How to Stop Getting Around Your Own Screen Time Limits on iPhone (2026)
When you set Screen Time on yourself, it usually leaks through five gaps: ignoring the limit, a passcode you already know, deleting and reinstalling the app, opening the website in Safari, and Always Allowed. Apple has a setting for each.
The passcode matters most. If you choose it yourself, you will remember it at the limit screen, so ask a family member or friend to set it. Blocking a whole app also blocks Instagram DMs. If what you want to stop is Reels or Shorts, minulo hides just those and keeps DMs. Hiding is free.
This page is written by the developer of minulo. Screen Time details come from the Apple support pages listed below, checked on 2026-11-02. iOS 26 and iOS 27 use different screens and names, and menu names can change with updates. It covers limits you set on your own iPhone, not a child's device.
| The gap | What closes it | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Ignoring the limit | A Screen Time passcode, plus Block at Downtime (iOS 26) | Apple says limits can be ignored once reached by default |
| A passcode you know | Have someone else set it | With Screen Time Passcode Recovery on your own Apple Account, you can reset it yourself |
| Deleting and reinstalling | Content & Privacy Restrictions › iTunes & App Store Purchases (iOS 26) | Apple's iOS 27 guide doesn't describe this menu |
| Opening the website in Safari | iOS 26: add the address under Never Allow in Web Content. iOS 27: a Time Allowance also covers a website the app declares | On iOS 26 you add each address yourself |
| Always Allowed | Take the app out of Always Allowed | Apps there stay open whatever your schedule or allowance says |
1. Stop the limit from being ignored
Apple's iPhone User Guide for iOS 26 says that by default, Screen Time limits can be ignored once reached. Without a passcode, a limit you set is closer to a reminder. For app limits, the steps to remove the ignore option are in how to turn off Ignore Limit.
Downtime works the same way. Apple says that if you set a Screen Time passcode and turn on Block at Downtime, restricted apps can't be opened during downtime. With it off, you only see a reminder and can keep using the apps.
2. Let someone else choose the passcode
Apple says that if you forget your Screen Time passcode, you can reset it with your Apple Account, as long as you use the same account you entered when you set up Screen Time Passcode Recovery (forgot your Screen Time passcode). That protects your device, but it also means you can undo a limit you set on yourself.
To really hold yourself to it, ask a family member or friend to set the passcode, and don't put your own Apple Account in for recovery. In return, someone who can unlock it should be close by when you genuinely need it.
3. Make deleting and reinstalling harder
Apple's iOS 26 guide says you can go to Settings › Screen Time › Content & Privacy Restrictions, turn it on, and tap iTunes & App Store Purchases to set restrictions for store purchases and redownloads. The guide doesn't list each option on that screen, so check yours for one that covers the app you want to keep. This also only means something if someone else holds the passcode.
The iOS 27 guide page on Content & Privacy Restrictions, checked on 2026-11-02, doesn't mention this menu. On iOS 27, check the screen on your iPhone.
4. Close the Safari route
Blocking the app doesn't stop instagram.com or youtube.com in Safari. On iOS 26, Apple's steps are Content & Privacy Restrictions › App Store, Media, Web, & Games › Web Content, select Limit Adult Websites, then tap Add Website below Never Allow and enter the address. On iOS 27, Apple says that if an app declares an associated website, the Time Allowance applies to both.
5. Check Always Allowed
Apple says apps in Always Allowed can be used at all times, regardless of your Screen Time schedules or Time Allowances on iOS 27, and even during downtime on iOS 26. If the app you want to stop is in that list, no limit will close it.
If you only want to stop Reels and Shorts
Screen Time blocks the whole app, so Instagram DMs and group chats go with it. That is often why people end up turning it off. If what you want to stop is Reels or Shorts, removing only those leaks less.
- Install minulo, choose Instagram and log in. Inside minulo, Instagram's Reels and Explore tabs and suggested posts are hidden.
- If you use YouTube, open it in minulo too. The Shorts shelf and tab go away, while normal videos, search and subscriptions stay.
- In the Block tab, choose the official Instagram, YouTube and TikTok apps and start a block. On the free plan, a block lasts up to 2 hours.
- If you open an official app during a block, you see the block screen. Tap Open in minulo to reply to DMs on a screen without Reels.
In minulo, Hard Mode (Pro) makes turning a block off take a few minutes on purpose. minulo Pro is US $9.99 a month or $39.99 a year. Hiding is free.
Limits, so you can decide honestly: Reels and Shorts are hidden only inside minulo, and the official apps don't change. While minulo blocks an official app, that app's notifications don't arrive, and minulo sends none of its own. Posting Stories, voice messages and calls aren't available. minulo is for iPhone, with a Mac version that works in Safari and Chrome, and there is no Android version yet. See what minulo can't do.
Where do I start if I keep getting around my own Screen Time?
Have someone else set the Screen Time passcode. Then turn on Block at Downtime, and check that the apps you want to stop aren't in Always Allowed.
Can I stop myself from deleting and reinstalling an app?
On iOS 26, Apple says Settings › Screen Time › Content & Privacy Restrictions › iTunes & App Store Purchases sets restrictions for store purchases and redownloads. Apple's iOS 27 guide doesn't describe this menu.
Does Screen Time stop Instagram in Safari?
Not if you only limited the app. On iOS 26, add the address under Never Allow in Web Content. On iOS 27, Apple says a Time Allowance also applies to a website the app declares.
Why doesn't a passcode I chose myself work?
You know it, so you type it in at the limit screen. And with passcode recovery on your own Apple Account, you can reset it even if you forget. The limit only holds when someone else sets it.
Can I block Reels but keep DMs?
Screen Time only blocks whole apps. If you open Instagram inside minulo, the Reels and Explore tabs are hidden and DMs keep working. Hiding is free.
Sources
- Apple: Set schedules with Screen Time on iPhone (iOS 26)
- Apple: Set Screen Time Schedules and Time Allowances in Screen Time on iPhone (iOS 27)
- Apple: Block apps, app downloads, websites, and purchases on iPhone (iOS 26)
- Apple: Block features or content with Screen Time on iPhone (iOS 27)
- Apple Support: Change your Screen Time passcode on an iPhone or iPad
- minulo: How to turn off Ignore Limit