What Ignore Limit does in Screen Time, and how to remove it (iPhone, 2026)

What the ignore button actually does

App Limits sets a daily time for an app or a category, such as Social Networking. When you use up that time, a limit screen covers the app. Apple's iPhone guide says: "By default, Screen Time limits can be ignored once reached." So the limit works as a reminder. The button on the limit screen lets you carry on, and the app opens again.

Apple's guide doesn't list the exact choices behind the button, so we don't list them here. What matters is that nothing stops you from tapping it unless a passcode is involved.

How to remove it: passcode first

1. Open Settings › Screen Time.
2. Scroll down and tap Lock Screen Time Settings, then enter a four-digit passcode twice. Better yet, hand the phone to a friend or family member and let them choose it.
3. Go back to App Limits, tap the limit for the app (or Add Limit to make one), and turn on the option that blocks the app at the end of the limit.

Apple's iPhone guide doesn't describe this last switch by name. Apple's Mac guide describes the same App Limits option as Block at end of limit and says it blocks the app when the limit expires. With it on, using the app past the limit needs the passcode.

Apple says a Screen Time passcode must be entered before Screen Time settings can be changed. If you pick the passcode yourself, you will know it when the limit hits, so it helps to let someone else set it. You can set up Screen Time Passcode Recovery with your Apple Account in case it is forgotten.

Downtime has the same problem, and the same fix

Downtime also lets you continue by default. Apple says that when Block at Downtime is off, you see a reminder that it's downtime but can choose to keep using the apps. With a Screen Time passcode set, go to Screen Time › Downtime and turn on Block at Downtime. Restricted apps then can't be opened during Downtime.

Check Always Allowed too. Apple says apps you choose there stay available during Downtime and after you reach time limits, so a limited app on that list will never block.

On iOS 27: Time Allowances

On iOS 27, Apple's guide describes Time Allowances (Settings › Screen Time › Time Allowances) and Screen Time Schedule instead of App Limits. You give a category such as Social Media a daily allowance, and if an app declares an associated website, the allowance covers both. Apple says these features need iOS 27 or later on all your Apple devices. We could not find a description in Apple's iOS 27 page of what happens on screen when an allowance runs out, or whether it can be ignored.

What minulo does and doesn't do

If the app you keep ignoring is Instagram or YouTube, the problem is often just Reels or Shorts. minulo opens the official websites of Instagram, YouTube and other services inside the app with Reels, Explore, Shorts and suggested posts hidden, while DMs keep working. Hiding is free.

minulo can also lock the official apps with iPhone Screen Time, free for up to 2 hours per block. During a block, Take a break lets you step out, and blocking turns back on by itself when the time is up. While an official app is locked, its notifications don't arrive, and minulo doesn't send any. minulo Pro adds schedules by day and time, blocks over 2 hours, multiple block lists and Hard Mode, where you can't turn off the block, breaks are limited to once a day, and turning it off means getting through 4 steps.

minulo doesn't change the official apps, isn't on Android, and relies on Screen Time for locking, so if Screen Time itself isn't working on your iPhone, the lock may not work either. minulo is made by the person who wrote this page.

What does Ignore Limit do in Screen Time?

It lets you keep using an app after its App Limit runs out. Apple says Screen Time limits can be ignored by default once they are reached, so the limit screen is a reminder unless you add a passcode and have the app blocked at the end of the limit.

How do I get rid of Ignore Limit on iPhone?

Set a Screen Time passcode in Settings, Screen Time, Lock Screen Time Settings, then edit the app's limit and turn on blocking at the end of the limit. After that, continuing past the limit needs the passcode. Let someone else choose the passcode, or you will simply type it in.

Can I stop Screen Time limits from being ignored without a passcode?

We could not find a way in Apple's pages. Apple ties blocking to the Screen Time passcode: for Downtime, it says you can choose whether apps are completely blocked once a passcode is set.

Why can I still open the app after the limit even with blocking on?

Check whether the app is on Always Allowed, which Apple says stays available after time limits are reached. Also check that you limited the right app or category, and remember that whoever knows the passcode can still enter it.

Is there an Ignore Limit button on iOS 27?

iOS 27 replaces App Limits with Time Allowances and Screen Time Schedule. Apple's iOS 27 page doesn't describe what appears when an allowance runs out, so we could not confirm whether it can be ignored.

Sources

1. Apple: Set schedules with Screen Time on iPhone (iOS 26)
2. Apple: Create, manage, and keep track of a Screen Time passcode on iPhone (iOS 26)
3. Apple: Set time limits for apps and websites in Screen Time on Mac (Block at end of limit)
4. Apple: Respond to a child's Screen Time request on iPhone
5. Apple: Set Screen Time Schedules and Time Allowances on iPhone (iOS 27)
6. App Store (US): minulo