How to block access to websites or adult content on iPhone

Are your kids at the age where they want an iPhone to use themselves, and you are a little worried about what kind of horrors they may encounter online? We can’t blame you, as a lot of lousy stuff is freely accessible online. From adult websites to violent content, the internet can be a messed-up place.

However, you can let your kids have an iPhone without worrying about them accessing anything they shouldn’t. Apple’s iOS has many parental control features; you just need to know how to find them. We will show you exactly how to restrict the websites your kids can visit, giving you more peace of mind that they won’t see something that could harm them.

How to block a website on the iPhone

Apple has all the parental control and features you need to keep your kids safe and secure while using their iPhones. These controls are tucked inside the Screen Time section of iOS, which is a little confusing because these options do more than limit how long someone can use an iPhone.

Limit adult websites or curate allowed websites

In the Settings app, you have a couple options for restricting access to websites.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Screen Time.
3. Select Content & Privacy Restrictions.
4. Enter the Screen Time passcode if prompted.
5. Toggle Content & Privacy Restrictions if it’s not already enabled.
6. Select Content Restrictions near the top of the screen.
7. Tap Web Content.
8. Tap the type of restriction you want: Unrestricted, Limit Adult Websites, or Allowed Websites.

If you choose Limit Adult Websites, iOS will automatically block most adult content, though it’s still possible for some to bypass Apple’s filters

If you choose Allowed Websites, you can get more granular and select exactly what websites are accessible on the device. This can take some time, but it’s worthwhile if you want to limit your kids from accessing specific websites on an iPhone.

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How to use Allowed Websites on iPhone

While it seems like a bit of work, if you don’t want to rely on Apple to restrict your kids’ web browsing, it’s worth spending a few minutes selecting the websites you know your children can safely interact with instead of letting the company handle it. The other nice thing about doing it this way is you can let the list evolve as your children get older. You can narrow the list when they’re ready to access slightly more adult websites.

If they are teenagers, and you feel they’re ready for the whole internet, you can follow the directions above and only block adult websites. And when they’re ready for the whole internet (is anyone really ever ready for the whole internet?), you can remove the restrictions and let them go free.

Add every allowed website

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Screen Time.
3. Tap on Content & Privacy Restrictions under this section.
4. Enter the Screen Time passcode if prompted.
5. Tick the Content & Privacy Restrictions button if it’s not already on.
6. Tap Content Restrictions near the top of the screen.
7. Tap Web Content.
8. Tap Allowed Websites.
9. Apple will offer a few websites on the list by default, such as Apple’s website, Disney, HowStuffWorks, Time for Kids, and others. You can swipe any of these and tap Delete to remove them.
10. Tap Add Website at the bottom of the list.
11. Enter the website’s Title (which is whatever you want it to be called) and URL.
12. Tap Done.
13. Repeat steps 10-12 for each website you want to allow.

And that’s all there is to it.