How to Block Websites on a Child's Phone: iPhone and Android
Block a website on your child's iPhone or Android with the free tools already on it. Steps for Screen Time, Family Link and Family Safety.
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- Screen Time on iPhone and Family Link on Android block sites for free, with no extra app to buy.
- Block single sites for an older child, or switch a younger child to approved sites only.
- Set a passcode or parent password first, then test the block on your child's phone.
- No filter covers every browser, so check the other browsers and your home Wi-Fi too.
How to block websites on a child's iPhone
Apple builds the block into Screen Time, the parental controls on every iPhone. You manage it from your own phone as the Family Sharing organiser or a parent or guardian in the family group. The child needs an account in your Family Sharing group, or you cannot manage their phone from yours. The steps below run on the child's iPhone, and they take a few minutes.
To block one site, open Settings on your child's iPhone, tap Screen Time, then Content and Privacy Restrictions, and turn restrictions on. Tap Content Restrictions, then Web Content. Choose Limit Adult Websites to filter adult content in Safari and in web views inside apps. Or pick Only Approved Websites to allow just the sites you name. Type the address in, and the site stays blocked until you take it off the list. Your child can ask to visit a blocked site, and you say yes or no from your own phone. Once you approve a site, your child can keep visiting it until you block it.
Set a Screen Time passcode, and keep it different from the phone lock code. Without that passcode, your child can open the same menus and switch the filter off in seconds.
- On your child's iPhone, open Settings and tap Screen Time.
- Tap Content and Privacy Restrictions, and turn restrictions on.
- Open Content Restrictions, then Web Content.
- Pick Limit Adult Websites, or Only Approved Websites for a younger child.
- Type the site address into the blocked list, or type sites into the approved list.
- Set the passcode, then test the block from your child's phone.
| At a glance | Answer |
|---|---|
| iPhone block | Settings > Screen Time > Web Content |
| Android block | Family Link > Controls > Chrome and Web |
| Chrome on iPhone | Not covered by the filter |
| Explicit filter | Google says it is not perfect |
| Router blocks | Home Wi-Fi only |
How to block websites on a child's Android phone
Google's tool is Family Link, and it works through your child's Google account. It covers Android phones and Chromebooks. It does not supervise an iPhone or iPad as a device, so do not rely on it there. Open the Family Link app on your phone, select your child, tap Controls, then Google Chrome and Web. That screen holds the choices for web access, plus the lists of sites you allow or block.
The three choices fit different ages. Allow all sites except those you block suits an older child who browses widely and needs only a few sites stopped. Try to block explicit sites switches on Google's filter for adult content, and Google says plainly that the filter is not perfect. Allow only approved sites locks Chrome to the sites you name, which fits a younger child. Add sites to either list on the same screen.
Your child can still ask to visit a blocked site. You answer from the Family Link notification on your phone, or in person on their device with your Google account password. Google Search has its own SafeSearch filter, which you switch on in the same controls. Family Link can restrict Chrome, so check the Chrome controls screen on your child's account to see what is switched on. If they sign out of Chrome or open another browser, the filter stops applying. Keep them signed in, and remove other browsers from the phone if an older child keeps switching. Family Link supervision runs until your child reaches the age to manage their own Google account, 13 in most places. After that, your child can take over the account.
The three built-in tools compared
No single tool covers every phone, so pick the one that matches the device your child actually uses. All three are free. All three block single sites by address, and all three offer a stricter mode for younger children. The table below shows where each one works and where it stops. Read the weak spot column first, because that is the gap you will need to close another way.
Screen Time is the strongest choice on an iPhone, because its filter reaches Safari and the web views inside apps, not just one browser. Family Link is the matching choice on Android, and its rules follow your child's Google account onto a Chromebook too. Family Safety is the one to use when your child browses on a Windows computer or an Xbox. It also works on a phone through Edge. If your child uses two devices, set the controls on both. Phone blocks do nothing for the laptop.
