Guide
Block porn on
your iPhone.
There are three real ways to do this on an iPhone — Apple's built-in Screen Time filter, a system-wide DNS filter, and an accountability app. None of them is magic. Here's the honest trade-off of each, so you can pick the one that fits.
Free malware and ad/tracker blocking, always. Pornography and other categories, plus partner alerts: 7-day free trial, then $7/month.
Option 1 · Free & built in
iOS Screen Time.
- Open Settings and tap Screen Time. If it isn't on yet, tap Turn On Screen Time first.
- Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions and switch it on. This is the master switch for everything below.
- Tap Content Restrictions, then Web Content. This is where Apple keeps the adult-site filter.
- Choose “Limit Adult Websites.” iOS will now try to block adult sites automatically. On the same screen you can add your own sites under Never Allow, or restrict browsing to an approved list under Only Allowed Websites.
- Set a Screen Time passcode. Back on the Screen Time screen, tap Lock Screen Time Settings and pick a passcode. Without one, the filter can be switched back off in seconds. Make it different from your unlock code, and if this is for a child, hold the passcode yourself.
It's free, it's already on the phone, and for a young child whose parent holds the passcode, it can genuinely be enough.
The honest limits: Apple's own filter is inconsistent. It misses some sites and over-blocks others. It only holds if a Screen Time passcode is set, and whoever knows that passcode can turn it off in seconds. And there's no accountability: if the filter gets disabled, nobody is told. For an adult trying to quit their own habit, the passcode is in your own pocket, which makes it trivial to bypass in a weak moment.
Option 2 · System-wide
A filtering DNS.
Every app on your phone looks up website addresses through a service called DNS. Point that lookup at a filtering DNS and known adult sites simply stop resolving. They don't load in Safari, Chrome, in-app browsers, or anywhere else. It's not a VPN and there's nothing running in the background, so banking apps, Maps and the rest keep working normally.
On iPhone this is set up with a small DNS configuration profile rather than a text box, and several public filtering-DNS services offer one. Because it filters at the address-lookup layer, it's usually more consistent than Safari-only content tricks, and it covers the whole phone instead of just one browser.
The honest limits, then. A DNS filter blocks domains from a list, so it can miss brand-new sites and it isn't a hardware lock. And a plain DNS filter you set for yourself has the same gap as Screen Time — you can open Settings and remove the profile, and no one is told. That missing piece is exactly what Option 3 adds.
Option 3 · With accountability
An accountability filter (Sworn).
Sworn is one honest option in this category. It's a system-wide DNS filter with the missing piece built in: someone you trust is told if you turn it off. It's not the only answer, but if accountability is what you've been missing, here's how it goes together.
- Install Sworn and pick pornography. Add gambling, social media, online shopping, gaming, or VPN/proxy too if you want. Malware blocking is free forever; the paid categories and partner alerts come with a 7-day free trial, then $7/month.
- Turn on the one setting. Sworn asks iOS to add its DNS setting (one Allow tap), then walks you to the one Settings screen where you pick it. It takes about three minutes. No management (MDM) profile, no browser extension. Blocked sites then stop loading in every app, Safari included.
- (Optional) Add an accountability partner. They get an invite to confirm, and at most one reminder. After that they only ever see a count of blocked attempts and the category — never a URL, never your history — plus a note if you remove a blocked category, and an email if you turn the filter off or it goes quiet (uninstall, disable, or phone offline).
No VPN, so banking, Maps and other apps keep working. System-wide, so it's every app and not one browser. No screenshots, and no log of the sites you visit. Blocked attempts are kept only as short-lived tallies that power your own in-app view and expire after 7 days, and partners see a number, never a site. Cancel in two taps in the App Store.
Which should I pick?
Which one is right for you?
For a young child, a parent-locked Screen Time passcode may be all you need — it's free and it's already on the phone. For an adult trying to quit their own habit, the passcode is in your own pocket, so the technical lock was never the hard part. The missing piece is accountability: someone told the moment you turn the filter off. That's the one thing the native tools don't do, and it's the whole reason an accountability filter exists.
Every app, not just Safari —
with someone in your corner.
Free to start. About three minutes to set up.
On a computer too? Set up the phone first, then add Windows, Mac, Linux or Chromebook to the same account.
This is general guidance, not a substitute for professional help.