own routine. It does not turn a social app, banking app, or any other arbitrary app into one that another phone user must unlock with the blocker’s password. Face ID, Touch ID, and the device passcode are Apple’s built-in route for protecting a supported app from the person holding the phone.
Choose the boundary you need
Use Require Face ID for privacy from another phone user. Hide an eligible downloaded app as well when its presence should be discreet in ordinary iPhone surfaces. Use a Time Allowance or a blocker only when you are trying to interrupt your own habitual access. Apple’s current Time Allowances are category-based: the documented setup selects a category such as Entertainment, Games, or Social Media, rather than a hand-picked list of individual apps.
These four choices are measured by four things: whether another person is genuinely stopped by biometric authentication or a passcode, whether the app can be concealed, whether selected apps get a clear time boundary, and whether the enforcement is a real access lock or a self-control shield, pause, schedule, or session.
If you need a broader comparison of tools that interrupt habitual scrolling, see this guide to the best iOS app blocker.
Four iPhone app boundaries
| Option | Protection from another user | Selected-app boundary | Enforcement model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple’s built-ins | Face ID, Touch ID, or device passcode for supported apps | Category-based Time Allowances | Biometric app lock, hiding, and Screen Time controls |
| Mado | No privacy lock for another user | 15-minute sessions from a daily cap | Screen Time shield and intentional pause |
| ScreenZen | No custom password gate | Delays, access windows, goals, schedules, and strict blocks | Screen Time-framework blocking |
| Jomo | No biometric access control for a borrower | Rules for chosen apps and websites | Screen Time API blocking across Apple devices |
1. Apple’s built-ins
Apple’s built-ins are the only choice here that protects a supported app from another person, though the lock is unavailable for some Apple apps and is not a separate password you choose. On iOS 18 or later, touch and hold the app on the Home Screen, select “Require Face ID” or “Touch ID or Passcode,” confirm the same control, and authenticate. Apple says Calculator, Camera, Clock, Contacts, Find My, Maps, Shortcuts, and Settings cannot be locked this way.
For discretion as well as access protection, an eligible downloaded app has a second route: touch and hold it, tap “Require Face ID,” tap “Hide and Require Face ID,” authenticate, then tap “Hide App.” Apple’s privacy guide says the app moves to the Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library, which requires Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode to open. To retrieve it, swipe left to App Library, scroll to the bottom, tap the Hidden folder, then authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or the device passcode.
A locked app also keeps its information out of some locations, including notification previews, Search, Siri suggestions, and call history. The lock or hide setting applies only to that device and does not sync through iCloud. If “Require Face ID” is missing, first check that the app is supported and not one of Apple’s excluded built-in apps. A managed iPhone can also have a restriction that prevents users from locking apps.
For self-control, Screen Time has a different role. Turn on activity through “Settings” > “Screen Time” > “Time Allowances” > “Turn On App & Website Activity.” To create a Time Allowance, go to “Manage Categories,” tap the Add button, choose the applicable category, and set the daily duration. The selected category is shielded once its allowance is exhausted. This is a category-based boundary, rather than a hand-picked individual-app limit. You can lock the Screen Time settings with a 4-digit passcode through “Settings” > “Screen Time” > “Passcode & Management” > “Lock Screen Time Settings,” but this is still a usage-control system, not a Face ID lock on each chosen app.
2. Mado for pauses
Mado, which this site’s publisher makes, puts a calm pause before selected distracting apps, but it cannot Face ID-lock an app against another person and its fixed-session approach is less flexible than a general scheduling tool.
It addresses repeat opening rather than privacy. When a selected app or category opens, Mado offers a choice: close it or use one fixed 15-minute session. A selectable daily session cap applies, and once that budget is spent the app remains paused until the next day. That makes each allowed visit explicit instead of relying on an elapsed-time limit that appears only after you have already been scrolling.
Mado is free to download for iPhone and requires iOS 26.0 or later. Its Deep Focus blocks run from 15 minutes to 4 hours, with an optional lock that prevents a focus session ending early. You can keep protection always on or schedule it, then use the app’s on-device insights to see pauses, allowed sessions, and time reclaimed. Use it where the issue is the reflex to reopen an app, not access by a guest using your phone.
For other approaches to changing a Screen Time routine, read these alternatives to Screen Time.
3. ScreenZen for rules
ScreenZen gives you more ways to shape a self-blocking rule, but its delays and strict blocks are not a custom password screen that protects apps from somebody borrowing your iPhone.
Its controls start before the app opens: set a configurable delay, then allow a short access window or enforce a stricter block. It also offers daily goals, schedules, and rules based on screen time or how often you open an app. The delay can increase with repeated opens, which is useful if the first interruption is easy to dismiss but the tenth should feel meaningfully different.
ScreenZen is donation-supported and completely free, according to ScreenZen. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows, and Android. On an iPhone, treat it as a configurable boundary for your own use. Its Lock Mode is intended to protect against common bypasses, while the underlying model remains a Screen Time-framework blocker rather than biometric access control.
4. Jomo across devices
Jomo is the stronger fit for an Apple-device blocking setup that extends beyond the iPhone, though it still cannot use biometric access control to keep a borrower out of an app.
It creates rules for chosen apps and websites, including websites across browsers, and works across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision. That broader Apple coverage is its distinguishing advantage over an iPhone-only boundary. You can block one or more apps at selected times and take mindful breaks, so its time boundary is built around rules and schedules rather than Mado’s fixed 15-minute sessions.
Jomo is free to download with in-app purchases. Its US App Store listing gives Jomo Plus prices of $5.99/month, $29.99/year, or $99.99 lifetime. The listing also says it uses Apple’s secure Screen Time API to access Screen Time and block apps. Jomo’s App Store listing supports a selected-app blocker for your own habits, not an app-level identity check for another person.
If your aim is a lasting block rather than a daily pause or schedule, follow this practical guide to permanently blocking an app on iPhone.
For privacy, return to the same long-press Home Screen menu: “Require Face ID” is the built-in answer for a supported app. If the problem is your own repeat opening, use a boundary that makes the next tap deliberate, whether that is a 15-minute session, a delay, or a scheduled shield.