Age decides how strict to go. Younger children do best with approved sites only, where every new site needs your say-so. An older child can handle a blocked list plus the adult-content filter. They can still ask for a site when school or a hobby needs it. Revisit the settings every few months, because children grow and last year's settings may block homework today.
| Tool | Works on | What it blocks | Weak spot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen Time | iPhone and iPad | Adult sites, or named sites | Chrome and other browsers are not covered |
| Family Link | Android phones and Chromebooks | Explicit sites, or named sites | Stops if your child signs out of Chrome |
| Family Safety | Windows, Xbox, and phones through Edge | Mature sites, or named sites | Filters Edge only, not other browsers |
Block websites on every browser at once
Phone controls stop at the phone. Screen Time or Family Link blocks do nothing for a different device on the same Wi-Fi. Router blocks stop helping once your child leaves the house on mobile data. The home network is the next layer. Your router, the box that brings the internet into your house, can block a site for every device that connects through it. That covers the phone, the tablet, the laptop and the games console in one move.
Most routers have a parental controls or website blocking page in their settings. The address and password are usually printed on a sticker on the router. Open the settings on a computer, find the blocking page, and add the address you want stopped. Try a family DNS filter instead. It answers with a block page or an error when a device asks for a blocked site. The exact response depends on the provider.
This layer has limits, and you should know them before you rely on it. Router blocks only work on your home Wi-Fi. Mobile data, a friend's Wi-Fi and a VPN, a tool that routes traffic through another server, all step around it. Keep the phone controls as the main block, and treat the router as backup. Check the block from your child's phone on home Wi-Fi. Then check it again on mobile data, and you will see which layer is doing the work.
Myths you can ignore about blocking websites
Blocking a site feels final, and that feeling is the trap. Think of a filter as a speed bump, not a wall. Several common beliefs about it are wrong. Knowing which ones saves you from a false sense of safety. The three below come up most often when parents talk about this, and each one has a simple fix. Work through them before you trust the block.
Myth: blocking one site in one browser is enough
A Safari block stops Safari and the web views inside apps, which share the same web engine. It does not stop Chrome or a full browser your child opens on its own. Check every browser on the phone, and remove any browser the filter does not cover.
Myth: a filter makes the internet safe
Filters miss things. Google says its explicit-site filter is not perfect, and new sites appear faster than any list updates. It cuts down the risk. It does not replace watching what your child does online and talking about what they see.
Myth: deleting the browser app stops browsing
Links open inside apps too. Video apps, games and messages can open a web page without a browser app at all. Deleting one app leaves the rest. Set the controls at the account level instead, where they follow your child across apps.
Before you decide: a quick checklist
Run through this list before you call the job done. It takes five minutes, and it catches the gaps that undo most blocks. Start with the phone your child actually uses. Match the strictness to their age, and write down the passcode somewhere only you can reach.
Talking matters as much as the settings. Tell your child which sites are blocked and why, in plain words, and show them how to ask for a site they need. Children who understand the rule are less likely to hunt for a way around it. Look at the settings again in a few months, because a child who outgrows the rules will find the gaps first.
- Phone checked: the controls match the phone your child uses, iPhone or Android.
- Level set: approved sites only for a younger child, a blocked list for an older one.
- Passcode set: a Screen Time passcode or parent password, different from the lock code.
- Tested on their phone: the blocked site fails in every browser on Wi-Fi and mobile data.
- Other browsers checked: extra browsers blocked or removed where the filter cannot reach.
- Talk done: your child knows which sites are blocked and why, and how to ask for one.
Quick answers
Can I block a website on my child's phone without buying an app?
Yes. Screen Time on an iPhone and Family Link on Android both block sites for free, and Family Safety does the same on Windows and Xbox. You only need the controls already on the device and a few minutes to set them up. Paid apps add extras like time limits across devices, but blocking a site does not need one.
Does the block work in Chrome on an iPhone?
No. Screen Time's web filter covers Safari and web views inside apps. Chrome and other browsers on an iPhone are not covered. Remove them from the phone if the filter has to reach everything your child opens.
Can my child turn the block off?
Not without the passcode or parent password. On an iPhone that means the Screen Time passcode, and on Android it means your Google account password. Keep both secret, and make them different from the phone lock code. If your child knows the lock code, change the passcode to something only you know.
Does blocking work on mobile data as well as Wi-Fi?
It works on both when the block lives on the phone. Screen Time and Family Link filter the connection wherever it comes from, Wi-Fi or mobile data. A router block is the exception: it only works on your home Wi-Fi, so it stops helping the moment your child leaves the house.
What if my child uses a different phone at a friend's house?
Nothing on your child's phone controls another device. Your rules travel with their phone, not with them. Talk to your child about what is off limits, and ask the other parent what controls they use.